Identifying and Understanding ‘Barriers to Expression’

Audience: Senior leaders with operational responsibility for FoS / AF (e.g., PVCs, Registrars/Secretaries, Directors)

In dialogue with: 

• Arif Ahmed, Director of Free Speech and Academic Freedom (OfS)
• David Bass, Director of Inclusion and Governance (Advance HE)
• Rob Kramer (Secretary, UAL) 

Summary

Advance HE and the Office for Students (OfS) and AHUA are hosting a sector roundtable exploring the practical and cultural factors that limit freedom of expression within higher education settings. Designed for senior leaders with operational accountability for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom, this session will provide space for honest discussion of the varied and often complex barriers institutions face, and the actions institutions might take to secure and promote free speech.

The conversation will focus on:

• Foreign interference and external pressures shaping institutional risk and response
• Student perceptions of barriers to expression, including the challenges of enabling dialogue on sensitive or societally contested issues
• Effective institutional practice that supports open expression while meeting legal and regulatory expectations

This session aims to support leaders in identifying the conditions that foster confident debate, understanding emerging risks, and sharing actions that strengthen an institution’s culture of open expression.

Booking link: https://my.advance-he.ac.uk/portal/events/details/?id=886335cd-3ff8-f011-8407-6045bdcf9a66 [my.advance-he.ac.uk]

Please note: bookings may be managed depending on demand.