Juan Tobias discusses academic freedom and autonomy. He emphasizes two key aspects: academic freedom itself and its relationship to governments and society. Academic freedom should be respected, defended, encouraged and strengthened by providing university members the resources to generate new knowledge and advance truth for the benefit of humanity. University autonomy protects the institution from interference, which is necessary to preserve academic freedom, but it also carries responsibility to society through accountability and self-evaluation. The speaker recommends that the IAU encourage UNESCO to protect academic freedom and autonomy globally through an international declaration.

1. IAU Durban Conference, August 20-25, 2000
11th General Conference: Universities as Gateway to the Future
Plenary Panel I
Juan Tobias
Rector, University of Salvador, Argentina
Introduction
Our Working Group discussed Academic Freedom and Autonomy. It is very difficult for me to tell
you in a few minutes the different aspects that become involved in such an interesting discussion. But
the Director of Research asked me to emphasize only two keynotes about this subject.
Then, I think we first discussed the Academic Freedom itself. And, the other way, Academic Freedom
in its relationship to governments and society.
In our opinion, and the first time, to test ourselves for the implications for Academic Freedom and
Autonomy, is to question and worry in the sense for the consequences or demands that these essential
principals of any university contains, in order to fulfil this mission. Towards the end of the Century
and the beginning of a new one, Academic Freedom and Autonomy, undoubtedly have taken on new
conditions and aims that oblige the university to make a greater and far more open commitment to
greater creativity and imagination and give greater trust to men and society.
Just to quote a classic definition 'Today, Academic Freedom is not only the educator's right as
professor and researcher of interpreting his findings and communicating his conclusions, without
being subjected to any interference, because his conclusions would not be acceptable by internal or
external authorities'.
Academic Freedom should not only be respected and strongly defended, but should also be
encouraged and strengthened. The university members should be given the necessary resources to be
able to generate new knowledge in their search for truth. They should be increased through research
which should set them as a benefit to all humanity as part of its intellectual heritage.
In the second part, as the university assumes that power by means of which it establishes its own
norms, nominates its own authorities and acquires its own development, autonomy should also protect
an establishment from any kind of interference, because it constitutes the necessary condition to
preserve Academic Freedom. It is proposed that the full enactment of this autonomy should also carry
responsibility with it. It should be based an internal committee linked with its own university and at
the same time having external ties with society.
Internal ties are justified, because such a body is responsible for the resources necessary for education.
That is, it is responsible for ensuring its excellence, its effectiveness, equity and affiliation. In this
respect, institutional self-evaluation is the instrument by which the university regulates, controls and
runs itself. For such self-evaluation faithfully to be carried out, the universities themselves need
autonomy.
It defines its own sense of direction. Autonomy shares an equal commitment with society for the
obvious reason that higher education constitutes an essential component of the cultural and socio-
economic development in the service of humankind and to society itself.
Recommendations
The universal declaration of University Autonomy, subscribed in 1965, by the IAU in Tokyo, the
declaration signed by the Rectors of European Universities in Bologna in September 1988, are all
essential documents setting forth the universality of University Autonomy. There are also the thematic
debates organized by IAU during the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education, at Paris in
1998. But, that is not enough. Our Working Group kindly requests the IAU to encourage its authorities
to get UNESCOs
approval to protect Academic Freedom and Autonomy in any country whatsoever. Perhaps, the
inclusion of this subject in the Declaration of Human Rights would be of benefit to educational
institutions as a whole. That is, not only universities but also colleges and other organizational entities.