1) How did you determine the focus of your research, and how does it relate to the challenges that you consider to be the most important for advancing academic freedom as a fundamental human right?

Due to the recent adoption of the Inter-American Principles on Academic Freedom in December 2021 and the limited time available, the team opted for an exploratory approach. This approach aimed to raise awareness of the broader meaning of academic freedom beyond its traditional associations with freedom of the press and freedom of expression.

The team considered delving deeper into this right as part of fundamental human rights and understanding that these rights are integral and expansive to be both a challenge and an opportunity in Central America. To begin, the team decided to explore how this right is respected, or not, in practice. For this reason, the research focuses on people who work to construct critical knowledge and the limitations they encounter. The general research ques-tion is refined by specifying such limitations through an inquiry into experiences of exclusion. This approach is complemented by the development of a theoretical framework that will guide the field research and draw on its findings, as well as on previous work on the subject in the region.

2) What impact do you think your research will have on academic freedom in the short and long term?

In the short term, this exploratory work will raise awareness of the issue. It will focus on three areas:
(1) The people interviewed and contacted as part of the research will have a space to reflect on and analyze the issue while answering interview ques-tions. This group will receive the research results and be able to share them with their colleagues and other contacts. 2)Second, people from civil society, academia, and government agencies will be able to share the results in their workplaces through dialogue. 3)Third, those who access the social networks of the participating individuals and institutions, where the results will be posted.

In the long term, we hope to develop a broader program of socialization and dialogue with state agencies that govern scientific activity, private and public universities, indigenous universities, think tanks, and civil society organizati-ons. We will discuss ways to address identified issues with these entities.

We also hope to explore the issue in greater depth through new research with input from other interested entities and institutions in the design process. Positioning academic freedom as the foundation of democracy is an objective of this process.

3) What is the importance of taking part in this call for research proposals that is being promoted by CAFA and CLACSO?

There are three reasons why participating in the call is important:
(1) It provides an opportunity to explore the topic and establish its position in the Central American region, which is groundbreaking.
(2) It allows us to form a group of researchers who will systematize knowledge on the topic and raise awareness of its importance.
(3) It enables us to meet and share with researchers from other regions of Latin America and the Caribbean, which broadens our perspective and the perspectives of others.