The new science network “Science at Risk”, funded by the Federal Foreign Office, presented itself in Berlin. The aim of the organization is to help threatened scientists and students in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
The founder of the network, Dr. Philipp Christoph Schmädeke pointed out that “in autocratic regimes, science is just as threatened as the arts. Countries under attack, like Ukraine, have to close their university buildings and continue their research and teaching under the most difficult conditions.”
The Berlin NGO helps to create improvements here through grants, mentoring programs and partnerships.
Funded by the Federal Foreign Office and supported by many universities, the network also offers lectures by persecuted scientists, who thus find access to teaching again.
The visitors to the event included many students from Iran, the Czech Republic, India, Ukraine and Germany. They brought perspectives from their countries into the discussion and showed how important it is to protect free science.
Prof. Dr. Gernot Wolfram , who organized the event, was impressed: “Networks such as Science at Risk are important approaches to showing international students how important cooperation and offers of help are for free knowledge transfer. The great interest shown by the guests shows us that the topic of new platforms and digital exchange is particularly important in times of crisis.”
(GWO)