From 8 to 12 September 2025, the annual conference of the German Middle East Studies Association (DAVO) took place at the University of Erlangen. With approximately 1,200 members, DAVO is one of Europe's most important academic societies for research on the Middle East. During the general meeting on 10 September 2025, new elections were held for the DAVO Executive Board and the first elections were held for the members of the DAVO Committee for Academic Freedom (GfW), which was already formally established last year.
Benjamin Schütze was elected to the DAVO Executive Board as treasurer for a term of four years. The other new members of the Executive Board are Prof. Christine Binzel (University of Erlangen) as chair, Dr. Hanna Al-Taher (TU Dresden) as deputy chair, and Prof. Hanna Kienzler (King's College London) as secretary.
The new board wants DAVO to be a place for critical, interdisciplinary, international and committed scholarship. In addition, the new board members want to promote a deeper understanding of the region, overcome colonial and Orientalist structures, and take a clear stand against racism, oppression and attacks on academic freedom.
As a member of the Executive Board, Benjamin Schütze is also a member of the newly activated DAVO Committee for Academic Freedom (GfW) for a term of three years. The aim of this organisation is to observe and defend academic freedom in research, study and teaching in the field of contemporary research on the region in predominantly German-speaking countries and around the world, including academic institutions in the Middle East.