Conference
AFITE/Una Europa conference ‘A Three-dimensional Initiative on Academic Freedom’
- Dr Vasiliki Kosta, Associate Professor (Europa Institute, Leiden Law School) and NWO Vidi AFITE project lead
- Date
- Wednesday 22 October 2025 - Friday 24 October 2025
- Location
- Rapenburg 73
Leiden - Room
- Telders Auditorium
The landscape of academic freedom in Europe is evolving. Against the backdrop of growing political, legal, and institutional pressures, the Una Europa conference on ‘A Three-dimensional Initiative on Academic Freedom’ will explore recent challenges to academic freedom from multiple perspectives.
The conference is organised by the AFITE project, led by Dr Vasiliki Kosta (Europa Institute, Leiden Law School) and Leiden University, and funded by the Una Europa Seed Funding initiative. Invited to the conference are Leiden’s Una Europa partners from Bologna University, FU Berlin, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, and KU Leuven.
The conference will focus on three dimensions of academic freedom: teaching (discussing teaching formats on the topic of academic freedom), research (Una Europa partners present and discuss their research on academic freedom), and knowledge exchange and outreach (with stakeholders and representatives from the EU and CoE institutions). The conference will bring together a multidisciplinary group of scholars as well as other stakeholders to explore academic collaborations and discuss future policy options.
Programme
The two following events of the conference are open to public, and we warmly welcome anyone interested in the topic to join us:
Wednesday, 22 October
14.30: Keynote by Peter Maassen (Professor in Higher Education Studies at the Faculty of Education, University of Oslo) titled 'The erosion of academic freedom in Europe; recent trends and possible ways forward'
Friday, 24 October
10.00: Discussion panel with leading experts and policy actors. Speakers:
- Professor Janneke Gerards (State Councillor at the Advisory Division of the Council of State, Netherlands; Utrecht University)
- Professor Koen Lemmens (Leuven University; co-author of the LERU paper Challenges to Academic Freedom as a Fundamental Right)
- Dr Monika Steinel (Deputy Secretary General, European University Association)
- Professor André Nollkaemper (Chair of the KNAW Committee on the Freedom of Scientific Pursuit)
- Moderator: Professor Tarlach McGonagle (Leiden University; University of Amsterdam)
Would you like to join? Let us know! To register for the event(s) and a free lunch, please fill out this form.