The Khaled al-Asaad Solidarity Fund and the “long tradition of welcoming” scholars at risk
Posted December 10, 2024
The Université libre de Bruxelles is a long-time SAR member with a history of institutional support for scholars and researchers in danger. ULB operates the Khaled al-Asaad Solidarity Fund, which supports annual scholarships for researchers at risk. Delphine Dieudionne, of ULB’s International Welcome Desk, describes the program and its impact.
How and why did the Khaled al-Asaad Solidarity Fund originate?
The Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) has a long tradition of welcoming academics and researchers at risk. Many academics and researchers have found refuge in our university, notably Spanish or Portuguese colleagues fleeing Franco’s regime or Salazar’s dictatorship in Portugal.
More recently, ULB set up a solidarity fund to support post-doctoral researchers deprived of the freedom to pursue their research in their country of origin and who are threatened there because of the content of their scientific work or the opinions they have expressed.
This initiative was born out of the Syrian crisis, which led many higher education institutions to create emergency measures to more readily welcome and integrate at-risk scholars on their campuses. This was notably the case at ULB. In 2016, ULB mobilized significant resources to award nine one-year postdoctoral fellowships to Syrian and Iraqi researchers.
The worsening situation in Turkey, where a very large number of university professors lost their jobs after the coup attempt in July 2016, accelerated reflection on the need to set up a structured and permanent support mechanism for researchers who can no longer carry out their scientific activity in their home country. It was against this backdrop that ULB set up a permanent Solidarity Fund for post-doctoral researchers at risk in 2017. Called the “Khaled al-Asaad Solidarity Fund,” this instrument provides ULB with a functional, structured, and sustainable tool for providing the necessary support to researchers who are at risk in their home countries. In concrete terms, it consists of a post-doctoral grant enabling scholars to be hosted at ULB for a period of one year, renewable once (for a maximum of 2 total years), and to pursue their research work in a climate of academic freedom.
How is the program funded, and how did the program’s founders navigate establishing a dedicated funding stream for threatened researchers within the infrastructure of the university? Does the solidarity fund collaborate with other departments and offices at ULB?
The program is entirely funded by the ULB budget. We receive no subsidies (neither from the public nor the private sector).
To carry out this project, the ULB International Relations Department works in close collaboration with other administrative departments (especially human resources) as well as with the academic promoters/supervisors of the funded post-doctoral researchers.
ULB has created two distinct committees:
– A selection committee responsible for selecting at-risk postdoctoral researchers. This committee relies on experts who are typically academics working in the geographical area from which the candidates originate. These experts are particularly important for helping the committee assess the risk/danger faced by the candidates.
– A management committee composed primarily of academics, members from the international relations department (in charge of the international welcome desk), and from the research department.
Do you have any advice for other universities seeking to establish similar programs?
It is crucial to ensure that the university has the necessary resources in place to support at-risk researchers, including a welcome desk and well-informed supervisors. All relevant administrative departments should be motivated and support the process. The at-risk researchers really need to be well-integrated into university faculties, centers, or laboratories. That’s why we assess the candidates on the basis of 3 criteria: the risk incurred, the excellence of the academic profile, and the capacity to integrate into the university/faculty/lab.
It’s important to remember that hosting at-risk researchers presents some challenges. Because many scholars may have experienced traumatic events, it is important to have relevant resources to support those facing mental health challenges such as stress and anxiety.
Lastly, it is important to clearly identify the university’s scholar hosting objectives. It is essential to determine whether the university’s aim is to assist researchers in leaving their home countries with a relatively short-term grant or to provide them with longer-term support, which means hosting fewer researchers for extended periods.
Do you notice trends across time in which applicants are applying for the program? Has the nature of the solidarity fund changed over time?
Every year, we observe variations in the nationalities of applicants. These differences can often be attributed to geopolitical changes and the emergence of new crises and events (e.g., an increase in Brazilian candidates during Bolsonaro’s presidency).
We also receive numerous applications from candidates who are no longer in the countries where they faced danger and are now in more stable situations, typically in European countries. However, they are applying for funding because they are struggling to find jobs in the academic field. In our view, this type of situation does not meet the criteria for danger.
What logistical challenges do you face with mobility between countries? What about assimilation to the national and intellectual environment? Do you have any advice for confronting these challenges?
One of the biggest challenges scholars face is obtaining visas after arriving in Belgium. For some researchers, leaving their home countries and securing their visas can be quite complex – one Russian researcher waited for his visa for more than a year.
Additionally, it often takes a long time to obtain the family reunification visa necessary for bringing their families to Belgium. Some researchers must arrive without their families and may wait over a year before they can be reunited.
This year, we selected 4 Palestinian researchers, but we are still uncertain whether they will all be able to reach Belgian territory.
Integrating into Belgium is not easy for at-risk researchers, considering their histories and experiences, along with language and cultural barriers. We strive to assist them in settling in by providing support through our Welcome Desk, offering a warm reception from the Faculty, and engaging their supervisors. To this end, we are working to raise awareness among supervisors, emphasizing the importance of welcoming at-risk researchers and the specific challenges they face.
What are your visions and wishes for the future of the solidarity fund?
Our scholarship is only for two years, and that is a short amount of time to settle, and integrate, into a country. We hope to be able to increase the number of scholarships we offer by finding external funding or obtaining subsidies for this project, and additionally, help at-risk researchers find additional ways to stay in Belgium or at host institutions in other countries, so they can continue their academic work safely.
Image ©Lara Herbinia
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