6 September 2024

Joint declaration by the Executive Board of the Saxony Rectors' Conference, the Thuringian Rectors' Conference and the German Rectors' Conference

Thuringia has elected a new parliament. In the coming weeks, the elected members of parliament will come to an agreement on the formation of a government.

It is important for science and universities that university autonomy and academic freedom are preserved. Only in this way can science realise its full potential for the economy and society. Openness to the world is an important factor here. Only a university that thinks and acts internationally is fit for the future and competitive.

An open and international campus and the mobility of teaching staff and students are essential foundations for high-quality teaching, learning and research. We are proud of and expressly support the fact that people from all over the world and from a wide variety of backgrounds study and work at our universities. To ensure that this remains the case, we need an environment that guarantees the protection against discrimination enshrined in the constitution.

Overall, all parties and all citizens are called upon to work to ensure that hostility towards science, restrictions on academic freedom, racism, intolerance and ideas and enemy stereotypes based on exclusion are not normalised. We remain committed to strengthening cohesion in society and trust in liberal democracy.