Academic Freedom and Diversity: Outstanding Research from the Berlin University Alliance at the Lesbian and Gay City Festival
BUAs Diversity and Gender Equality Network (DiGENet) Booth at the Lesbian and Gay City Festival
Image Credit: Thomas Große
How do anti-queer political developments affect academic freedom and international research collaborations? This question was the focus of the presentation by the Queer Networks Working Group of the Diversity and Gender Equality Network (DiGENet) at the Lesbian and Gay City Festival on July 18 and 19 in Berlin-Schöneberg. DiGENet, a strategic initiative of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), brings together researchers and practitioners who are committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable academic environment. At the city festival along Motzstraße, the queer networks showcased diversity-sensitive teaching and learning formats as well as research projects in queer studies and gender studies from the Excellence Alliance. This first appearance at Europe’s largest lesbian and gay city festival provided an opportunity to engage in conversation with visitors, as well as guests from the worlds of politics and academia, about the importance of diversity for excellent research and democratic resilience.
News from Jul 24, 2026
Dr. Alicia Neesemann, a planetary scientist and co-coordinator of the Queer Staff Network at Freie Universität Berlin, explained to Dr. Ina Czyborra, the Senator for Science, Health, and Care of the State of Berlin – who was visiting to assess the status of queer networks within the Network of Excellence – how anti-queer political developments are already undermining academic freedom and international research collaborations. Using a “Legal Risk Assessment Map” by U.S. journalist Erin Reed – which had been specially adapted for the city festival – Neesemann illustrated to Andrea Güttner, Chancellor of Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin), the extent of anti-LGBT* and, above all, anti-trans policies in the United States. Neesemann, who is trans herself, has seen her involvement in NASA projects severely restricted by the U.S. government’s recent tightening of transphobic entry regulations.
This year’s Audre Lorde Visiting Professor at DiGENet, Prof. Dr. Eva Cheng, also highlighted the international networking of gender-sensitive research within the Excellence Alliance. Together with her host, Prof. Dr. Petra Lucht – spokesperson for Berlin University Alliance’s Steering Committee on Diversity and Gender Equality and professor of Gender in STEM at Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) – she emphasized the importance of gender- and diversity-sensitive research for academic integrity and excellence, a principle that Berlin University Alliance upholds through its mission statement on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (EDIB).
In a conversation with Stefan Evers, Senator for Finance, Culture, and Social Cohesion of the State of Berlin, Andrea Güttner, Chancellor of FU Berlin, emphasized the scientific value of diversity- and gender-sensitive research within the Excellence Alliance. Pia Linscheid, co-coordinator of the FU’s Queer Staff Network, outlined the limited scope of gender-sensitive research in Germany: Nationwide, the proportion of professorships with a gender-specific title is less than 0.5 percent.
The research projects from BUA presented at the booth demonstrated that, despite their limited institutional support, gender studies produce diverse and excellent research: The Charité project “Loneliness Among LGBT People: Causes and Approaches to Support” provides valuable insights into health care. Verónica Mota Galindo, philosopher at TU Berlin, presented the student research project “Media Discourse and Trans*Agency,” which examines how the portrayal of trans* people in the media has changed over the past few years. The project was part of the "Poster im Bundestag" exhibition, which showcased outstanding student research projects to a broad public.
Representatives of DiGENet’s queer networks spoke with Alexander Straßmeir, State Secretary for Social Cohesion of the State of Berlin, about gender and diversity studies as a topic of public debate. By drawing on scientific evidence, gender and diversity studies – contrary to what opponents claim – could help bring objectivity to emotionally charged and polarized debates.
The fact that excellent research thrives not only within the scientific community but also in society was demonstrated at the Lesbian and Gay City Festival during the joint tribute by BUA and the Federal Institute for Materials Research (BAM) to renowned queer scientists. Prof. Dr. Oliver Hahn and Dr.-Ing. Friedrich Bake represented BAM in a discussion with Dr. Ina Czyborra, Senator for Science.
The DiGENet-AG Queer Networks organized the appearance at the Lesbian and Gay City Festival on a volunteer basis. Within this working group, queer networks at BUA are committed to creating safer spaces for queer people and issues across institutions and to increasing their visibility. The participating networks include, among others, the Queer Staff Network at FU Berlin and the Queer Network at Charité, as well as student initiatives such as the Queer Action Group (QuAG) for LGBTIQ+ students at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and the FLINTA Office for Students at TU Berlin.
More information