Hungarian historian and CEU professor Andrea Peto has been awarded the University of Oslo’s Human Rights Award for her work on scientific freedom. She will be travelling to Oslo in December during the Oslo Peace Days celebration to receive the prize in person.
The University of Oslo’s Human Rights Award is awarded annually for personal efforts and active involvement in one or more areas related to human rights issues in a broad sense.
Professor Peto teaches at the Department of Gender Studies at Central European University, Vienna Austria and is a Doctor of Science at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She conducts courses on European comparative social and gender history, gender and politics, women’s movements, qualitative methods, oral history, and the Holocaust. She is also a Research Fellow at CEU Democracy Institute
“Andrea Peto is a fearless defender of academic freedom and institutional autonomy. With her connection to gender studies and Holocaust research, she represents disciplines that come under attack when European regimes move in a more authoritarian direction. Academic freedom is fundamental when important human rights are to be protected,” said Pro-Rector Ase Gornitzka, who is chair of the prize committee.
“I am honored to receive this award for academic freedom as illiberal regimes are weaponizing education and knowledge for their political aims,” said Professor Andrea Peto after receiving the news of her award.
Andrea Peto was also awarded the 2018 All European Academies (ALLEA) Madame de Stael Prize for Cultural Values and she is Doctor Honoris Causa of Sodertorn University, Stockholm, Sweden.
