Truth Matters: Protecting Truth, Defending Freedom
At a time when wars knock at our doors, disinformation challenges facts, and researchers are increasingly targeted for their work, the defence of truth has become a shared and urgent responsibility.
Fondation Universitaire, Rue d'Egmont 11 - 1000 Brussels
We are pleased to invite you to a high-level event marking the 25th anniversary of the Scholars at Risk international network: “Truth Matters: Protecting Truth, Defending Freedom”, which will be taking place in Brussels on May 28th, 2026, 1:00 PM – 5:30 PM, followed by a networking reception. This gathering will bring together voices to confront one of the defining challenges of our time: safeguarding academic freedom and ensuring that truth can endure – even under pressure.
This event will offer a unique platform to:
Hear directly from exiled researchers whose work preserves memory, challenges power, and defends scientific integrity;
Engage with European policymakers, university leaders, and civil society actors on concrete actions to better protect scholars at risk;
Explore how Europe – and its universities – can remain a refuge for knowledge, evidence, and critical thinking.
The programme will feature three thematic sessions:
Obliterated Truth – Preserving Memory in Conflict Zones, on safeguarding knowledge and archives threatened by war and displacement.
Silenced Truth – Research Challenging Power, on protecting researchers targeted for exposing sensitive or inconvenient truths.
Defended Truth – Europe Rising to the Challenge, on addressing growing pressures within Europe itself, from disinformation to political influence.
The event will be introduced by Mrs. Elisabeth Degryse, Minister-President of the Wallonia- Brussels Federation, and will be followed by a networking reception.