Establishing a Permanent Infrastructure for Supporting Academics in Europe

A podcast on the protection of academic freedom by the OPEN Cost Action (www.opencostaction.eu)Description:Around the world—and particularly across Europe—higher education institutions are confronting escalating political, cultural, and ideological challenges that threaten their core values and independence. Academics—among the most directly impacted—often find themselves without the institutional backing needed to withstand anti-liberal attacks. Unlike other sectors, the academic community lacks strong advocacy structures or coordinated support at the policy level, leaving many scholars vulnerable and isolated in the face of mounting political and ideological pressures. When these pressures strike, many scholars find themselves unprepared and unprotected.This podcast—chaired by renowned scholar Andrea Pető (Central European University, Vienna)—brings together leading voices from across Europe to ask: What can academics do? What institutions exist to defend their rights? Which documents and frameworks can they rely on? The discussion is part of the ongoing work of the OPEN Cost Action, which aims to establish a permanent infrastructure to support academics in Europe by the end of its mandate. Andrea Pető is leading Working Group 4 of OPEN, which Katja Brøgger chairs.This conversation calls for a new methodology—one that maps resistance strategies, identifies types of attacks, strengthens institutional responses, and coordinates across the sector. The roundtable includes individuals and institutions actively working to protect academics and safeguard academic freedom in practice, not just principle.Featured Speakers:Zoltán Ádám – Scholar dismissed from Corvinus University, Budapest, Hungary, offering a personal account of academic repression.Rebecka Lettevall – Malmö University (Sweden), on institutional solidarity and the role of universities in defending academic values.David Lock – Magna Charta Observatory (Bologna, Italy), reflecting on foundational charters and international frameworks.Bo Petersson – Malmö University (Sweden), discussing comparative experiences of academic freedom under threat.Levent Pişkin – University of Dundee (UK), providing a legal and human rights perspective on academic mobility and defense.Artem Shaipov – Ukrainian Global University (Kyiv, Ukraine), on the infrastructure needed to support scholars in conflict and crisis.Maria Toft – Gothenburg Manifesto (Copenhagen, Denmark), presenting an idea for coordinated, pan-European academic resilience.