Academic Freedom Forum Day 1 – Wednesday, 10 June 2026

for Researchers and Faculty (venue Convention Center | Room 4 | Ruhr University Bochum):
Navigating Democratic Backsliding, Post-Truth and Attacks on Academic Freedom
Chair/Keynote: Prof. Dr. Stephan Lewandowsky (Chair in Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol, Honorary Professor University Potsdam University, Lead Author of the Anti-Autocracy Handbook: A Scholar´s Guide to Navigating Democratic Backsliding)

for Students (venue Building GA 03/46 | Ruhr University Bochum):
Confronting Democratic Backsliding: Students as Advocates of Academic Freedom, Human Rights, and Democratic Resilience
Impulse Note: Katariina Järve (Executive Committee Member, European Student Union)
Chairs: Prof. Adam Braver (Coordinator SAR Student Advocacy Seminars, Scholars at Risk Network) & N.N. (Student, Ruhr University Bochum)

• Welcome & Introduction
  Dr. Maximilian Schell (PI WUN RDF Project Academic Freedom as a Driver of Sustainable Development? Regional Perspectives on the Roles of Academia) & Iris Vernekohl (Senior Policy Advisor for Global Engagement, Ruhr University Bochum)

• Welcome Greetings & Welcome Note
  Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Martin Paul (Rector, Ruhr University Bochum)

• Keynote Speech & Q&A Session (hybrid)
  „Truth Matters“: Defending the University in Times of Public Uncertainty"
  Robert Quinn (Founding Executive Director, Scholars at Risk Network)

Universities as Guardians of Academic Freedom, Human Rights, and Democratic Values in Uncertain Times— A Shared Responsibility

Chair:
Prof. Dr. Laura Bieger (Chair of American Studies, Ruhr University Bochum)

Panelists:
Prof. Dr. Sandra Goulart Almeida (President, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) & Latin American and Caribbean Higher Education Space (ENLACES))
Dr. Mmeli Dube (African Universities Hub for Human Rights Defenders, University of the Western Cape)
Katariina Järve (Executive Committee Member, European Student Union)
Prof. Dr. Isolde Karle (Vice-Rector for Diversity, Inclusion and Talent Development, Ruhr University Bochum)
Prof. Dr. Stephan Lewandowsky (Chair in Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol, Honorary Professor Potsdam University, Project Lead PRODEMINFO - Protecting the Democratic Information Space in Europe)
Dr. Egemen Özbek (Academy in Exile /TU Dortmund U)

Academic Freedom as a Human Right. Challenges and Progress Around the World

Chair:
Prof. Dr. Pierre Thielbörger (Executive Director Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) & Chair for Public Law and Public International Law, Ruhr University Bochum)

Panelists:
Prof. Dr. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua (Executive Director, Africa Coalition for Academic Freedom/U Ghana/WUN/Global Campus of Human Rights)
Meline Avagyan (Policy Analyst, Global Campus of Human Rights), tbc
Dr. Camilla Croso (Executive Director, Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas)
Prof. Dr. Liviu Matei (Head of the King's School of Education, Communication & Society, King´s College London/Global Observatory on Academic Freedom/Magna Charta Observatory)
Dr. Bencharat Sae Chua (Executive Director Southeast Asia Coalition for Academic Freedom, U Mahidol/WUN/Global Campus of Human Rights)