International Scientific Conference: „Focusing on Freedom“
International Scientific Conference: „Focusing on Freedom“

Summary/Abstract: International Scientific Conference Focusing on Freedom which was organised by Bratislava Policy Institute with the cooperation of Hanns Seidel Stiftung Slowakei and Matej Bel University, specifically Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations opened the floor to response to the global trends on scholars at risk and on our academic freedoms. On the 3th of October 2019, scholars, experts and analysts met in friendly and open environment to discuss various question on academic freedoms, academic autonomy and educational values. It was the pilot conference on this topic and participants, but also me as an observer, had feeling that this specific event was needed. After 30 years of building our liberal democratic system, strengthening our freedoms (especially the social and political ones) we somehow forgotten to speak about specific freedoms that are needed for a better society, and need to be protected and heard out. As an observer I had the feeling that I was sitting in the middle of a massive psychological sessions where the patients were completely free to speak about their problems, limits, barriers and expectations towards their academic freedoms and academic autonomy in Slovak environment. Some of you could blame us to not to be strict on the outputs that should be received as participants, and maybe you are right, if you are expected that this was a scientific conference. But it was what it needed to be and not what was accepted by Slovak scholars.

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