Academic Freedom in the Global South: Social and Institutional Lessons Learned from Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa
Presentation
Since 2021, the Knowledge Network on the Right to Higher Education from the Global South (REGS) has been working to consolidate an international network of research, dialogue and knowledge production that problematizes educational inequalities and promotes alternative approaches to guarantee the right to education from the Global South.
On this occasion, the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) y el Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), as part of the institutions that make up and support this network, invites research teams to submit projects that critically and contextually address the challenges of the Academic Freedom in the regions of Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
En un contexto global marcado por transformaciones políticas, sociales y tecnológicas, la libertad académica —entendida no sólo como un derecho individual de docentes y estudiantes, sino como un pilar fundamental de la autonomía universitaria, la democracia y el fortalecimiento de los espacios cívicos- enfrenta amenazas crecientes. Esta convocatoria busca promover el pensamiento crítico y la producción de conocimiento original que permita comprender, visibilizar y defender los espacios de producción de saberes frente a procesos de censura, hostigamiento, precarización y mercantilización, fomentando especialmente el diálogo Sur-Sur.
Objectives of the Call
- To promote empirical and theoretical research on the state of academic freedom in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
- Fortalecer la cooperación académica y el intercambio de experiencias y aprendizajes entre equipos de investigación de ambas regiones.
- Producir insumos que contribuyan al debate público y a la incidencia en políticas de educación superior que garanticen la autonomía y el derecho a la ciencia.
Thematic Areas of Interest
Research projects must be registered under one or more of the following axes:
- Democracia, autonomía y libertad académica: Incidencia en la libertad de cátedra, de aprendizaje y en las agendas de investigación. Resistencia frente a presiones externas, el hostigamiento y los negacionismos.
- Academic freedom and university governance: the role of students, academic staff and faculty in university governance.
- The human right to science and knowledge: Access gaps and their impact on freedom of thought and intellectual work. Production and social circulation of knowledge as a public and common good.
- Intersectionality and Academic Freedom: Analysis of inequalities of gender, race, ethnicity, territory and class in educational, academic and scientific production trajectories.
- Socio-educational equality: Epistemic diversity and cognitive sovereignty: Dialogues between academic, ancestral, and popular knowledge. Strategies against epistemic hegemony and the defense of local knowledge systems.
- Knowledge in Resistance: Good Living and Ubuntu as horizons for a Pluriversal Academic Freedom.
- Libertad académica en la era de la posverdad: Desinformación, algoritmos y el derecho humano a la ciencia.
- Methodologies for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of academic freedom in the Global South.
- Comparative studies: Transregional analyses between countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
- Academic freedom in the digital age: Artificial intelligence, biases, data sovereignty, algorithmic justice and their implications for academic freedom.
- The university in a neoliberal context: the question of intellectual freedom, institutional and academic integrity, staff work and unionization, the commodification of education, and neo-managerialism.
Call for applications rules
- The information provided in the registration form is considered a sworn statement.
- Collective applications are expected (teams of between 3 and 5 members), linked to CLACSO Member Centers, CODESRIA or academic and research institutions of the regions called, or civil society organizations of the recipient regions.
- Composition: Teams are expected to meet, at a minimum, gender parity requirements. They must include:
- Established researchers: Those who hold a master's degree, doctorate or equivalent and a proven academic track record.
- Early-career researchers: people who are currently pursuing master's or doctoral studies or who hold a bachelor's degree.
- Applications will be accepted from researchers who have previously been selected for a CLACSO or CODESRIA research grant, provided the recipient has fulfilled all relevant obligations in a timely and appropriate manner. Each researcher may only participate in one proposal. A team leader must be designated to manage the application process. Proposals from researchers who are currently recipients of grants, fellowships, or research projects organized by CLACSO or CODESRIA will not be accepted.
- Members of the Steering Committee or officials of the Executive Secretariat of CLACSO or CODESRIA may not participate.
- If the project is awarded and any travel is necessary, the winners will have to cover the costs of medical insurance or similar expenses themselves.
- Up to 6 (six) proposals will be supported.
- The amount of support will consist of $6.000 (six thousand dollars) for each selected proposal, payable in installments linked to the delivery of progress reports and final results.
- DurationThe investigations will have a total duration of 8 months from the signing of the acceptance certificate.
- Tutors: Los equipos seleccionados trabajarán con el acompañamiento de tutors assigned by CLACSO who will follow the process of their investigations and results.
- PublicationCLACSO, in collaboration with CODESRIA, will publish the final products in digital media, giving them wide publicity and dissemination through the means it deems appropriate. If necessary, researchers will be asked to make the adaptations and adjustments required so that the resulting research can be published in various formats. Authors will transfer the original publication rights of their works, as CLACSO adheres to and defends the principles of open science and open access to knowledge, ensuring that the resulting work is easy to find, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. Subsequently, the works may be published in any other medium, always citing this Call for Proposals. Researchers must inform CLACSO and CODESRIA of the subsequent publication of the works resulting from their research.
- Originality: no serán admitidas investigaciones terminadas. Las propuestas podrán estar vinculadas a procesos de investigación en curso, pero los trabajos finales deberán ser productos originales e inéditos y desarrollados en el período establecido por la convocatoria.
- LanguagesTexts written in the languages commonly used in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa (Spanish, Portuguese, English and French) will be accepted, depending on the country of origin of the proposal.
- Registration: proposals must be uploaded to the registration system, completing the form that appears once the personal and academic data of those who make up the research team have been completed.
- Investigation project: Document (maximum 10 pages) that includes: rationale, objectives, methodology, expected results (at least one high-quality research article and one public communication activity about science), schedule of activities and bibliography.
- Trajectory: Brief profile or curriculum vitae of the team members (maximum 5 pages).
Las propuestas serán evaluadas por un Comité Internacional de Pares, bajo los siguientes criterios:
- Originality and relevance of the proposed topic in relation to the themes of the call for proposals
- Theoretical consistency and methodological soundness
- Feasibility of the work schedule within the 8-month period
- Perspectiva comparada o potencial incidencia en el diálogo Sur-Sur
- Regional diversity and gender parity and diversity in the composition of the team presenting the proposal.
- Incorporation of researchers in training (postgraduate students, recent graduates) to integrate younger generations and promote intergenerational dialogues
- Administrative reviewIn the first stage, the submitted proposals will be reviewed for their formal and administrative aspects to verify their compliance with the competition rules. Proposals that do not meet the established requirements will be rejected.
- Evaluación de pares: Las postulaciones que pasan a la siguiente etapa serán evaluadas por un Comité Internacional compuesto por expertas/os quienes valorarán la calidad y la pertinencia de las propuestas, que serán presentadas bajo un seudónimo.
- ResultsThe call may be declared void or a smaller number of projects may be selected if the proposals submitted do not meet the required quality and consistency.
- Las situaciones no previstas en el presente documento serán resueltas por las instituciones convocantes.
- The ruling will be irrevocable and unappealable.
- Opening of the call for applications: April 10th 2026
- Registration closing: May 29th 2026
- Publication of results: Friday 7 of August of 2026
- Inicio del periodo de investigación: 1th September 2026
It is mandatory that the submission be made through the online registration system provided by CLACSO. Printed submissions and submissions sent by email will not be accepted. It is recommended to access the online system to review the registration form.
- Enter the website of CLACSO. El sistema de inscripción en línea estará disponible a partir del día 10 April.
- Register in the CLACSO Single Registration System (SUIC). The generated username and password will be required each time you wish to access the system to consult, modify, add, or submit information for this or any other CLACSO activity. Applicants who are part of collective proposals must open a single form This will include all researchers on the team. One of the authors must also be designated as responsible for the registration. This same person will receive the corresponding monetary award if the proposal is selected by the Jury.
- Identify the proposal by indicating its title and the pseudonym of the applicant(s). Applications with pseudonyms that correspond to the applicant's first and/or last name will not be accepted. Once the corresponding fields are completed, the system will enable the uploading of the following data.
- Applicants must indicate in the form their institutional link with a Member Center of the CLACSO Network, CODESRIA or an institution from the convening regions.
- Complete the personal and academic data form and attach the curriculum vitae in free format; the digital copy of the identity document, passport or ID card; the digital copy of the highest academic degree obtained (or proof of degree in process) and the photograph.
- The proposal must be filled out on the form that appears once the personal and academic data has been completed.
- Once registration is closed, the system will produce an electronic certificate of receipt that will serve as proof of application.
Registration closes: May 29, 2026
Publication of results: August 7, 2026
Inicio del periodo de investigación: 1 de septiembre de 2026
The results will be published on the CLACSO website. The winners will be contacted by email.
Para dudas o más información: [email protected]
