In 2023, the Freie Universität Berlin celebrates its 75th anniversary of Freie Universität Berlin's founding. It also marks the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's speech on the university campus. In his speech, he stated that this university “must be interested in turning out citizens of the world” and introduced his idea of universities as incubators of freedom. For this reason, the Freie Universität Berlin invites audience to the event "Citizens of the World. Academic Freedom in a Global Perspective" to look at issues of academic freedom from a historical perspective as well as within today's contexts in order to think about how to shape academic freedom in the future.

The event "Citizens of the World. Academic Freedom in a Global Perspective" takes place at Henry Ford Bau on 26.06.2023 between 16:15-19:15.

Program

Welcoming Remarks / Introduction: Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler, President of Freie Universität Berlin

When Democracies Cease to Defend Academic Freedom: Prof. Dr. Dr. Conrado Hübner Mendes, Professor of Constitutional Law, Universidade de São Paulo

Keynote Lecture

The Historical Roots and the Future of Academic Freedom: Prof. Dr. Anita Traninger, Professor of Romance Studies, Freie Universität Berlin, 2023 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize Recipient

Drinks reception

Please read the full announcement here and register here.