SCHOLARS AT RISK SLOVAK SECTION
Scholars at Risk is an international network of over 500 higher education institutions and associations (including BPI) in 37 countries dedicated to protecting scholars and promoting academic freedom. SAR provides sanctuary and assistance to more than 300 threatened scholars worldwide each year. By arranging temporary academic positions at member universities, Scholars at Risk offers safety to scholars facing grave threats, enabling them to continue their important work. Scholars at Risk also provides advisory services for scholars and hosts, campaigns for scholars who are imprisoned or silenced in their home countries, monitoring of attacks on higher education communities worldwide, and leadership in deploying new tools and strategies for promoting academic freedom and improving respect for higher education values everywhere.
The activities of SAR can be divided into three main areas:
SAR Slovakia is initiative of BPI, which aim is on the regular basis promote and remind the fragility of the academic freedom, human rights and other values which are being threatened in the conflict zones and the totalitarian regimes. The aim of the SAR Slovakia is to stabilize these activities in the areas of Slovak academic and educational sphere and support the ideas of the mutual cooperation, help and partnership of the organizations and institutions, which are directly or undirectly supporting the activities in the area of human rights and freddoms. BPI plans through activities of SAR Slovakia bring these core values even closer to academic and educational institutions and organizations since they are one of the pillars of the liberal and open society.
The establishment of the SAR section in Slovakia can bring many benefits and opportunities (reported also in other countries, where the sections were established) not only for the SAR Section, but also for the Slovak republic as a modern, liberal and open society.
Dangerous Questions: Why Academic Freedom Matters
SAR 2018 Global Congress
Our colleagues Michal Vašečka and Viera Žúborová attented in 23-26 of April the world congress of Scholars at Risk, where they explained and introduced the need for the SAR Section in Slovak republic and the state of establishment of this section. With this BPI innitiative is Slovak republic becoming another country taking part in this prestigious global network, which supports and encourages academic freedom and freedom of speech in Academia. The activities on which we are currently working will be crucial for the support of the liberal and open society, the human rights and freedoms and the human dignity.
