MARCH 23, 2022 - Strategies to protect academic freedom

Scholars, students, and university spaces throughout the western hemisphere face unprecedented and growing threats from authoritarian governments and private actors alike. In recent years the pressures in countries like Mexico, Brazil, and Nicaragua have increased substantially. At the same time, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has recently produced a new and groundbreaking instrument to respond to these threats: The Inter-American Principles on Academic Freedom and University Autonomy. The Principles clarify and advance the legal standards and obligations that apply to all higher education spaces. If utilized correctly, they will advance academic freedom in the Americas and benefit our institutions and our societies.

Join us for a discussion of the current state of academic freedom in the Americas, an introduction to the Principles, and detailed conversation about the many ways in which scholars, students, advocates and institutions can make the Principles a lived reality.