"Exile as a Response to Authoritarian Influence": OSUN Efforts Cited in International Higher Education Article
A group of Afghan students who were evacuated by OSUN and partners gather for an event at the American University of Central Asia in 2022.
In "Exile as an Institutional Response to Authoritarian Interference," Carly O'Connell and Kyle Long give several examples of OSUN partnerships that exemplify the network's commitment to supporting universities in exile. OSUN co-founder Central European University (CEU), was forced out of Hungary by the Orban regime and relocated to Vienna, Austria where it "helped found the Open Society University Network to promote open societies and access to humanities and social science education," write the authors. CEU has been a pivotal partner within OSUN as it responds to higher education institutions under authoritarian duress. The authors also explain how the European Humanities University, another important OSUN partner in the region, was forced to relocate to Lithuania from Belarus due to pressure from the Lukashenko government.
The article goes on to reference OSUN's critical support for the American University of Afghanistan, which was forced to move online after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. OSUN also helped evacuate nearly 200 threatened students from Afghanistan amid that country's political turmoil so they could continue their education at partner universities in Europe and the US. OSUN's important role in establishing Parami University, which went virtual after the military coup in Myanmar in 2021, is also discussed.
"The qualities of a steadfast mission promoting academic freedom and strong connections to international partners are...what allow institutions to successfully move to a new location when remaining becomes untenable," write O'Connell and Long, echoing OSUN's mission to support higher education institutions as they respond to threats to academic freedom around the world.
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Post Date: 07-17-2024