Institutional responses to shrinking academic spaces in Latin America: the ambiguous role of academic institutions

Event details

In this presentation, Dr Rosario Figari Layús examines the cases of Brazil and Colombia and analyses university reactions when staff and students are being attacked or in a situation of risk. They will consider the questions:

• what measures are adopted by universities in these countries to deal with security challenges faced by scholars at risk and to guarantee academic freedom?
• how effective and sustainable are these measures?
• what are the consequences and impacts of such institutional actions in these cases?

This presentation is based on a research project supported by the Mellon / SAR Academic Freedom Workshop & Fellowships Program, which took place between January and August 2022.

Please reserve a ticket, and we will forward you a Zoom link to the webinar in the week before the event.

This webinar is part of a series of online and face-to-face events – webinars, workshops, training events and conferences – hosted by the UNESCO Chair, Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Expansion of Political Space. The Chair was awarded to the Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR), University of York, in 2023 to promote an integrated system of research, teaching and training, as well as community engagement and communication. As Chair, CAHR facilitates collaboration between high-level, internationally recognised researchers and teaching staff of the University of York and other institutions in the country, as well as elsewhere in the region and in other regions of the world.

For further information about the UNESCO Chair, visit our website or email hrdhub@york.ac.uk to become a member of our network.

About the speaker