Safe Havens and Knowledge Networks in Canada
The Academic Advancement and Career Alignment (AACA) certificate course was hosted by Carleton University’s Scholars at Risk program with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in April 2025. This course built onthe previous very successful pilot AACA course offered in 2024 under the Placement, Preservation and Perseverance (PPP) project. The course provided tailored …
This final report distills policy-relevant lessons from three interrelated initiatives led by Carleton University with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC): (1) Placement, Preservation and Perseverance Project: Afghan At-Risk Scholars, Activists and Students (PPP, 2022-2024), (2) the Academic Advancement and Career Alignment course (AACA, 2024 and 2025), and (3) The Safe Havens and …
Armed conflict, authoritarianism, and democratic backsliding are driving the forced displacement of scholars and students at an unprecedented scale. This displacement constitutes not only a humanitarian crisis, but also a global knowledge crisis. When scholars are uprooted, higher education and research systems in countries of origin collapse, global knowledge networks fracture, and expertise essential to …
The following article about the Canadian government’s Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) appeared in the Globe and Mail on June 9, 2025 and is republished here with permission. By Marie Woolf (Globe and Mail) In the Ontario village of Schomberg, the local stone masonry shop is known for holding the Guinness world record for the …
Note: An earlier version of this story stated the CBC Ideas episode would air Monday, June 9. It was later rescheduled to Friday, June 13. The Safe Havens and Knowledge Networks in Canada conference, held May 22-23 at Carleton University, will be featured in a June 13 episode of CBC Radio’s Ideas program examining the …
Bob Rae, Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, had some blunt messages for conference participants when he delivered a special address via video link from New York to the Scholars at Risk gathering at Carleton University on May 22. “Governments fear academic freedom,” said Rae, the former Ontario NDP premier and former interim federal Liberal …
The two-day Safe Havens and Knowledge Networks in Canada conference concluded at Carleton University on May 23 with an urgent message from panelists to streamline and strengthen supports for scholars at risk during a time of intensifying attacks on academic freedom around the world. The discussion with four panelists was led by moderator Dr. Catherine …
For many displaced and at-risk scholars who find themselves in Canada, the goal of advancing their academic careers — or even maintaining a hold on employment as a teacher and researcher — faces significant barriers. The theme was at the heart of a panel discussion Thursday at the Safe Havens and Knowledge Networks in Canada …
With more refugees arriving in Canada through complex and evolving immigration pathways, panelists at the Safe Havens and Knowledge Networks in Canada conference are urging a coordinated national response by postsecondary institutions and governments to address the systemic barriers refugees face and to provide better support for displaced students and scholars. “It’s not in the …
“It might take a village to raise a child,” Dr. Maike Didero, a champion for at-risk researchers in Europe, told conference-goers at the Safe Havens and Knowledge Networks conference on May 22 at Carleton University. But, she added, it takes “a very dedicated team of people to help a scholar restart his or her career.” …