Viviana is a long-serving member of the committee since 2016 and for this occasion, she represented the views of the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA) and the SAR Canada Section. The agenda included discussions about advocacy and the importance of members’ engagement, remote "hosting" schemes, responses to geo-political conflicts and crises, new collaborations and best practices, as well as the 25th anniversary events and upcoming SAR Congress in 2027.
The event was followed by the UNICA Conference on May 7-8 at the same venue. UNICA is an institutional Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe. It was founded in 1990, and it is currently made up of 52 universities from 38 capital cities of Europe. Te theme for this conference was “Frameworks of reference for the protection and promotion of academic freedom: institutional, national and supra-national. What works best?” Invited contributors brought together higher education leaders, researchers, public authorities and media representatives from Europe and beyond. The conference was organized jointly by UNICA and the School of Education, Communication and Society of King’s College London, through GOAF – the Global Observatory on Academic Freedom.