Researchers at UBC and Carleton University are joining forces to help scholars and others fleeing the crisis in Afghanistan establish a new intellectual community in Canada.
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) just awarded the joint project “Placement, Preservation and Perseverance: Afghan At-Risk Scholars, Activists and Students” a $1million grant to support intellectuals who have been forced to flee Afghanistan, in particular women and ethnic minorities.
“We are looking for Afghan scholars, civil society actors, activists and journalists and aim to help them re-establish a community of knowledge, research and activism in Canada,” says Law and Legal Studies Professor Melanie Adrian, the project’s lead researcher and founder of Carleton’s Scholars at Risk initiative. “We want to prevent the dissolution of the systems of knowledge in Afghanistan after the massive breakdown of their community.”
Said Dr. Jenny Peterson, the lead researcher for the UBC arm of the project: “These scholars have lost their livelihoods and ability to pursue their research and teaching, which they have worked so hard to secure. Their universities and communities are impacted because their local knowledge or highly specialized skills are also lost, threatening progress and development in the arts, medicine, engineering and many other fields in their own communities and countries.”
The team working with Dr. Peterson will be housed within the Human Rights Collective (HRC), run out of the Office for International and Community Engagement (ORICE), which will act as a host for student staff.
The HRC has worked in collaboration with Scholars at Risk (SAR) Global and Scholars at Risk (SAR) Canada on multiple student-led research and advocacy projects over the past three years, and has extensive experience in welcoming student researchers working on diverse projects. Both the SAR HRC and UBC's ORICE have a strong focus on empowering student researchers and engaging in ethical programming in terms of working on global issues.
Read more about the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs announcement.
Learn more about UBC’s SAR & HR Collective.
(Image: UBC School of Public Policy and Global Affairs)