Invitation

Opening of the Garden of Refuge Walk

Ruhr University Bochum is pleased to announce the official opening of the Garden of Refuge Walk on June 27, 2025, a temporary exhibition situated within the university’s Botanical Garden. Created by students from the Scholars at Risk Student Advocacy Seminar 2025 in collaboration with the International Office, the walk honors the courage, resilience, and invaluable contributions of scholars who have been wrongfully imprisoned or forced into exile due to war, persecution, or political oppression.

The opening event, taking place from 2 to 4 p.m. with a meeting point at the foyer of the Greenhouses at the RUB Botanical Garden, will feature a guided walk together with scholars in exile currently affiliated with Ruhr University Bochum. These scholars will share their personal stories and experiences of exile, offering firsthand reflections on academic freedom, solidarity, and responsibility.

The idea for the Garden of Refuge Walk builds on the symbolic tree planting in the Ruhr University’s Botanical Garden that took place during the first Scholars at Risk Seminar in 2021, which marked a commitment to academic freedom and solidarity with at-risk scholars. The Walk continues this engagement and expands on it – as a space for remembrance, reflection, and the recognition of academic lives in exile.

As a university deeply committed to academic freedom and global engagement, Ruhr University Bochum dedicates this walk to those whose lives and academic careers have been interrupted – but not silenced – by conflict and repression. The Garden of Refuge Walk provides a unique space for reflection, dialogue, and engagement with the pressing global challenges faced by academic communities today.

Academic freedom is a fragile, hard-won right 

“The Garden of Refuge Walk reminds us that academic freedom is not a given – it is a fragile, hard-won right that must be actively protected by the academic community and society as a whole,” said Ruhr University Rector Professor Martin Paul. “We hope this space fosters awareness, compassion, and a deeper sense of solidarity across borders and disciplines.”

The walk invites visitors to explore the serene beauty of the Botanical Garden, where carefully curated stories, plantings, and testimonies bring to life the journeys of wrongfully imprisoned or exiled scholars – many of whom now enrich academic life at Ruhr University. The exhibition blends nature and narrative, offering a powerful testament to the human spirit’s resilience and the essential role of knowledge in fostering inclusive, free societies.

Where stories of refuge, resilience, and research bloom alongside nature

More than an academic and student project, the Garden of Refuge Walk stands as a call to shared responsibility – a reminder that academic freedom depends on the collective efforts of institutions, scholars, and communities worldwide.

The exhibition will remain open throughout the year and is free of charge.