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Working Group: Academia and Activism

The working group sees itself as a platform for the exchange and discussion of all questions concerning the relationship between academia and activism. As many members of the SFB are activists themselves, they are faced with the question of how activist work and academic activity can be reconciled. These concern, for example, the understanding of roles, the different requirements and the tension that arises from the different roles. Discussing and reflecting on these questions is an essential part of the working group's work. This is done, on the one hand, on the basis of specific challenges that the members of the working group are confronted with, and, on the other, as part of a more general examination of issues such as the neutrality of academia.

A second important part of the working group's work is to make problems at the SFB visible through a joint exchange and to make concrete suggestions for improvements based on this mutual reflection, or to take a position on these. So far, this has included the creation of a voluntary self-commitment for air travel. The working group also sees itself as a kind of seismograph in order to promptly address current concerns and problems and introduce them into the SFB's general discussion at an appropriate point.

A third component of the working group's work is the organization of events that deal with questions of activism and academia. These include invitations from activists, such as the discussion with members of the Agape Earth Coalition, or the organization of networking meetings, such as the BarCamp From Facts to Lived Knowledge.

Contact persons are Eva Backhaus (B01) and Matthias Grotkopp (C04).