Council of Europe Days

• Telling the Council of Europe story is an initiative launched to raise awareness of the Council of Europe in its member states. This can be done in various ways and on different occasions, for example on specific Council of Europe days.
• Led by national focal points, the initiative is an opportunity for member states to show the benefits of their membership in the Council of Europe.
• Telling the Council of Europe's story highlights how the Council of Europe has helped to improve the lives of millions of Europeans by protecting their human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

 Sample activities

• Art exhibitions
• Articles, op-eds, press interviews
• Awareness-raising in schools, universities and national youth councils
• Competitions: photos / cartoons / videos / essays
• Conferences on Council of Europe-related topics
• Endorsements by media and sports personalities
• Podcasts and short videos (or translation and dissemination of existing products)
• Youth days

 National focal points

National focal points in member states propose topics, drawing on the Organisation’s priorities and annual reports, as well as the type of activity, the location and possible partners, and making use of the relevant existing Council of Europe networks. Themes might include:

• Implementation of Council of Europe recommendations or the relevance of specific conventions at the national level (see monitoring reports and other tools and conventions)
• The fight against cybercrime (see Country profiles on cybercrime policy) 
• Improving the efficiency and quality of judicial systems in Europe (see CEPEJ country profiles)
• Initiatives relating to artificial intelligence (see AI initiatives (coe.int)) 
• Progress in tackling trafficking in human beings (see Practical Impact of GRETA’s monitoring work )
• Benefits brought by the World Forum for Democracy (see 10 years of the WFD )
• 50 years of youth-sector work enabling young people to actively uphold, defend, promote and benefit from the CoE’s core values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
• Supporting youth civil society and young people, and supporting their participation in democratic processes.
• Successes in the fields of education, sports and culture.

Member states may also choose to promote existing Council of Europe resources and tools – for example, by organizing exhibitions on cultural routes, or by highlighting existing initiatives such as the “Free to Create, Create to be Free” – digital exhibition on artistic freedom, or educational manuals for human rights education with young people, etc..

All initiatives are welcome, to help tell the Council of Europe’s story and raise visibility.

 Core topics

• Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights at national level (visit the ECHR Impact web site)
• Protecting women and girls from violence through the Istanbul Convention (see an example from the Chisinau Office) 
• Addressing online and technology-facilitated violence against women through the Istanbul Convention and Budapest Convention on Cybercrime (See study)
• Ensuring freedom of expression, freedom of the media (see report on the state of freedom of expression in Council of Europe member States in 2021)
• Seventy key achievements of the Council of Europe
• The achievements of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (see The Assembly's achievements)