Tunisian and foreign university researchers on Thursday called for the democratisation of research by guaranteeing access to funding sources for scientific research. At a study day on "the funding of scientific research and its impact on academic freedom," organised by the Association of Academics of Tunisia for Academic Freedom and Rights in partnership with the International Network for the Defence of Academic Freedom, participants considered that it is impossible to speak of academic freedom as long as the university is subject to the dictates of capitalism and the dominant policies, underlining the difficulties of funding scientific research on a global scale. Association Chairman Aymen Bouali told TAP that "some funding may influence research and publication for political and economic ends, thereby threatening the issue of academic freedom in Tunisia." He added that the association would like to see greater support for freedom of choice in scientific research, especially as Tunisia is ranked among the top countries in the index of academic freedom. "Public funding for scientific research is still limited," he added, calling for "reliance on other funding sources through partnerships and international cooperation agreements." Besides, he underlined that "access to these sources is not easy, especially for researchers in the humanities and social sciences under the pretext of a lack of professional prospects." Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse