The project was conceptualised and led by GC Research Manager Dr Chiara Altafin and involved 8 policy analysts selected among the alumni of GC regional master’s programmes, namely Lakshita Kanhiya (HRDA), Minh Nguyen (APMA), Akylai Tenizbaeva (MAHRS), Meline Avagyan (CES), Nikolaos Sousos (EMA), Anida Gjurgjiali (ERMA), Luis Fernando Herrera Martinez (LATMA), and Mostafa Masjedi Arani (ArMA).
Eight of their policy briefs address selected issues and case studies in different regions (ie, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central Asia, South Caucasus, Europe, Southeast Europe, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa). The ninth policy brief reflects on their research findings and elaborates further what a human rights-based approach to academic freedom entails, calling for a stronger acknowledgement of the rights-based dimension of academic freedom, at all levels. The aim is to provide thoughtful consideration and insight for stakeholders such as states, policymakers, higher education institutions and civil society, supporting that a HRBA is explicitly placed at the heart of the ongoing debate about academic freedom.
Project outputs include workshop presentations, policy briefs, advocacy
plans, and webinars held in cooperation with the GC E-learning Department. The project is funded by the European Commission.
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List of Policy Briefs 2026:
Who fears critical knowledge? Academic freedom in Africa’s most contested debates on religion, gender norms and sexuality. By Lakshita Kanhiya
Censorship at the intersection of academic freedom and freedom of thought, conscience and religion in Vietnam. By Minh Nguyen
Upholding the right to academic freedom in Central Asia: Policy directions for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. By Akylai Tenizbaeva
Safeguarding the right to science through academic freedom: a human rights-based and action-oriented framework for Europe. By Nikolaos Sousos
Protecting and promoting academic freedom in Southeast Europe: a human rights-based analysis of challenges and solutions. By Anida Gjurgjiali
Academic freedom as an individual and institutional right: the case of the South Caucasus. By Meline Avagyan
Protecting university autonomy and academic freedom amidst democratic backsliding: a strategic proposal for an IACHR thematic report. By Luis Fernando Herrera Martínez
University architecture and academic freedom in the Middle East: a case study of Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. By Mostafa Masjedi Arani
Advancing and upholding a human rights-based approach to academic freedom: reflections on research findings in eight regions. By Chiara Altafin