The value of free research and teaching for society and for each individual becomes particularly clear when this freedom is jeopardized. Political repression in the school and university sector, marginalization, intersectional discrimination, or a lack of choice in education are key reasons for many people to come to Germany, specifically to Berlin. Today already, almost 20 percent of students enrolled in Berlin are new to Germany, and many of them come from countries where academic freedom is under threat.

What do freedom and academic freedom mean to these newcomers? What are their expectations of academic freedom, vocational training and higher education? Are their expectations fulfilled and, if not, why not?

We asked these questions to young and new Berliners. Assisted by filmmaker Nagehan Uskan and radio play director Anouschka Trocker, they documented their answers and their research process in artistic ways.

New Berliners from Pakistan, Algeria, Turkey and Afghanistan who were already in higher education or preparing to continue their university education in Berlin, took part in our creative workshops on either radio or video production. Four days of intensive collaboration included an introduction to audio and video recording techniques, the definition of research questions, the collection of (audio and visual) data, the collective creation of the dramaturgy and finally the editing process of the documentations.

Pelagia Sotirkou joined the research team as an intern between May and July 2024. She conducted a small study on New Berliners from Greece that you can read here:

My name is Pelagia Sotirkou, I am a graduate of Sociology from Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, in Athens, Greece and I have completed my postgraduate studies in Sports Studies, through the lens of Sociology, History and Anthropology, at the Hellenic Open University. My internship in Berlin lasted three months, during which I focused on understanding social issues related to, among others, migration, academic freedom and integration. My research interests include the sociology and anthropology of sports, gender and the body, ''delinquency'' and ''violence'' in sporting spaces, and issues of migration and integration.

Urgently wanted: Freedom of Research and Learning is a collaboration of Off University e.V. and the research project RePLITO (Beyond Social Cohesion: Global Repertoires of Living Together) at Department of Gender and Media Studies for the South Asian Region (GAMS), Institute for Asian and African Studies, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. It is funded as part of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s Science Year 2024. Prof. Nadja Christina-Schneider and Dr. Julia Strutz are the co-speakers of this research project.