YUFA president, Richard Wellen (left), holds a sign that reads, "YUFA supports academic freedom everywhere." YUFA Vice-President External, Terry Maley (right), holds a sign that reads, "Solidarity with academics in Turkey!"

YUFA is pleased to announce the creation of a solidarity working group that will organize support among faculty and within the York University community for academics in Turkey who have been purged or exiled or who are facing trial.

The first meeting of the working group will take place as follows:

Solidarity working group meeting
Friday, December 8
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
YUFA Board Room
390 York Lanes

If you cannot attend this meeting, but would like to get involved in the working group, please email [email protected].

In addition to joining the group, YUFA members can support academics in Turkey by taking one or more of the following steps:

• Sign this petition. Help support the targeted boycott of complicit universities in Turkey.
• Donate to this fund. Help provide financial support for purged and exiled academics. Donations go to the Research Institute on Turkey, the association that is organizing financial support for academics in Turkey.
• Forward this message. Contact colleagues in your department or at other universities, allies, members of your community, etc. A version of this appeal is also available in French, German, and Turkish here.
• Learn more about the situation. Get the latest updates at the Academics for Peace website. You can also read this backgrounder on the YUFA website.
• Send a letter from your organization to the government of Turkey. As an example of what to write and where to send it, check out this letter from the Middle East Studies Association of North America.
• Observe the trials. If you’re unable to attend in person, but could ask a human rights organization to send a delegate, please email [email protected].

In recent weeks, YUFA has contributed $2,000 to a relief fund established by Education International, the international union to which the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) affiliates.

On December 7, YUFA sent solidarity greetings (see video below) to an international conference on academic freedom that will focus on the situation facing academics in Turkey. You can read YUFA's full message of support here.