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SCIENTISTS AS PROMOTERS OF PEACE With lack of div
ersity and cross-border collaborations, we not only lose out on innovation – we jeopardize our democracy and risk losing an important driving force in promoting peace. T E X T BY MA L I N OTMAN I I N THE ACADEMIC FREEDOM INDEX UPDATE 2022, a collaborative effort between researchers at FriedrichAlexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the V-Dem Institute, an overview of the state of academic freedom in 177 countries and territories is presented. Two concerning findings are highlighted, a substantial and statistically significant decline in academic freedom in 19 cases, accompanied by an accelerated and sustained wave of autocratization. As Dr. Lars Pelke , FAU, emphasizes in his Commentary on page 86, it is crucial that governments, academic institutions, and civil society organizations take steps to protect and promote academic freedom. The effects of the closing of borders on scientific progress was investigated in a study in Nature (Wagner et al., 2017). It was found that a measure of openness links to scientific recognition; countries with high researcher mobility get more recognition. They argued that international teams have a diversity of viewpoints, insights, and networks to draw on as they conduct and disseminate their research. With a lack of diversity, we lose innovation. Integrated approaches sprung from diverse collaborations are also crucial for addressing key challenges, such as global health issues. “The international cooperation within Europe is very good and positive and many common projects across national borders exist. This must be kept and further extended, but we are not alone, we have neighbors. Imagine the climate change, the damage of the atmosphere does not stop at European borders, it is a worldwide challenge, where we must do everything possible together. This starts at a simple level of data exchange and goes up to measures to prevent CO2 emissions,” states Dr. Hannes Jung, spokesperson of the Science4Peace Forum and Particle Physicist Emeritus at DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron), a German research center of the Helmholtz Association. NORDIC LIFE SCIENCE 77