UniPR for Palestine

Parma, April 24, 2024
"Ceasefire" in Gaza and Research Grants for Palestinian Researchers: Unanimous Resolutions by the Senate and the Board of Directors. Rector Paolo Martelli: "A necessary, concrete, and symbolic act of solidarity."

The University of Parma strongly calls for an immediate "ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip and takes a concrete step of solidarity towards Palestinian researchers: the funding of two annual research grants, totaling 50,000 euros as the first action, similar to what has already been done in previous years for students, scholars, and researchers fleeing Afghanistan and Ukraine. The University thus responds to the appeal recently promoted by several UniPR professors and signed by more than 400 members of the University of Parma.

"The gravity of the situation is evident to all, and it is absolutely beyond words," explains Rector Paolo Martelli, who adds: "We felt it was necessary to take an act of solidarity by responding to the appeal directed to us. On the one hand, therefore, in line with the recent UN Security Council resolution, we call for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. On the other hand, we are simultaneously establishing two research grants for Palestinian researchers who will be hosted at our University: a hand extended to colleagues who are in deep difficulty. I must remind you that the Palestinian education and training system has been severely impacted, with the destruction of schools, universities, laboratories, and libraries, and many researchers have been killed. Ours is an act of help and support, both concrete and symbolic, which we are pleased to carry out on the eve of a crucial date in the history of our country and democracy, April 25, with all the fundamental values this date represents."

On 15/11/2024, the call for applications for two scholarships for young Palestinian researchers was published: https://www.unipr.it/notizie/universita-di-parma-cessate-il-fuoco-gaza-e-borse-di-ricerca-ricercatrici-e-ricercatori

Link to the call: https://www.unipr.it/sites/default/files/2024-11/Bando%20borse%20ricerca%20Gaza_IT-.pdf

Subsequently, the University of Parma joined the Iupals Project (Italian Universities for Palestinian Students), an initiative of CRUI (Conference of Rectors of Italian Universities) carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), and the Consulate General of Italy in Jerusalem. The University of Parma made available a total of 9 scholarships, with a call for applications published in May 2025. The project was coordinated by Cuci (University Center for International Cooperation), in collaboration with the Pro-Rector for Teaching Simone Baglioni, the Delegate for the Refugee Table Michela Semprebon, the Delegate for International Cooperation Nadia Monacelli, and professors Marco Deriu and Stefano Caselli.

Another initiative of the University of Parma for Palestine is the Reverse Teaching Strike for Palestine.

The Reverse Teaching Strike for Palestine is a civil disobedience action promoted by workers and employees of Italian universities in support of the Palestinian people and against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. This campaign originates from the commitment of ParTeR (Participatory Teaching and Research), academic organizations, and Italian associations for justice and peace in Palestine, including: ESS - Emancipatory Social Science, Sociologia di Posizione, SIAC - Italian Society of Cultural Anthropology, RUP - Research and University for Palestine, SIAA - Italian Society of Applied Anthropology, Antropolog3 for Palestine, Left-Wing Student Movement at the University of Parma, CIAC - Immigration, Asylum, and International Cooperation Center of Parma and Province, Casa della Pace of Parma, Simbdea - Italian Society for Museography and Demoethnoanthropological Heritage, Iris - Instruments and Resources for Local Development, Escapes - Critical Laboratory of Forced Migration Studies.

The campaign aims to achieve the following objectives, demanding that Rectors and Academic Senates of Italian universities commit to ensuring that:

• RELATIONS AND COLLABORATIONS between Italian Universities and the ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS are terminated, as boycotts, divestments, and sanctions – in this case, following the Palestinian protest – remain important peaceful political tools that can exert crucial pressure on the evolution of conflicts and help foster forms of external and internal dissent.
• PROJECTS and any form of collaboration between Italian Universities and ENTITIES or COMPANIES directly or indirectly involved in the military sector, both in the production and market of arms, should be halted, with a commitment to a more serious and profound reflection on the demilitarization of spaces of knowledge.
• AN AD-HOC FUND for teaching and research collaboration should be established to SUPPORT THE PALESTINIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, which is currently at great risk, through a dedicated scientific collaboration program, with the design and application of multiple forms of exchange, for the material and immaterial support of educational activities at all levels and for all sectors of Palestinian civil society.
• CONCRETE ACTION in terms of MOBILITY JUSTICE should be exercised, meaning direct and substantial pressure from CRUI (Conference of Italian University Rectors) on the relevant Italian institutions, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farnesina), to ensure that Palestinians engaged in cultural and research fields – scholars, researchers, students, writers, intellectuals, and so on – who hold specific research grants of various kinds and/or invitations from Italian universities, also thanks to collaborations with civil society, can actually move freely.

Various initiatives are currently underway organized by ParTeR, including: Reading Marathon "Voices from Palestine" (July 2025), Seminar "The Palestinian Issue and Academic Censorship" (October 2025), Education and Resistance: The Palestinian Student Movement Between Intergenerational Continuity and Transnational Networks (November 2025), Artivism Against the Genocide in Palestine (December 2025).