The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation launched the fourth round of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative on Monday, 19 February, with support from Germany's Federal Foreign Office. The programme assists scientists and scholars who seek safe haven in Germany from war and persecution in their own countries. The Philipp Schwartz Initiative puts German universities and research institutions in a position to host threatened foreign researchers for two years so that they can continue their work.
The latest call for applications for the programme begins now. Universities and research institutions wanting to host a threatened researcher may submit applications to the Humboldt Foundation until 15 May 2018.
Also new: universities that host Philipp Schwartz Fellows can apply to extend the respective fellowship by up to a maximum of one year. The prerequisite for an extension is co-financing. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation will finance the first half of the extension, while the host institutions must finance the second half themselves.“The Philipp Schwartz Initiative stands for a cultural relations policy that actively supports freedom of the arts, science and opinion”, noted the Director-General for Culture and Communication at the Federal Foreign Office, Andreas Görgen. “The Foreign Office – with the support of members of the German Bundestag – is working with intermediary organisations to additionally offer persecuted artists prospects in Germany in future”, said Görgen.
So far, more than 120 researchers have been selected to receive a Philipp Schwartz Fellowship. Most of them come from Turkey or Syria.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation cooperates on the Philipp Schwartz Initiative with experienced partner organisations such as the Scholars at Risk network, the Scholar Rescue Fund of the Institute of International Education and the Council for At-Risk Academics.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time researching in Germany. The Foundation maintains a network of well over 28,000 Humboldtians from all disciplines in more than 140 countries worldwide – including 55 Nobel Prize winners.
