Academic Freedom Charter

Academic freedom is a fundamental right and a key requirement for the development of open and democratic societies. It aims at developing and sharing knowledge. It also aims at developing intellectual skills enabling individuals to think by themselves and to contribute to the progress of society.

Academic freedom is indissociable from the freedom of expression enshrined in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right of access to information recognised by the UNESCO and the World Summit on the Information Society, and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Academic freedom is essential to differentiate and separate knowledge from opinions and beliefs. It allows to confront theories and assumptions to factual evidence, critical thinking, logics, and reasoning. It enables to develop reliable knowledge, free from cognitive, religious, and political biases.

This International Academic Freedom Charter outlines fundamental principles to preserve, support, and reinforce academic freedom. It can be freely reused and endorsed by any academic institution.

The term “Academic institutions” refers to universities and other academic centres, such as research centres and programmes, as well as their professors, researchers and employees.

Academic freedom implies and requires:

1. Right of access to knowledge and information 
   All students, researchers, and professors shall have the right to access knowledge, facts, and information without undue restriction, such as political or religious bias. 
2. Freedom of teaching
   Academic institutions shall protect freedom of teaching and preserve it from any political, religious, or social pressure. 
3. Right to intellectual freedom
   Academic institutions and professors shall develop and protect intellectual freedom. They shall encourage every individual to develop autonomous reasoning, critical thinking, and independent opinions.
4. Right to freedom of expression 
   Academic institutions shall respect and protect freedom of expression, including the right to question, comment, and criticize statements, publications, theories, and models, including political and religious beliefs. Freedom of expression shall be exercised peacefully and shall respect the freedom and rights of others, including the right to hold different views and to attend teaching without disruption. 
5. Right to pluralistic views and to engage in respectful debates
   Academic institutions shall ensure and value pluralism and diversity of views. They shall encourage questioning and discussing any topic in a courteous manner, by confronting it to facts and logical reasoning. They shall develop the ability to listen to diverse points of view, allowing everyone to freely develop its own personal opinion, without group or social pressure.
6. Right to mutual respect and Golden Rule
   Academic institutions shall require and enforce mutual respect by all students. They shall teach and request all students to respect the golden rule principle: “Do not do to other what you would not like others to do to you”. They shall prevent any personal harassment.
7. Duty of excellence
   Academic institutions shall promote excellence in research and education. Teaching positions shall be allocated on the basis of intellectual and academic excellence through a formal and impartial process. Assessment and selection should be based on criteria aiming at academic excellence, including when recruiting and promoting professors, delivering education, assessing academic work, and reviewing publications.
8. Duty to deliver comprehensive knowledge
   Academic institutions shall ensure open and comprehensive teaching of disciplines, by presenting the various models and theories recognized by the state of the art.
9. Duty to develop critical thinking
   Academic institutions shall encourage and develop critical thinking, including the ability to question assumptions and opinions by confronting them to facts and logical reasoning.
10. Duty to distinguish knowledge from opinions and beliefs
    Academic institutions shall teach the basis of epistemology, including how to distinguish knowledge (anchored in the reality) from opinions and beliefs (based on subjective perception and representation of the reality by individuals). Teaching shall distinguish facts from assumptions, theories, and opinions.
11. Duty to raise awareness on cognitive biases
    Academic institutions and Professors shall raise awareness on cognitive biases and mitigate their influence.
12. Duty of impartiality and equality of treatment
    Academic institutions shall ensure impartiality and equality of treatment with their students.
13. Duty of independence
    Academic institutions shall protect their academic freedom and independence. They shall support research and provide a learning environment preserved from political and religious influence.  
14. Duty to value knowledge and academic freedom
    Academic institutions shall value and promote the importance of knowledge and academic freedom.
15. Duty to develop and share knowledge
    Academic institutions shall contribute to develop and share knowledge.
16. Duty to preserve and transmit knowledge
    Academic institutions shall collect, preserve, and transmit knowledge for the future generations.
17. Prohibition of all forms of personal threats or aggression
    Academic institutions shall refuse and sanction any act of violence, threats, insults, coercion, or personal attacks against its members, including professors and students.
18. Prohibition of hate and discrimination
    Academic institutions shall require interpersonal respect and prohibit hate, discrimination, and personal harassment.