In January 2021, EHU joined the European Coordinating Committee for Academic Freedom Advocacy of the European chapter of the Scholars at Risk. The Committee is the primary vehicle for strategic cooperation of SAR across Europe and includes a broad set of key actors: representatives from human rights and related NGOs, universities, associations, and higher education networks across Europe. The recent wave of oppression against students and academics in Belarus is one of the areas of the Committee’s focus.
Maksimas Milta of the EHU Communication and Development Unit represents the Belarusian University-in-Exile within the Committee.
Scholars at Risk Europe, hosted at Maynooth University, is the European office of the global Scholars at Risk network. Scholars at Risk is an international network of higher education institutions and individuals working to protect threatened scholars and to promote academic freedom.
Launched at an event at the European Parliament in November 2018, the establishment of SAR Europe represents the culmination of nearly two decades of partnership between European higher education institutions and the global Scholars at Risk Network. The European office supports and coordinates the activities of Scholars at Risk national sections and partner networks across Europe to strengthen our collective voice at the European level and contribute to informed policymaking for the greater protection of scholars and increased respect for academic freedom worldwide.