HRK Annual Meeting in Weimar
Strengthening the Role of Universities in Democratic Society
The role of universities in democratic society is the focus of tonight’s Annual Meeting of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) in Weimar. HRK President Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal will welcome university leaders from across Germany as well as numerous guests from the fields of science, education, politics, and society. The guest of honor is Mario Voigt, Minister President of the Free State of Thuringia.
The HRK, as the nationwide association of state and state-recognized universities, is meeting today and tomorrow at the FRANZ LISZT University of Music Weimar and the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in various committees to discuss current issues in German and European higher education policy. The annual meeting is a festive highlight and serves as a forum for exchange with politics and society.
In his welcoming address, Minister President Mario Voigt acknowledges the importance of universities as key drivers of innovation and future viability. He states that the current transformation of the higher education landscape must be shaped with courage—through clear institutional profiles, greater collaboration, and reliable framework conditions provided by the federal and state governments.
In his welcoming remarks, HRK President Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal calls for a determined effort to strengthen the role of universities in democratic society in the face of numerous challenges. The federal and state governments must now contribute to this, in particular by structurally securing university funding and guaranteeing institutional autonomy. The goal is for universities to remain capable of acting even under pressure.
“We cannot take academic freedom and democracy for granted, as current global developments make clear. Resilient universities are characterized by their ability to actively safeguard spaces for discourse, and to address conflicts rather than ignore or avoid them. And by their unwavering commitment to fulfilling their core missions for this free society: free research, critical teaching, and open debate,” said Rosenthal.
Where anti-science, discriminatory, or anti-democratic positions call into question the space for academic discourse and the very rules of science, a line must be drawn, Rosenthal explains. The HRK President also encourages all members of the university community to take a more active and vocal stance in support of the rule of law, democratic principles, academic freedom, and university autonomy.
[Source: HRK, April 27, 2026]