On 5th December 2023, the HELP Programme held an online information event for university professors. The event aimed at introducing interested university professors to the Council of Europe HELP Programme and the HELP online platform and courses, as well as informing them of the practical ways to include the HELP courses in their everyday teaching.
View the presentations covering the following topics:
- Introduction to the HELP Programme: Eva PASTRANA, Head of the Justice and Human Rights Training Division, CoE.
- Overview of the HELP e-learning platform and basic steps to use HELP courses in university education: Ana-Maria TELBIS, Deputy Head of the Justice and Human Rights Training Division, CoE.
- HELP in Universities – overview of achievements so far:
The event included opening remarks from Frédéric DOLT, Head of the Department for the Implementation of Human Rights, Justice, and Legal Cooperation Standards, who emphasised the global significance of the event, highlighting the essential role of the Council of Europe HELP Programme in training legal professionals. He underscored HELP's broad coverage, incorporating EU perspectives in line with Committee of Ministers Recommendations, and particularly stressing on the significance of HELP courses for university education and their pivotal role in cultivating a future generation knowledgeable and skilled in safeguarding human rights.
Participants also gained insights from presentations by Olaf KÖNDGEN, who introduced the Open CoE Academic Network (OCEAN), a project facilitating connections within academia, as well as Elena JOVANOVSKA BREZOSKA on examples of cooperation with universities in the Western Balkans region.
The event also featured a roundtable discussion with practical examples, where university professors from diverse European regions shared their experiences in integrating HELP courses into their curricula. This interactive session, moderated by the HELP Secretariat, offered valuable insights for professors seeking to enhance their teaching methodologies and explore diverse approaches to integrating HELP courses into their curricula. The event also featured interventions by university professors, some of whom presented statistical data, feedback, and success stories.
As the event concluded, participants gained valuable insights into the practical implementation of HELP courses in university curricula. The Council of Europe HELP Programme remains dedicated to preparing future professionals with the necessary skills to protect human rights in their daily work.
Complete video recordings of the information event: Coming Soon
If you are a university professor and you would like to integrate some high-quality online human rights courses in your teaching, the Council of Europe HELP Programme (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) can help you with that!
There are currently 50 different HELP online courses, available in more than 550 national language versions on the HELP online platform, that you can integrate in your teaching as additional materials to your core curriculum.
While the HELP courses are developed primarily for legal professionals, they can be a very valuable resource for university students, primarily in law, but also in political sciences, international relations, European integration, journalism, even medical studies!
Students taking HELP courses have described them as ‘very helpful’, ‘good as a means of variety’, ‘nice change from other online courses’, ‘very structured and organised way’ to present information, ‘quite interactive’, ‘very accessible’, particularly useful in ‘identifying key [Council of Europe] treaties and [EU] directives and regulations’ etc.
Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2019)/5 on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) system in university education and professional training advocates for the adoption of the HELP Methodology and HELP online courses in university education. Additionally, HELP courses provide a comprehensive topical approach, encompassing not just the ECHR and pertinent case law from the European Court of Human Rights but also incorporating other Council of Europe instruments, the EU legal framework, and relevant CJEU case law.
How can students take HELP courses?
- Students can take a ‘self-learning’ HELP course and obtain the so-called ‘HELP statement of accomplishment’, which will attest that they have completed the course. They can bring this statement of accomplishment to the professors, which can in turn accept it for the purposes of crediting the students.
- Exceptionally, if there is a longstanding cooperation between your university and the HELP Programme and if you are a HELP certified tutor, dedicated virtual spaces can be opened on the HELP online platform and run autonomously by the professors.
In an era where the fragility of democracy, human rights and the rule of law is evident, HELP courses present a free, high-quality, and effective solution to uphold and preserve respect for these values. This is particularly crucial when instilling these principles in younger generations throughout their educational paths.
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