Exhibition

"What about academic freedom?" is structured on the basis of two criteria: on the one hand, whether academic freedom is constitutionally enshrined in a state and, on the other hand, on the basis of the Academic Freedom Index (AFI) which measures and assesses the freedom and independence of science in a country comparison through five indicators. The AFI is a joint project of Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), the Varieties of Demcoracy Institute Göteborg (V-Dem), the Scholars at Risk Network and the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin. Visitors are welcome not only to see the exhibits but also to join the discussion with researchers and Mall Anders staff at the exhibition.

Exhibits

The exhibition will be based on explanatory posters and maps that highlight the following aspects of academic freedom:

• Presentation of the Academic Freedom Index
• Concepts of constitutional guarantees of academic freedom
• The actual state of academic freedom on a world map, which constitutions guarantee academic freedom and how the Academic Freedom Index has ranked academic freedom
• Country highlights. These countries are: Germany, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, and Hong Kong. This graphically shows how the five factors of academic freedom have changed over history in each country.

On June 17, 3-5 pm, researchers from the participating institutions will give keynotes and join the discussion as part of our "Meet the Scientist" series on site where the exhibition will already be visible.

The concept has been created by Janika Spannagel who is a postdoctoral researcher at Freie Universität Berlin and the International Research College (IRC) at SCRIPTS. She is in the process of completing her doctoral degree in political science at the University of Freiburg with a dissertation on the international protection of human rights defenders. Her current work focuses on the diffusion and contestation of academic freedom norms. She is also a non-resident fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute, where she co-developed the Academic Freedom Index prior to her position at FU Berlin. For her work and studies, she has received various scholarships from the German National Academic Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service and the Mercator Foundation.

About the “Mall Anders”.

The temporary learning lab Mall Anders (located in the shopping mall Wilma Shoppen in Berlin-Charlottenburg) was initiated by the universities of Berlin and is funded by the Berlin University Alliance until the end of June 2022. The learning lab in the style of a pop-up store leaves the spatial context of universities to intertwine with Berlin's urban and civil society innovatively and experimentally. So far, this new meeting place has offered students and local actors the opportunity to think about pressing issues of our future, to discuss proposed solutions, and sometimes to test them directly on a small scale. Since December 2021, a wide range of events on various topics has been taking place there. The Mall Anders has a model character for further projects of knowledge exchange as well as the visibility of the Clusters of Excellence of the Berlin University Alliance and its topics in unusual places.

For further information, visit: https://mall-anders.berlin/

SCRIPTS at Mall Anders

SCRIPTS wants to achieve a knowledge exchange between scientists, civil society, and citizens in the neighbourhood by cooperating with the Mall Anders. As interactive and comprehensible as possible, academics and non-academics alike shall have the opportunity to discuss liberal orders at eye level and to examine its contestations, potentials, and problems. Whether in cooperation with the other Clusters of Excellence of the Berlin University Alliance or on our own, at Mall Anders the cluster wants to bring the topics and research of SCRIPTS to the public and discuss them with an audience as broad as possible. Since SCRIPTS is about social science, it is aiming to interact with civil society in new and experimental ways, discussing and working on broad social challenges with them. In the Mall Anders, the cluster does not simply want to hold lectures or panel discussions but to achieve an exchange of knowledge of the big social issues examined by SCRIPTS by interacting with local actors; for instance, in Science Slams, Meet the Scientist, workshops, and interactive exhibitions.

About the visit

Admission: Events in the Mall Anders are open to all.

Language: German and English.

Registration: There is no registration needed.

Pandemic Regulations: Currently there are none. Feel free to wear a mask. Being vaccinated is recommended.

Accessibility: Barrier-free access, the Mall Anders is on the ground floor, there is a guide system for the blind. There is also a multi-storey car park belonging to Wilma Shoppen.

How to get there: In the immediate vicinity are the Charlottenburg train station (RE, S-Bahn S3, S5, S7, S9), the Wilmersdorfer Straße underground station (U7) and the Bismarckstraße underground station (U2/U7).

Accessibility: Barrier-free access, the Mall Anders is on the ground floor, there is a guide system for the blind. There is also a multi-storey car park belonging to Wilma Shoppen. In the immediate vicinity are the Charlottenburg train station (RE, S-Bahn), the Wilmersdorfer Straße underground station and the Bismarckstraße underground station.