Academics at Risk e.V.

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We’re pleased to announce the 2nd issue of the Journal of Human Rights & Refugee Studies (Academic at Risk) is now out! Focusing on human rights, migration, and vulnerable groups. Open access & DOI assigned. 🔗 aarjhrrs.org/index.php/jhrr… We welcome submissions & shares.

Dr. Lokman Alpsoy, President of Academics at Risk, joined the high-level dialogue “The Future of Refugee Protection” in Berlin with UNHCR, government & civil society voices. #RefugeeProtection #HumanRights #AcademicsAtRisk #UNHCR

After a month of discussion, one thing is clear: Academic freedom does not collapse suddenly. It erodes, interrupts knowledge, and produces loss long before exile becomes visible. This is no longer a question of awareness. The ‘win-win models’ following the exile is a question of acknowledgment. ExWis2025 did not aim to provide answers, but provoke meaningful discussions. Now we ask you: ✨How do you contribute to knowledge continuity in your field? ✨Where do you see your responsibility? ✨And how will you act on it? Knowledge justice is not a destination. It is a collective process. This conversation does not end here. As Academics at Risk we aim to continue to advocate for knowledge justice, academic freedom and exiled scientists. We thank all and each of you for this amazing month, and for all your contributions. Particularly we are grateful for the support of BMZ and Global Engagement for this amazing opportunity. #ExWis2025 #KnowledgeJustice #AcademicFreedom #GlobalPolicy #ForcedMigration #SharedResponsibility

We call on host countries and global policymakers to recognise that displaced scholars are not only people in need of protection, but carriers of public knowledge essential to society. When legal, bureaucratic, or policy barriers prevent refugee academics from teaching, researching, or affiliating, the result is not safety with continuity — it is brain waste. Responsibility at the policy level means: •Enabling legal pathways to academic participation, not only residence •Ensuring flexible recognition of qualifications and careers disrupted by displacement •Supporting long-term integration into higher education and research systems, not temporary or ad-hoc measures •Facilitating transnational knowledge circulation, rather than one-way extraction or permanent loss Protection without participation is an incomplete response. Safety without access produces loss — for scholars, institutions, and societies alike. If knowledge is a public good, then enabling its continuity is a public responsibility. 👉 We invite host countries and policymakers to state how their frameworks move from protection to participation. 👉 Tag institutions, ministries, and policy actors who should be part of this commitment. #ExWis2025 #KnowledgeJustice #AcademicFreedom #GlobalPolicy #ForcedMigration #SharedResponsibility

Supporting an exiled academic does not start with statements. It starts with inclusion in everyday academic life. We call other researchers to take responsibility: As scholars, you can: •Offer formal or informal affiliation to restore academic identity and access •Collaborate — invite displaced scholars into research groups, co-authorships, and seminars •Use our academic voice deliberately: cite their work, recommend them, introduce them to networks •Contextualize disrupted careers in reviews, committees, and evaluations instead of penalizing gaps •Provide situational mentorship on publishing, funding, and navigating local academic systems These actions do not require new institutions. They require using the positions we already hold. Academic freedom is sustained not only by policies, but by how scholars treat one another in practice. 👉 If you are in academia, ask: what access, connection, or recognition can I offer this month? #ExWis2025 #AcademicFreedom #KnowledgeJustice #ScholarsAtRisk #SharedResponsibility

As Academics at Risk e.V., we wish all our colleagues and partners a Merry Christmas and a successful New Year! May this festive season bring peace and prosperity to all. Thank you for your support and collaboration. Wir bei Academics at Risk e.V. wünschen allen unseren Kollegen und Partnern frohe Weihnachten und ein erfolgreiches neues Jahr! Möge diese festliche Zeit Frieden und Wohlstand für alle bringen. Vielen Dank für Ihre Unterstützung und Zusammenarbeit. #AcademicsAtRisk #AcademicFreedom #SeasonGreetings #MerryChristmas #HappyNewYear #Solidarity #InternationalCollaboration

Who gets to publish determines what knowledge survives. We invite publishers, journals, editorial boards, and research funders to actively open pathways for scholars whose work has been disrupted by exile, repression, or displacement. Knowledge justice depends on: • who gets reviewed • who gets funded • whose disruption is recognised — and whose is treated as a deficit 👉 Waive or reduce publication fees. 👉 Recognise disrupted academic trajectories. 👉 Include scholars at risk as authors, reviewers, and decision-makers. If knowledge cannot circulate, it is effectively lost. #ExWis2025 #KnowledgeJustice #AcademicPublishing #Right2Science

Hosting is not enough. Temporary fellowships do not ensure academic continuity. Without formal affiliation, long-term placements, and flexible recognition, knowledge remains interrupted — even in safety. We call on universities & research institutes to ensure: • formal affiliation (even without full employment) • long-term placements • flexible recognition of disrupted careers • policies that address inequality 👉 Commit publicly 👉 Tag institutes ready to act #ExWis2025 #KnowledgeJustice #AcademicFreedom #HigherEducation #Right2Science

Knowledge is a shared responsibility — and it must be defended collectively. When academic freedom is threatened, knowledge is weakened globally. Fragmented efforts are no longer enough. We invite NGOs & civil society organizations to publicly stand together in defending knowledge under threat. 👉 Tag organizations you collaborate with 👉 Show your support 👉 Make this commitment visible Together, we can be stronger — and louder. #KnowledgeJustice #AcademicFreedom #ScholarsAtRisk #CollectiveResponsibility

🎓🌍 Academics At Risk e.V. has been concluding the project "Wissen im Exil: From Loss to Responsibility (ExWis2025)", which brought together scholars, experts, and civil society actors to address urgent challenges related to academic freedom, forced displacement, and international solidarity. As ExWis2025 draws to a close, the series of expert panels and public discussions have provided an important platform for dialogue, reflection, and knowledge exchange on the realities faced by at-risk academics worldwide. 🔗 Learn more about the ExWis2025 project and its activities: academicsatrisk.org/?page_id=5361 This project is funded by @EngGlobal with resources from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) @BMZ_Bund. The content of this post is the sole responsibility of Academics At Risk e.V. and does not necessarily reflect the views of Engagement Global or BMZ. #ExWis2025 #AcademicsAtRisk #AcademicFreedom #ScholarsAtRisk #HumanRights #GlobalSolidarity #HigherEducation

Last Call! We are excited to invite you to Panel 2: From Loss to Responsibility as part of the ExWis2025 series — a vital discussion on global information justice, responsibility, and win–win models. Join us as leading experts bring their insights and experiences: Panelists: • Dr. Tom Parkinson (UK) • Dr. Ibrahim Kurt (Netherlands) Moderator: • Dr. Abdulmelik Alkan (Georgia) ⏰ Date: 19 December 2025 🕗 20:00 (CET) A thought-provoking session awaits — don’t miss the chance to be part of this important conversation on ethics, education, and global responsibility. Don’t miss out — this is your final chance to register! 👉 Register here: eventbrite.com/e/wissen-im-ex… We look forward to an engaging and insightful conversation. #ExWis2025 #AcademicFreedom #WissenImExil #Right2Science

These examples illustrate how academic freedom is violated through violence, coercion, and fear — and how knowledge production is directly interrupted as a result. Understanding these concrete threats is essential. Without it, forced exile is easily mistaken for mobility, and systemic loss is reduced to individual stories. #ResearchersAtRisk #AcademicFreedom #ExWis2025 #ForcedMigration #KnowledgeJustice

We asked about what form knowledge takes after/during displacement? It lives on as: unfinished arguments carried in memory, methods that can no longer be practiced, teaching materials without classrooms, research questions that cannot be safely asked, expertise detached from formal recognition. This is not only a story of displacement. It is a story about academic freedom — about the conditions that allow knowledge to circulate, to be tested, and to be shared. When those conditions are interrupted, knowledge might even disappear. #ResearchersAtRisk #AcademicFreedom #ExWis2025

Today, we want you to give us the answer that we are looking for: In your field or experience, what form of knowledge is most vulnerable when continuity is interrupted? Over the past days, we have examined how exile interrupts academic identities, disrupts research networks, and undermines the conditions that make scholarly work possible. Before asking what should be done, it is worth pausing to ask more basic questions. This question is not abstract. It shapes how we understand loss, interruption, and continuity in academic life under conditions of displacement. #ExWis2025 #WissenImExil #KnowledgeJustice #AcademicFreedom

We have published a new LinkedIn article reflecting on key insights from the Knowledge Interrupted panel at #ExWis2025. Drawing on panel discussions and empirical research, the article highlights how violations of academic freedom act as a major push factor in academic exile — and how exile often leads to silence, selective visibility, and brain waste. The article focuses on what we learned from the panel and why greater awareness within academia is needed to understand the full consequences of forced academic exile. 📄 Read the full article here:linkedin.com/posts/academic…

When scholars are displaced, the impact extends far beyond individual careers. It creates structural forms of knowledge loss that affect both home and host countries. Two concepts help explain this: brain drain and brain waste. Brain drain: the home country loses scientific capacity when scholars flee conflict or repression. Brain waste: displaced scholars reach safety but cannot work in their fields due to structural barriers. Together, brain drain and brain waste represent a double interruption of global knowledge. The first disrupts knowledge at its source; the second prevents knowledge from continuing elsewhere. We, Academics at Risk, witnessed this through the lived experiences of many of our members and conceptualize this phenomenon as a Lose-Lose model. In #ExWis2025, we aim to highlight that for knowledge to survive displacement, scholars must have pathways to contribute, not only to arrive. #WissenImExil #KnowledgeJustice #BrainDrain #BrainWaste

📢 Registration is open! WISSEN IM EXIL – From Loss to Responsibility We are pleased to invite you to the second ExWis2025 public event: a panel discussion on global information justice, responsibility, and win–win models, focusing on how displaced knowledge can be transformed from loss into shared responsibility and mutual benefit. This event brings together scholars engaged in questions of academic freedom, global knowledge justice, and transnational responsibility. 🎙️ Panelists • Dr. Tom Parkinson (UK) • Dr. Ibrahim Kurt (Netherlands) Moderation: • Dr. Abdulmelik Alkan (Georgia) 📅 19 December 2025 🕒 20:00 CET 🔗 Register here:eventbrite.com/e/wissen-im-ex… This event is part of ExWis2025 – Wissen im Exil, hosted by Academics at Risk e.V. Funded by Engagement Global with resources from BMZ. #ExWis2025 #WissenImExil #KnowledgeJustice #AcademicFreedom #GlobalInformationJustice

Funded by Engagement Global with resources from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The content of this post is the sole responsibility of Academics At Risk e.V.; the positions presented here do not reflect the views of Engagement Global or the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). @EngGlobal @BMZ_Bund

Academic freedom is a human right — and its violation is a major driver of exile. UNESCO defines academic freedom as the right to teach, research, publish, and express ideas without interference or fear of reprisal. These are not abstract principles; they are the basic conditions that make knowledge production possible. When these freedoms are restricted, scholars may face censorship, surveillance, blacklisting, interrogation, travel bans, dismissal, or even criminal charges. In many countries, entire fields are declared sensitive or prohibited. In conflict zones, universities are damaged or destroyed and intellectual communities dissolved. Such conditions do not only threaten individuals — they make scholarly work impossible. A researcher cannot pursue questions, publish findings, or collaborate safely when inquiry itself becomes a risk. For many, exile becomes the only remaining path to continue thinking. #ExWis2025 #AcademicFreedom #WissenImExil