About us ?
The Collective for academic freedom, democracy and solidarity (CLADS) is a non-profit association, founded on 11 December 2024. It brings together staff from the University of Lausanne, the EPFL and other tertiary institutions in the Canton of Vaud. It respects the principles of the University of Lausanne Charter and the EPFL Ethics Charter. It is based on an understanding of the University that is democratic in operation, open in access, critical in the construction of knowledge, opposed to all forms of discrimination, supportive and respectful of human rights and international law, and free from repression of these rights.
Goals
CLADS pursues the following goals:
- to protect the autonomy of higher education universities and colleges, and ensure that these institutions respect the values inherent in the fulfillment of their purposes of research and education;
- to ensure the respect of the academic freedom of lecturers/researchers, and defend them against any infringement of this fundamental freedom in the exercise of their profession;
- to protect and promote the creation of critical knowledge within universities and colleges, and their duty to publicize it in accordance with the critical function that these institutions must embrace;
- to protect data gathered by researchers from seizure;
- to defend the freedom of expression of lecturers/researchers in the public arena, and encourage them to engage with the public, based upon the values that underpin scientific work;
- to defend freedom of expression and assembly for all members of universities and colleges;
- to express and develop active solidarity with members of academic institutions who are in danger, in Switzerland and around the world.
Organisation
CLADS is led by a committee, which is organised into working groups on different issues.
Join us to contribute to a working group and propose actions!
The committee:
- Nicolas Bancel, full professor, SSP, Unil
- Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi, full professor, SSP, Unil (secretary)
- Sébastien Chauvin, associate professor, SSP, Unil
- Joseph Daher, guest professor, SSP, Unil
- Garance Durr-Legoupil-Nicoud, PhD researcher, Physique, EPFL
- Olivier Fillieule, full professor, SSP, Unil
- Laurent Le Forestier, full professor, Lettres, Unil
- Irene Maffi, full professor, SSP, Unil
- Guillaume Matthey, PhD researcher, SSP, Unil
- Elio Panese, PhD researcher, FDCA, Unil
- Francesco Panese, full professor, SSP, Unil
- Yves Pedrazzini, associate researcher, ENAC, EPFL
- Stéfanie Prezioso, associate professor, SSP, Unil
- Jamila Sam, senior scientist, IC, EPFL (co-présidente)
- Julia Steinberger, full professor, FGSE, Unil (co-présidente)
- Josselin Tricou, MA, FTSR, Unil
- Bernard Voutat, emeritus professor, SSP, Unil
Membership
Events
Actions
Our current and upcoming events
- Meeting with Fariba Adelkhah (Sciences Po, CERI) based on her book “Prisoner in Tehran”
Event organized by the Payot bookshop in partnership with CLADS, Saturday, May 10, 2025, 4-5:30 p.m., Librairie Payot, Place Pépinet 4, 1003 Lausanne. - Actualité of political anti-intellectualism. Attacks on universities in France and the United States
Conference by Éric Fassin (Université Paris-8, SOPHIAPOL, Institut Universitaire de France), organized by CLADS, CRAPUL and CEG: April 2, 2025, 6:15-8:00 p.m at Unil, Géopolis, room 1620.
In France as in the United States, and in many other countries, for years now we have witnessed the rise of a political discourse (often emanating from governments) targeting universities, critical knowledge and in particular minority issues, whether sexual or racial. From campaigns against the (so-called) “gender ideology” and then against Critical Race Theory or intersectionality, to the polemics against “Islamo-leftism”, “wokeness” or “cancel culture”, the attacks are constantly escalating, and even more so since October 7, 2023, with the accusation of anti-Semitism, up to the offensive launched by Donald Trump since his first day in office. Today, the concept of anti-intellectualism can serve to analyze the genealogy of this neofascist moment of neoliberalism.