Convinced of their crucial role in society and the need to defend the values of human rights, academic freedom, and institutional autonomy, higher education institutions in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (FWB) have launched multiple initiatives in support of migrants, refugees, and at-risk academics and researchers.
Academic freedom and institutional autonomy are fundamental values of higher education. International openness—or more broadly, internationalization—is also a key tool in fulfilling the missions of education, research, and service to society.
Since 2015, higher education institutions (HEIs) in the FWB have been increasingly concerned by the decline of academic freedom in various parts of the world and the worsening situation of migrants and refugees due to escalating global conflicts. Additionally, a growing number of academics and researchers have found themselves in imminent danger—threatened with intimidation, imprisonment, or even death—because of their work, positions, or opinions, even in countries considered democratic.
In 2018, recognizing their societal responsibility and the need to uphold fundamental values, the HEIs of the FWB tasked ARES with establishing a working group to explore individual and collective actions in support of migrants, refugees, and scholars at risk.
One of the first actions proposed by the group was to create a mapping of actions and initiatives taken by HEIs in the FWB. Another key step was to associate ARES with the Scholars at Risk (SAR) network. Since 2017, ARES has been fully engaged in SAR’s mission (www.scholarsatrisk.org). In 2019, discussions began to explore the feasibility of a dedicated funding tool to support the hosting of scholars in emergency situations. Although several funding avenues were identified, no concrete proposals could be submitted to the FWB Government due to the end of the legislative term.
More recently, members of the International Relations Commission (CRI) expressed a desire to continue exploring support actions and to update and expand the mapping of initiatives for migrants, refugees, and especially scholars at risk. This document represents the second edition of the mapping.
This mapping aims to:
- Illustrate the commitment of students, professors, researchers, and institutional authorities in the FWB to the inclusion of migrants and refugees, and the protection of scholars at risk.
- Inspire new actions and initiatives, and encourage collaboration and resource-sharing.
- Reignite discussions with Wallonie-Bruxelles International and the FWB Government to implement complementary measures at the regional level.
Methodology
A questionnaire was developed based on a categorization of possible actions and initiatives by HEIs, inspired largely by the EUA’s Refugees Welcome Map project, to which FWB universities contributed. The questionnaire was sent to the international relations offices of all HEIs in the FWB, who were invited to collect and report relevant actions and initiatives within their institutions.
For this update, 23 HEIs responded to the survey, including 6 universities, 11 university colleges, and 6 schools of arts. Based on their responses, ARES drafted a synthesis, which institutions were then invited to review, complete, and amend.
It is important to note that the information requested via the questionnaire may not always be centralized or readily available to international relations officers. Therefore, the data presented in this synthesis reflects the best knowledge of the respondents.
