CARA-Scholars at-Risk UK Universities Network Newsletter, December 2014 Issue

 

January 2015 Issue

No Images? Click here

 

CARA Scholars At Risk UK Universities Network Newsletter

 

CARA Scholars at Risk UK Universities Network Newsletter The CARA Scholars At Risk UK Universities Network is a joint initiative of CARA and Scholars at Risk aimed at protecting threatened academics and promoting academic freedom and university values worldwide. This newsletter summarises the efforts of CARA and SAR, respectively, in serving this mission.

 

 

NEWS & EVENTS Durham University Sign MoU in support of CARA CARA Director Stephen Wordsworth and PVC Education Professor Tom Ward signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Durham on Thursday 11 December 2014.  The MoU creates a new basis for the two institutions to work together even more effectively to provide appropriate support, advice and guidance to persecuted and threatened academics, on the basis of shared values and a shared belief in the importance of education. 'The Art of Resistance: Defending Academic Freedom' Student Art Competition CARA has now launched its annual 'Art of Resistance: Defending Academic Freedom' Student Art Competition in the UK and Australia, to raise awareness of on-going violations of academic freedom and to engage a new generation of potential academic freedom defenders. Network universities with art faculties/departments and dedicated arts HEIs will help to promote the competition to the student body.  Click here for more information. Cambridge - CGHR Talk by CARA Fellow on 27/01/2015 CARA alumnus Mikdam Turkey will join James Savage (Amnesty International) and Valdenia Paulino (York University Human Rights Defenders) for a panel discussion at the University of Cambridge Centre for Governance and Human Rights (CGHR). The CGHR Practitioner Series brings together high‐level experts working in these fields and creates in forum in which students can listen and ask questions about the skill set and experience needed to forge a career in the seemingly similar but clearly distinct fields of international politics, security, development and humanitarianism.  http://www.cara1933.org/events/57/cghr-practitioner-series-academic-freedom  Link to CARA webpage, provide details on speakers from CARA Facebook description.

 

DISCIPLINE-BASED SOLIDARITY GROUPS The Fellowship Scheme is seeking academics to join disciplined-based solidarity groups to extend its own expertise. Fellow profiles reflect the full academic spectrum in terms of seniority and discipline.

 

CARA ANGELS Without the involvement of willing volunteers, CARA might not exist.  From its earliest days, when W. H. Beveridge drew together a founding council which included luminaries such as John Maynard Keynes, Margery Fry and A. E Housman, to the present, CARA has depended on supporters to act as advocates, mentors, in some cases offering accommodation. You can help in many ways.  The support of UK academics as mentors to at-risk academics, advocates for CARA within their institutions, or workshop and research leaders is always welcome.  Student supporters have been involved in events including sponsored challenges and book swaps, and have organised public discussions with some of our scholars. If you wish to help please contact mundy.cara@lsbu.ac.uk.   "Coming from an atmosphere of political oppression and persecution, of hate and violence, of lawlessness, blackmail and of intrigue, we found here a spirit of friendliness, humanity, tolerance and fairness… and above all, respect for humanity."  Sir Hans Krebs

 

FELLOWSHIP SCHEME A lifeline to academics in need The fate of academics threatened by tyrannical regimes is a matter of deep concern to all and a profound threat to society. It only takes the death of one academic to silence hundreds.

 

ACADEMICS IN NEED   The UK Programme is seeking support for persecuted academics in the UK. We request that Representatives disseminate profiles to relevant faculties and departments in their institution to enquire about possible placement opportunities. Contact: info.cara@lsbu.ac.uk     H-IRAQ Field: Human Rights Law Seeking: Fellowship H is a lawyer and human rights activist and has extensive experience in political reform, human rights and political process. Research interests include; Kurdistan law, competitive struggle in Kurdistan's public sphere and other law/human rights focused areas and is seeking an opportunity to continue research.     T-IRAQ Field: Mathematics Seeking: Fellowship T is from Iraq and currently in the UK. He was previously in the     Netherlands as a Visiting Researcher in mathematics. T holds a PhD focused on complex  analysis and an MA in Mathematics. T has worked as a lecturer in Iraq and as a professor in China and has pursued a post doctoral programme and research in Algebraic Number Theory. T seeks an opportunity to continue his research.       L-IRAN Field: Human Rights Law Seeking: Fellowship L is a lawyer and human rights activist with a Master's and PhD in Law, both from British universities. L has worked as a human rights lawyer and has done advocacy and legal work against child execution in Iran. Research interests include Islamic Law and Gender Equality. L has published 13 articles, presented at over 30 conferences and won numerous awards. L seeks opportunities to continue her research in the UK.       K-IRAQ Field: Human Rights Law Seeking: Fellowship K is a lawyer and human rights activist with a degree in      Law from a Kurdish university. K has served as a spokesperson for activists calling for political reforms in Kurdistan. K has been a research fellow at a UK university and conducted a case study on the application of international law in Iraqi Kurdistan. Research interests include; the legitimacy and legal responsibility of power. Looking to continue his research and writing in a stable environment.        M-IRAQ Field: Islamic Law Seeking: Work shadowing opportunity M has a BA in English Language and a PhD in Comparative Jurisprudence, both from Iraqi institutions.  He has 10 years' experience as a lecturer in Iraqi Law Faculties and has served on a number of Committees in higher education and Islamic finance institutions. Further, he was also Dean of the Law Faculty at Hawler University, Iraq for two years. Newly arrived in the UK, he is keen to shadow an academic to develop his understanding UK Higher Education and to find out what areas of the Shari'a are being studied here.

 

RECENT CARA PUBLICATIONS     Education Under Attack 2014 - Global Coalition to Protect Education under Attack (GCPEA) Education Under Attack 2014 is an inter-agency coalition publication organisations working in education in emergencies and conflict-affected contexts, higher education, human rights and humanitarian law who were concerned about attacks on educational institutions, their students and staff in-countries affected by conflict and insecurity.         Special Issue: Medicine, Conflict & Survival In the context of the CARA Iraq Research Fellowship Programme, staff from Hawler     Medical University in Erbil, Iraq and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK collaboratively conducted a multimodal research project analysing challenges and opportunities for reform of the primary care system in Iraq. The study proved positive in terms of direct research outcomes, in boosting academia with skill development and use of new methodologies, and in re-engaging displaced Iraqi academics.         Art of Resistance: Defending Academic Freedom Several artists share their personal or family stories of exile in the auction publication.      Art of Resistance: Defending Academic Freedom Several artists share their personal or family stories of exile in the auction publication. The full auction publication is on sale for £20+pp (unsigned) or £40+pp for copies signed by Steven Appleby, Edmund de Waal, Maggi Hambling, Marcella Hanselaar, Hanaa Malallah, Jane McAdam Freud and Shelagh Atkinson.

 

NEW HOSTS ·         McGill University, Canada, welcomed an Ethiopian scholar to campus for a six-month position, beginning in January 2015

 

NEW MEMBERS ·         Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen joined Scholars at Risk as part of the UAF-Scholars at Risk Netherlands Network

 

UPCOMING EVENTS February 12-13, New York: The Center for Public Scholarship is pleased to present the 32nd Social Research conference, "The Fear of Art" at The New School in New York City. The conference aims to examine how art can threaten, terrify, and provoke the wrath of political, religious, and cultural regimes. Speakers—including a SAR scholar-artist—will examine the history of art censorship, the role of artists as collaborators and rebels, and the self-censorship of gallery and museum directors. The agenda also pairs artists and scholars to discuss activist art, the threat posed by art, the potency of art, artists at risk, and artists in exile. The event is free and open to the public.For more information, please see:  http://www.newschool.edu/cps/fear-of-art/ March 4, Canada: Carleton University and University of Ottawa will celebrate the joint launch of the Scholars at Risk program on their campuses with an event featuring talks by two SAR scholars. More information forthcoming.    PAST EVENTS November 7, Norway: The present Steering Committee and Chair/Secretariat of the SAR Norway Section were re-elected for the next two years at the Section's annual membership meeting and general assembly at University of Tromsø - Arctic University of Norway (UIT). The evening before, November 6, an International Seminar was held for over 70 people, arranged by UiT and the local chapter of the Norwegian Students' and Academics' International Assistance Fund (SAIH). The theme was "Malala in context – gender, education and freedoms in Pakistan".  There were introductions and discussions with a professor at UIT and a SAR scholar. December 2-3, Belgium: SAR European Director, Sinead O'Gorman, participated in a workshop in Brussels organized by the European Commission on "Enhancing Coordination between Programmes for Temporary Relocation of Human Rights Defenders". December 3-5, Sweden: SAR Speaker Series events took place in Gothenburg, Malmö and Lund featuring Dr. Shirin Zubair from Pakistan, Marit Egner from the University of Oslo, Sinead O'Gorman, SAR's European Director, and representatives from the host institutions in three cities. December 10, Ireland: Universities Ireland in partnership with Scholars at Risk held an event at Trinity College Dublin to launch a new SAR-Ireland section coordinating committee and to mark Human Rights Day. SAR's European Director Sinead O'Gorman, Shadi Sadr, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran participated in the event. For more information, please contact: eimear.donnelly@qub.ac.uk . December 10, Washington DC: SAR Executive Director Rob Quinn gave the keynote presentation at the AAAS Human Rights Day 2014. For more information please see: http://www.aaas.org/event/human-rights-day-2014 . December 15, New Jersey: SAR Program Officer Denise LiGreci will present on "Human Rights and Social Responsibility of Scientists" at the 112th Statistical Mechanics Conference, taking place at Rutgers University. For more information, please see http://www.math.rutgers.edu/events/smm/.

 

The SAR Academic Freedom MONITOR focuses on developing greater understanding of the volume and nature of attacks on higher education communities in order to develop more effective protection responses.  The MONITOR aims to identify, assess and track incidents involving conduct which may constitute violations of academic freedom and/or the human rights of members of higher education communities.    On Saturday, December 13, 2014, Michele Dunne, a senior associate at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and U.S. scholar who has been publicly critical of the Egyptian government, was barred from entering Egypt to attend a conference hosted by the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, where she was scheduled to appear as a panelist. To read more about this incident and for other incidents reported during the month of December, please see http://monitoring.academicfreedom.info/

 

SCHOLARS OF THE MONTH I hadn't realised a list of Scholars of the Month was contained as part of the update - include those, instead of the ones included in the emails I forwarded to you. Dear friends, Following are the summaries of scholars currently seeking placement assistance. We ask for your help in reviewing the information and encourage you to share it with your institution and other colleagues who may be able to help. More information is available from the SAR network office at scholarsatrisk@nyu.edu and +1 212 998-2179. Thank you for your help. • Ethiopian scholar of development studies • Syrian scholar of theater • Ivorian scholar of religion • Congolese scholar of political science • Pakistani scholar of human rights, religion and political science • Eritrean scholar of molecular and cell biology • Azerbaijani scholar of history and politics • Togolese scholar of educational administration • Iraqi scholar of English literature • Syrian scholar of biology and ecology • Iranian scholar of political satire and journalism • Congolese scholar of law and human rights   Scholars of the Week ETHI-578 Field: Development Studies; Food Security Risk: Threat of arrest/violence; Harassment/Intimidation (displaced) Language: Amharic (native), English (fluent) Education: PhD (Netherlands) Seeking: Teaching and research opportunities in the United States beginning as soon as possible   SYRI-507 Field: Theater Risk: Threat to life/person (displaced) Language: Arabic, Bulgarian, French (intermediate), Russian, English (advanced) Education: MFA (Bulgaria) Seeking: Opportunities beginning Fall 2015 to continue her writing and teaching in the United States     IVOR-518 Field: Religion, History, Sociology, Francophone Studies Risk: Threat to life/person (displaced) Language: French (native), English (intermediate) Education: PhD (France) Seeking: Opportunities beginning immediately to continue teaching or research in a safe and stable environment DRCO-570 Field: Political Science, Sociology, Conflict Resolution Risk: Threat to life/person Language: French, Kiswahili (fluent) Education: MA Seeking: Opportunities beginning immediately to continue his teaching or research in French-speaking Africa, Europe, or North America PAKI-545 Field: Human Rights, Religion, Political Science Risk: Threat to life/person Language: Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Seraiki, Farsi, Arabic (fluent), English (advanced) Education:  MA Seeking: Currently in the Pakistan, this scholar seeks opportunities beginning immediately to continue his research and writing in Europe. ERIT-522 Field: Molecular and cell biology Risk: Threat to life/person (displaced) Language: Amharic, Blin, Tigrigna, Tigre, Geez, English (fluent) Education:  MFA (Bulgaria) Seeking: This scholar seeks opportunities beginning Summer 2015 to continue his research and writing in Norway.   AZER-505 Field: History; Politics Risk: Threat to life/person; Threat of arrest/violence Language: Azeri (native), English (fluent) Education: PhD Seeking: Opportunities beginning immediately to continue his research and writing in the United States TOGO-506 Field: Educational administration Risk: Harassment/Intimidation (displaced) Language: English, French (fluent), German (basic) Education: PhD (United States) Seeking: Opportunities beginning immediately to continue his teaching and research in the United States IRAQ-743 Field:  English Literature Risk: Threat of re-arrest/violence (displaced) Language: English, Arabic (fluent) Education: PhD (ABD) (UK) Seeking: Research and teaching opportunities in North America and the Middle East beginning Spring 2015 SYRI-534 Field: Biology, Ecology Risk: General situational risk (displaced) Language: Arabic, English (fluent) Education:  PhD (UK) Seeking: Opportunities to continue his research, writing, and/or teaching beginning Fall 2015 IRAN-656 Field: Political satire; Journalism Risk: Harassment/Intimidation; Loss of position/profession (displaced) Language: Persian, English (fluent) Education: PhD (ABD) (Malaysia) Seeking: Opportunities beginning immediately to continue researching and writing in a safe environment DRCO-564 Field: Law; Human Rights Risk: Threat of arrest/violence (displaced) Language: Swahili, French (fluent), Lingala, English (intermediate) Education: LLM Seeking: Opportunities to continue his research, teaching, and/or graduate studies, beginning Summer 2015 Please consider making a donation to Scholars at Risk by clicking "DONATE now". Every gift helps us protect more scholars.   Scholars at Risk, c/o New York University, 194 Mercer St, 4th Fl, NY, NY 10012 USA You are subscribed as info.cara@lsbu.ac.uk. You may adjust your email preferences here.

 

NEW ALERTS Replace with New Resources Scholars at Risk recently circulated alerts or information updates on the following scholars. For more information on SAR's efforts on behalf of imprisoned scholars, please visit: http://scholarsatrisk.nyu.edu/Education-Advocacy/Alerts-Scholars-in-Prison.php. •    Ilham Tohti of China (Economics): Appeals Court upheld sentence

 

GIFTS TO SAR include information from attachment: "Gifts to SAR in December" ·         Irv Epstein in Memory of Jared Epstein

 

Scholars at Risk monitors reports of threats to academic freedom and higher education communities worldwide, including media articles, blogs, opinion pieces and other announcements.  Unless otherwise indicated (such as in articles written by SAR), the language and views contained in the search results reflect those of the originating author and/or publication and do not necessarily represent the views of Scholars at Risk or its members, affiliates, board or staff. Archived media reviews are available on the SAR website.

 

Tweet Like Forward CARA (Council for At Risk Academics) LSBU Technopark 90 London Road London SE1 6LN