Free to (re)search: security and independence of research in the 21st century Scientific day dedicated to Giulio Regeni
On February 3, 2016, Giulio Regeni's body, disfigured by torture, was found on the margins of the Cairo - Alexandria highway. Giulio Regeni, was an Italian doctoral student at Cambridge University, affiliated in Cairo with American University, which conducted research on independent trade unions Egyptians. Other European researchers had carried out studies on similar themes without any problem and yet, although a judicial inquiry is still ongoing, the assumption that his death is associated with his status as a researcher seems to be confirmed. Amnesty International and Human Right Watch have repeatedly denounced the disappearance of hundreds of Egyptian men and women who have reportedly suffered the same fate Giulio Regeni and, among them, many researchers. However, the North African country is not not the only state where research is threatened. In Turkey, since January 2016, academics who have signed a petition against the continued bombing of Turkish aviation in Kurdistan are undergoing pressure from the authorities; hundreds of researchers have been dismissed or forced to resign because they are accused of high treason. The question of freedom of research also arises in all liberal democracies. If you some outdated forms of censorship no longer seem to be occurring, but the fact remains that, at this time of year current, on themes that may "disturb" the social and/or political order, the freedom of the researcher may be in danger. The trial, in 2016, of a doctoral student from Ca' Foscari University in Venice who was doing a thesis on the NoTav Movement and was finally acquitted in 2018, or the police proceedings against a researcher from the University of Bordeaux who was writing a thesis on the Corsican nationalist movement, are examples of this. The obstacles to freedom of research also come from within, from the very structure of the scientific institutions, or may result from the nature and modalities of funding. In view of the Increasing budget cuts, the question of what research and quality can we lead to arises. Similarly, the issue of guarantees cannot be avoided in relation to the independence of the research and the reliability of its results with regard to the interests of the funders, especially when dealing with strategic, diplomatic or industrial areas. The question of funding also raises the issue of independence. If it can be assumed that the funding public is in principle the guarantor of the researcher's independence, what about private funding? Security of researchers and independence of research are certainly two conditions essential for any scientific activity in a democratic and "inclusive" socio-political space, but also sunflower paper ("thermometer") to assess the degree of interpenetration between the scientific challenges and political and economic imperatives of contemporary societies.
Symposium program:
Morning: 10:00-12:45 am
Opening: Chiara Lastraioli Director of MSH Val de Loire
Introduction: Francesco Correale (UMR CITERES)
First session
Moderator: Francesco Correale (CNRS-UMR CITERES)
Leslie Piquemal - Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Contextualiser l'affaire Giulio Regeni dans le système autoritaire égyptien
Maâti Monjib - Université Mohammed V de Rabat
L’écriture de l’histoire et la question des sources en Afrique
Gülsah Kurt - Université de Tours
La liberté académique et la liberté d’expression à l’aune de l’expérience des Universitaires pour la paix en Turquie
Luncher
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Afternoon session: 14:00-19:00
Moderator: Claudia Cirelli (UMR CITERES)
Thierry Dominici - Université de Bordeaux
L'étude de la violence politique en Corse après l'assassinat du Préfet Claude Erignac. Objet d'analyse ou objet interdit?
Sabrina Melenotte - LAIOS, Plateforme Violence et sortie de la violence (FMSH)
Enquêter au Mexique à l'ère de la lutte contre le narcotrafic : du risque à la ruse
Didier Guignard - CNRS, IREMAM
Le savoir et la peur, une expérience de recherche en Kabylie
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3:30 pm Coffee break (10 minutes)
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Roberta Giunta - Université « L’Orientale », Naples
La Mission Italienne en Afghanistan (1956-2019). Découverte et sauvegarde d’un patrimoine archéologique
Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Monclos - Institut de Recherche et Développement
De la recherche sur les conflits armés: entre contraintes sécuritaires, pesanteurs bureaucratiques et autocensure
Round table and debate with the audience
Discussing Robert Ilbert - University of Aix-Marseille (Professor Emeritus)
19:00 Projection
The Ettore Majorana Mystery: an absolute physicist
Documentary by Camille Guichard
Francesco Correale, CNRS, UMR 7324 CITERES, Tours
Chiara Lastraioli, MSH Val de Loire Director, Tours
Claudia Cirelli, Univ. Tours, UMR 7324 CITERES, Tours