Call for Submissions - Reclaiming the Space: The First Southeast Asia Conference on Academic Freedom, SEACAF
To mark its first anniversary and provide a platform for sharing ideas and experiences, SEACAF is organizing its first regional conference in Bangkok, Thailand, from 3–4 November 2025. The conference will bring together academics, researchers, students, and civil society actors from across the region to exchange knowledge, explore emerging challenges, strengthen networks, and foster solidarity in the defense of academic freedom.
“Reclaiming the Space,” as the conference title conveys, reflects the urgent need to recover and protect intellectual and democratic spaces that have been shrinking across Southeast Asia. It signifies the assertion of academic autonomy, resistance to censorship, and reaffirmation of the university as a space for critical thought, open inquiry, and dissent.
Conference Themes
Academic freedom in Southeast Asia is increasingly under threat, particularly in contexts marked by democratic backsliding. Academics and students advocating for social justice face intimidation, harassment, and censorship. Critical scholarship that challenges political or corporate power is being suppressed, especially in conflict zones or where state security narratives justify heightened control.
Higher education institutions are also constrained by neoliberal reforms that prioritize market outcomes and state objectives over critical inquiry. Rather than serving as spaces for intellectual growth and cultivation of critical knowledge, universities are often reconfigured to produce labor for economic development. The pressure to compete in global rankings and boost publication output has further narrowed the space for independent and critical scholarship.
To examine these political, social, and economic forces shaping academic freedom in the region, SEACAF invites proposals addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
Academic freedom and democratic backsliding, including impacts of armed conflicts
Commercialization of higher education and its impact on academic freedom
University autonomy and governance
Contextualizing academic freedom: Seeking regional understanding and nuances
Academic freedom principles for the regional context
Activist scholars, youth movements, and academic freedom
Good practices in protecting and promoting academic freedom
Monitoring academic freedom: Developing regional indicators
Submission Guidelines:
Proposal should be maximum of 250 words only
Proposal Submission Deadline: 30 June 2025 (11:59 PM, Bangkok time)
Notification of Acceptance: 15 July 2025
Announcement of Conference Grants: 15 August 2025
Conference Registration Deadline: 15 September 2025
Optional Full Paper Submission for Journal Consideration: 30 September 2025
Conference Dates: 3–4 November 2025
Full Paper Submission for Proceedings: 30 November 2025
SEACAF Conference Grants
Participation in the conference is free of charge.
A limited number of travel and accommodation grants are available for participants from Southeast Asia. Priority will be given to emerging scholars and individuals from underrepresented institutions with limited access to funding. Please indicate your need for financial support in the submission form.
