Last week, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency - Sida, decided to fund a national support program for researchers from Afghanistan. The initiative comes from Scholars at Risk- Sweden, which is coordinated from the University of Gothenburg.
"Swedish higher education institutions need to act in solidarity for the protection of Afghan researchers. We must ensure that the research community is preserved and continues to develop for a future, democratic Afghanistan", says Vice-Chancellor Eva Wiberg.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 was devastating for the country's universities, with targeted, violent attacks on both students and staff. The international network Scholars at Risk (SAR) has since received applications for support from over 1,500 researchers from the country and has issued an appeal to its members to welcome researchers from Afghanistan to their universities.
