Hasselt University's Palestine Solidarity Network hosted Prof. Rana Samara, Assistant President for International Academic Cooperation at Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie, as the keynote speaker in a specialized seminar.
The event focused on attacks targeting academic institutions in Palestine and beyond, highlighting epistemicide and threats to academic freedom in the region.
During the seminar, Professor Samara delivered a lecture addressing the systematic eradication of education in Palestine. She discussed direct attacks on Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie by Israeli forces and the profound impact these assaults have on academic freedoms and the student body.
Professor Samara called on the global academic community to enhance its support for Palestinian universities and work collectively to break the academic isolation imposed on them.
In her remarks, Professor Samara emphasized that academic freedoms in Palestine are under unprecedented attack, necessitating solidarity from international academic institutions to end the isolation and epistemicide facing Palestinian education.
She noted that the seminar aligns with the university's efforts to foster international academic cooperation and to convey the realities of the challenges faced by Palestinian academic institutions to the global community.