Silent University Ruhr

Silent University is an autonomous knowledge and exchange platform for academics who have fled or are seeking asylum. Refugees who come to Germany are initially not allowed to work. They cannot use their knowledge and skills, and university degrees are often not recognized.

The Kurdish artist Ahmet Öğüt became aware of the fate of refugees and asylum seekers with academic backgrounds in 2012, when he was researching in London for an exhibition at the Tate Modern. His idea was to end the enforced silence. He initiated the Silent University in London; there are sibling universities in Stockholm, Hamburg, Amman (Jordan), Athens and – since the Impulse Theater Festival 2015 – in Mülheim an der Ruhr. Here, refugees and asylum seekers become lecturers and advisors.

A cooperation of Ringlokschuppen Ruhr and Urbane Künste Ruhr