For free science
With their “March for Science” scientists the world over march for the preservation of the freedom of science. And this includes in more than 20 German cities.
There are small declarations of love, formulated by people to whose hearts science is so very close, to be found under the hashtag #meinewissenschaft on Instagram. There you can read why they find research and education so important. And see who they stand tall for what it is they champion. “I advocate an education system that takes views of the world and facts equally seriously, but does not confuse the two,” writes Hauke Harms of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig. “I advocate scientific collaboration across all borders because we need the best minds to tackle humanity’s future problems, irrespective of the people’s origins,” says Johannes Knapp, particle astrophysicist at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchroton DESY.
Harms and Knapp are among the scientists who, with their statements, have followed the call by the Helmholtz Association, Germany’s largest scientific organization, in the run-up to the “March for Science” world-wide. The marching call is one of many activities in Germany as elsewhere to support the international movement for scientific freedom. It started in the USA in response to the science-sceptical stance of incoming President Donald Trump – and under the impression of the “Women’s March on Washington” in the wake of Trump’s inauguration. The “March for Science” will take place on 22 April not only in Washington, but in over 500 cities worldwide. In Germany, people will gather in at least 21 cities to march, listen to speeches, to debate things, and to enjoy performances – for example in Berlin, Hamburg and München.
Behind the scenes at the March for Science
It’s a movement that’s bound to be active well after 22 April. Which is not surprising as a “March for Science” is probably the last place that people will lay claim to having definitive answers and knowing absolute truths. Or, as Peter Strohschneider, President of Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) put it in his essay on the “March for Science” for “Spiegel” magazine: “Our coexistence rests on the fact that the search for truth, and that includes scientific truths, must be free from coercion by the powers that be.”
German Federal Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel welcomed the fact people were marching to make a highly visible symbol for the freedom of science. “Precisely Germany as a high-tech country has a very innovative research world consisting of universities, colleges, research teams in companies and scientific organizations to thank for its international networks.” Gabriel said he was concerned to see the increasing pressure being exerted on academic freedom, and that included in Europe: “If academics are sacked for political reasons, if universities are squeezed up against a wall, or entire research fields substantively weakened, then this constitutes an attack on our basic democratic outlook. We must resist this with resolve. We need a free academic discourse and objectively verified scientific insights if we are to shape the world of tomorrow.”
