Founding ceremony of the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network Berlin-Brandenburg

Founding ceremony of the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network Berlin-Brandenburg

Humboldt University of Berlin
April 18, 2023
– ready for shipment –

Professor von Blumenthal,

It is my honor to be here today at this very special event that speaks volumes about the legacy of Wilhelm von Humboldt, the founder of this university.
No freedom is more associated with human progress and the spirit of democracy than the free discovery and exchange of ideas.
At the beginning of the 19th century, this freedom was at the core of Wilhelm von Humboldt’s revolutionary vision of combining research and teaching. This visionary model for higher education was replicated first at German universities and then at universities in countries around the world, including the United States.

Thousands of American scholars were studying in Germany at the time. Upon their return, many of these students became leaders in American higher education. They put Humboldt’s vision into practice and established research universities as centers of independent research.
What exactly was revolutionary about this idea?
It is the notion that knowledge is constantly being discovered and renewed by each succeeding generation, and not simply learned from looking back at the past. The idea of ​​actively pursuing and discovering knowledge calls for freedom. This is Humboldt’s gift to science and society. That legacy became global and it lives on. It certainly influenced my career as a scholar, university leader and now the US Ambassador to Germany, his country of origin.

Humboldt’s legacy describes what we now call academic freedom: the freedom of scholars and their students to pursue, discover, and disseminate knowledge and understanding. The first declaration of academic freedom in the United States was published by the American Association of University Professors in 1915. Remarkably, almost half of its members graduated from a German university.
Academic freedom is not only part of the world’s shared history – it is also central to our future. Without defending free inquiry in the face of threats, both democracy and social progress atrophy.
Speaking of historic defenses of free inquiry, in 1860, just a year after Humboldt’s death, the great American abolitionist leader, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass stood up boldly and spoke out after a violent mob prevented a peaceful meeting with other abolitionists at The Tremont Temple Baptist Church.

At Boston Music Hall he defended the free discovery and exchange of ideas for all worthy human causes. “Freedom is meaningless,” Douglass said, “where the right to express one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. This, of all things, is the fear of tyrants. It’s the right they strike down first. You know its power.”
Because they know – and fear – their power, we must never take them for granted. Academic freedom is threatened worldwide today, above all by authoritarian governments that systematically suppress it and imprison scientists as well as journalists.
Even in democratic countries, academic freedom is under threat today. Let me give just a few examples. Sound scientific research has been denied public funding because it suggested that climate change was man-made. Teaching about racial injustice and – more broadly – about diversity, equity and inclusion in entire public school systems has been restricted. Controversial speakers were prevented from speaking.
Whenever rational discourse is no longer sought, whenever facts are deliberately falsified, whenever unfounded theories are presented as “alternative truths”, academic freedom is endangered. And that is the spirit, or one could even say the soul, of democracy.
Because academic freedom is under such widespread threat, we all have a duty to defend our common values ​​and stand up for democracy. That is exactly what the Humboldt University of Berlin is doing today by establishing a regional platform for the Scholars at Risk Network together with partner universities in Berlin and Brandenburg. This is indeed a most admirable part of this university’s legacy.

Each year, the Scholars at Risk Network provides shelter and assistance to more than 300 at-risk scientists worldwide. According to recent statistics, academic freedom is on the decline for more than half of the world’s population.
To name just a few examples:
Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine and suppression of dissenting voices in its own society;
the denial of education and general repression of women and girls by the Taliban in Afghanistan;
the systematic attack on university campuses to suppress social and political activism in Iran;
the silence of dissenting scholars in Syria and Turkey; And
restricting academic freedom, research integrity and political discourse across China.

These are just a few examples of current threats to academic freedom around the world that are deeply troubling.
Many of these threats have deadly and career-ending consequences for scholars and students. We must not allow the work of a scholarly life – let alone the scholarly life itself – to be stopped by political repression and upheaval.
When Robert Quinn, executive director of the Scholars at Risk network, heard last month that I was speaking today, he wrote to me in the message. He told the story of an Afghan scholar who in turn had written to him on behalf of the Afghan community.
The SAR network has given scientists who call Afghanistan home hope for better days. The host universities have supported her to continue her work in a safe environment, but her future remains uncertain.

The Department of State provides funding to the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund to support at-risk scholars in Afghanistan and other countries. Our State Department is also a partner in many programs to support at-risk women scientists around the world.
I wholeheartedly commend the German host institutions for everything they do for researchers from Ukraine and Russia who have sought refuge here. As President Steinmeier said, the work of these scientists is a glimmer of hope.
For decades I have sought creative ways to resist any erosion of free discovery and debate in liberal democracies, while joining forces with others outside of our countries to support academic freedom worldwide.

Early in my university presidency, I helped launch the United Nations-sponsored Global Colloquium of University Presidents, along with Secretary General Kofi Annan. Recognizing that the greatest threats are globally interconnected, the Secretary-General had urged universities to focus on threats to global freedom, health, peace and prosperity and to work together for the good of mankind.
At our first colloquium, the participating universities issued a joint declaration on academic freedom, recognizing the important role universities play within and between societies. We have issued a statement reaffirming the UNESCO Principles for Universities that every university should stand for:
1. The right to pursue and follow knowledge for its own sake wherever the search for truth leads.
2. Tolerance of dissenting opinions and freedom from political interference.
3. The obligation as social institutions to promote the principles of freedom and justice, human dignity and solidarity through teaching and research and to develop mutual material and non-material help on an international level.
Many universities around the world have embraced our joint statement and highlighted the importance of academic freedom for their societies, some for the first time in their history. Universities are engines of economic development. They promote technological and scientific innovations. They stimulate creativity in art and literature. And they address urgent global problems such as poverty, disease, ethnopolitical conflicts and environmental degradation. Academic freedom is not an end in itself; it is a means to many valuable ends. Science needs both material and moral support.

Today, some twenty years later, defending academic freedom is still at the heart of ongoing struggles over the role of universities – in both democratic and authoritarian societies. We must strongly support diverse and inclusive research communities. We must protect them from political interference that restricts access to and dissemination of scientific discoveries. We must ensure the integrity of their work through transparent, clearly communicated policies that encourage collaboration while discouraging xenophobia and prejudice.
We must also do our best to protect ourselves from authoritarian regimes that exploit our open and inclusive research communities to undermine our freedom. When given the freedom to work together, diverse communities of scholars and humanities learn to think globally, plan empathetically, and engage in civic engagement.

Universities today have made tremendous strides in promoting the common good. They have been the drivers of innovation in medical and biotechnology, digital technologies and artificial intelligence, and in their ethical use. Just one of countless examples is the investment by many universities in mRNA research, which was unpopular even with many scientists until the ongoing breakthroughs that have already saved millions of lives. Decisions about the use or misuse of potentially sensitive research bring a new level of accountability to our research ecosystems and underscore the importance of ongoing ethical inquiry.

As I have written in the past, universities derive their greatness from enabling professors and students to examine issues in all their complexity, to think critically and discuss problems where there are grounds for reasonable disagreement, and new ideas and inventing new worlds without them and expressing fear of retribution or retribution.
That is Humboldt’s legacy. Professor von Blumenthal, I welcome the solidarity shown by Humboldt University and all the institutions involved in founding a Berlin-Brandenburg chapter of the Scholars at Risk Network. I applaud the commitment of the Scholars at Risk Network. And above all, I applaud the passion and potential of scientists everywhere and in all countries and their right to think, question and share ideas. Thank you and I look forward to your questions.