ALLEA Endorses Statement Calling for Action to Help Researchers in Afghanistan

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ALLEA has endorsed a statement by Scholars at Risk Europe calling on European Governments and EU Institutions to help scholars, researchers, and civil society organisations in Afghanistan. The joint call urges to secure their lives and careers and proposes some concrete recommendations to take action.

The appeal has been supported by 50 higher education organisations across Europe. Specifically, the signatories seek immediate action from European Governments and EU institutions to:

  • Continue evacuation flights for as long as possible so as to include scholars, students, and civil society actors who have supported the forward-looking, pluralist vision of Afghanistan that the EU, European governments, NATO partners and other international and civil society organisations embraced. Do not end flights until all are safely outwho wish to leave the country.
  • Increase resettlement quotas to help those in need of international protection, including researchers, scholars, and civil society actors. Ensure international protection is provided to current Afghan protection applicants through an expedited process, and prioritise and expedite family reunification applications.
  • Create expedited complementary legal pathways for candidates who demonstrate an existing host institution, job, or sponsor, including for families, that would facilitate their arrival and earliest adjustment. Many European higher education institutions are ready to host scholars in temporary positions; capture that opportunity by expediting the processing of individuals for whom they are ready to step forward, and providing logistical support.
  • Waive any intent-to-return and home residency requirements that may apply to visa applications for Afghan scholars and researchers for the foreseeable future. Barring full waiver, issue authoritative guidance to consular and border officials supporting a determination of satisfaction of the intent to return by showing a willingness to return in the absence of the Taliban, or a credible, durable and rebuttable demonstration that the individual would be able to return and live safely under the Taliban.
  • Establish a dedicated EU fellowship scheme for researchers and scholars at risk, including scholars, students, and civil society actors from Afghanistan, especially women and ethnic and religious minorities, to undertake fellowships, lectureships, researcher positions, or temporary academic positions at European higher education institutions. See the EU-funded Inspireurope project recommendation for a dedicated scheme here. Some funds for such streams might be redirected from existing funds budgeted for Afghanistan programming, but which may not be possible to expend under the current conditions. Nevertheless, new funds will be required to meet the most urgent needs.
  • Establish dedicated national fellowships for researchers and scholars at risk, including scholars, students, and civil society actors from Afghanistan, similar to existing national fellowship programmes run by the PAUSE programme in France and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s Philipp Schwartz Initiative in Germany.

You can read the full statement here. Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of over 500 higher education institutions in 40 countries, including over 350 in Europe, whose core mission is to protect threatened scholars and intellectuals. The organisation is inviting higher education institutions willing to host at-risk individuals from Afghanistan to complete a survey here.

For further information on ALLEA’s activities on academic freedom, you can read our dedicated website page.

Nature Medicine Comment on International Health Data Transfer Published

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The lead authors of the ALLEA, FEAM and EASAC report ‘International Sharing of Personal Health Data for Research’ published a Comment in the journal Nature Medicine on 2 August. The piece summarises the key takeaways of the joint report, including an assessment of the legal challenges in sharing personal health data with researchers outside the EU/European Economic Area (EEA).

The text highlights that “COVID-19 has shown that international collaborations and global data sharing are essential for health research, but legal obstacles are preventing data sharing for non–pandemic-related research among public researchers across the world, with potentially damaging effects for citizens and patients.”

According to the authors, “over the past two years, it has become apparent that challenges emerge for the sharing of data with public-sector researchers in a majority of countries outside of the EEA, as only a few decisions stating that a country offers an adequate level of data protection have so far been issued by the European Commission. This is a problem, for example, with researchers at federal research institutions in the United States. Transfers to international organizations such as the World Health Organization are similarly affected. Because these obstacles ultimately affect patients as beneficiaries of research, solutions are urgently needed.”

The Comment is based on the joint report which was driven by discussions between experts from across Europe, who were nominated by member academies of ALLEA, EASAC, and FEAM and acted in an individual capacity, bringing together all relevant disciplines and expertise for this topic of great shared importance for all.

The authors of the Comment are Heidi Beate Bentzen, Rosa Castro, Robin Fears, George Griffin, Volker ter Meulen and Giske Ursin. The full comment can be read here. The joint report, information about the project and an interview with Robin Fears (EASAC) on the topic are also accessible on the ALLEA website.

Videos and Illustrations of Science Communication Conference Available

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ALLEA and the German science communication organisation Wissenschaft im Dialog organised an international conference on the Future of Science Communication last June. Videos and graphic recordings of the sessions are now available.

Funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research, the event brought together different approaches from research and practice to science communication. Experts debated the trade-offs and latest developments of this field in an age of great transformations and crises where science plays a defining role.

Climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, disinformation, target audiences, citizen science or science advice were some of the guiding themes of two days of keynotes, debates, workshops, lighting talks, and a virtual poster exhibition. A closing panel discussion invited leading experts to provide their advice on how to shape the future of the field.

More than 1000 registered participants attended the conference and provided an impetus for stronger networking and further transfer of activities from research to practice and viceversa. Most of the sessions were recorded via Zoom and recorded graphically by illustrator Lorna Schütte.

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Further documentation will be available in the coming months, but in the meantime you can already read a summary with some take-home messages of the conference, as well as reports on the Day 1 and Day 2 of the event published on the German science communication portal wissenschaftskommunikation.de.

Job Offer: Communications Student Assistant

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ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, is currently seeking a 

  

Communications Student Assistant 

 

to join its team in Berlin as soon as possible for initially twelve months, with possibility of renewal, and with a weekly average workload of 19.5 hours. The hourly remuneration before tax is 12.68€, in accordance with the Tarifvertrag für studentische Beschäftigte (TV Stud III), Berlin.  

 

Your role 

You will work closely with other staff members to support the effective communication of our projects and activities, and to further strengthen the visibility of ALLEA in the scientific and policy community throughout Europe and beyond.  You will be supporting the day-to-day management of a communications office in an international network. 

Main tasks and responsibilities: 

Regular support of ALLEA’s communication activities 

  • Assist the communications team in drafting website posts and press releases, and in the day-to-day management of social media channels and blog, particularly on Twitter and ALLEA’s blog (see ALLEA Digital Salon). 
  • Help prepare, edit, proofread, and layout ALLEA newsletters, publications, leaflets, etc.  
  • Support the team with preparation, execution, and follow-up of digital, hybrid or in-person public events as well as working group and committee meetings. 
  • Support in establishing and maintaining media contact databases, creating stakeholder outreach lists, and designing strategies to communicate ALLEA’s work. 
  • Media monitoring, project administration and general office tasks are also part of this role. 

Requirements: 

  • Be a graduate student enrolled in a university programme for at least 12 months after starting the ALLEA position, preferably in a communications-related field (communications or media studies, journalism, marketing, etc.), or in other social science fields (international relations, sociology, political science, etc.) with a strong interest in communications. 
  • Have an excellent command of English in speaking and writing; other language skills are an asset. 
  • Have advanced computer skills, particularly MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point), first experiences with MS Office 365 and/or Zoom an asset. 
  • Ideally have experience with WordPress and Adobe InDesign (experience with Photoshop and Premiere are also valuable) or be very motivated to learn the technical aspects of these programmes. 
  • Have very good organisational skills, hands-on approach, and a keen eye for detail; ability to work independently and in a team; flexibility to work in an office setting or remotely as needed. 
  • Have an interest in the areas of expertise of ALLEA (international relations, public policy, scientific collaboration, science communications, research policy, scientific advice to policymaking, etc.)  

 

Why join us 

ALLEA is the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, representing more than 50 academies from over 40 EU and non-EU countries. ALLEA operates at the interface of science, policy and society and speaks out on behalf of its members to promote science as a global public good. 

You will be part of a multi-cultural, young, and dynamic team working at the centre of Berlin and help ALLEA reach international stakeholders on societally relevant scientific topics. This position offers the flexibility of combining working in the office and remotely. As a not-for-profit organisation, our working environment is informal and collegial, and our team shares a dedication to work for a common greater good. ALLEA is an equal opportunity employer. For more information about us, please visit www.allea.org and/or follow us on Twitter @ALLEA_academies. 

 

How to apply 

If you are interested, please submit your digital application with a cover letter, CV, and relevant certificates as one single PDF document (3 MB max.) to recruitment@allea.org by 15 August 2021. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews in the following week. 

ALLEA President at the ‘Academies in a Changing Society’ Conference (cancelled due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions)

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