A voice for democracy

Zhanna Nemtsova is a guest in Bochum. At the invitation of the Nemtsov Foundation, a two-week international Summer School is taking place.

27 young media people as well as young scientists from Eastern Europe attend a two-week Summer School at the Ruhr-University Bochum. At the invitation of the "Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom," they will complete the "Nemtsov Summer School of Journalism" in Bochum under the direction of Zhanna Nemtsova until July 28, 2023. She is the eldest daughter of politician Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated in 2015. The Office for Eastern Europe/Central Asia of the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr) is organizing the stay in the Ruhr region.

The aim of the Summer School is to preserve the liberal journalism community, i.e. independent journalism in the Russian language. Participants will also be shown the possibilities of academic careers in Germany. "Media play a weighty role in a functioning democracy. Therefore, it is essential to stand up for freedom of the press and freedom of opinion and to support democratic forces," says Prof. Dr. Martin Paul, Rector of Ruhr University Bochum. "Our special thanks go to Zhanna Nemtsova for coming to us in Bochum with this inspiring and thematically highly topical Summer School."

The Summer School has so far been held at Charles University in Prague.

Individuals are promoted

The event is now part of the UA-Ruhr's activities related to Eastern Europe. This focus continues to be of great importance even after the restructuring of the Office for Eastern Europe/Central Asia. "The Ruhr-Universität distinguishes between state or political structures and individuals. For example, since the start of the war in Ukraine, cooperation with state-run Russian institutions had to be discontinued; nevertheless, we naturally welcome all people on our campus who stand on the ground of our liberal, Western values and who are committed to democracy, the rule of law, human rights and academic freedom," explains Elena Resch, head of the UA Ruhr's Eastern Europe/Central Asia Liaison Office.

A building block of internationalization

The philosophy and orientation of the Summer School fits very well with the strategy of internationalization at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, which has clearly emerged in recent years. In essence it is about

• the commitment to the preservation of academic freedom in different contexts,
• advocacy for vulnerable, refugee or displaced target groups, and
• the effort to open up new perspectives for them at the Ruhr-Universität.