Academic freedom and democratic development – a global challenge?

The Southern Africa Nordic Centre for academic cooperation (SANORD) invites you to the annual SANORD gathering

Students and staff, and any other interested, are invited to discuss how we can utilize the university network organization SANORD to promote research, student exchanges, staff collaboration, and collective academic influence for knowledge development across the North -South divide, and make this collaboration relevant for human and democratic development.

This year’s SANORD day puts on the agenda the issue of "academic freedom". Academic freedom is threatened in many of the Southern African counties by political regimes critical of democratic processes. But it is also a hot topic in the Nordic countries where academics feel the space for independent work is diminished by funding, by internal governance of the universities, and by economic actors. At UiB the debate about the so-called Statoil-agreements is but one example, the role of the pharmaceutical companies in medical research, another.

The issue of academic freedom is about democracy and how freedom can be protected and promoted as a precondition for this democracy. Professor John Higgins, from University of Cape Town, has recently written a book with the title “Academic freedom in a democratic South Africa” (2013). He will discuss how academic freedom, as part of the broader search for citizen’s freedom, is a precondition for democratic development both in the north and the south.

Professor Gro Lie is an experienced researcher in Tanzania and other African countries, academic leader of UiB Global and representative of the academic community on the board of UiB for two periods. She will discuss academic freedom in Norway in contrast to experiences from different African academic cultures.

Programme

12.15   Lunch and welcome by Vice Rector for International Affairs Anne Christine Johannessen.

12.30   Introductory remarks about SANORD and its character as a type of university network. What SANORD does, and what SANORD could do. By UiB SANORD contact person, Associate Professor Tor Halvorsen.

12.45   Academic freedom  and democracy. Professor John Higgins, University of Cape Town

13.15   Academic freedom and the north - south experiences compared. Professor Gro Lie, UiB global.

Short break

14.00   Discussion

All are welcome!