During the 2025 edition of the North-South Dialogues, which took place on 21 May in Strasbourg, the HEY course Towards responsible, safe, inclusive and ethical sport was announced, and the call for participants has been published. The deadline for applications is 15 June, through the online form. The first edition, in French, will take place from 30 June to 27 July 2025.

The course targets young people (18 to 30 years old) from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, with the potential to act as multipliers as:

• Representatives of civil society, particularly active in organisations that use sport to promote social inclusion, even if this is not the primary aim of the action.
• Young active athletes at various levels of professionalisation.
• Amateurs, fans and enthusiasts of the sport, including at local level.
• Young people involved in organising sports events (volunteers, professionals, etc).
• Young people with a particular interest in human rights.
• Young people with the potential to multiply the effect of training, who will be able to influence other young people, including sports influencers and journalists.
• Students of sport, management and governance.
• Sports coaches, supporters.

The objectives of the course are as follows:

• To discover the links between sport and human rights, which provide an essential framework for building a more responsible world of sport that respects human rights, is safe, ethical, inclusive and egalitarian; and to raise awareness of the potential of sport as a tool for improving social well-being, integration, participation, peace and dialogue within our societies.
• To understand how the fields of sport and human rights work (including the structure of the sporting ecosystem; players and institutions involved; their respective roles and responsibilities; key concepts; normative framework and practical implementation); and develop the ability to apply human rights in the sporting context.
• To benefit from practical tools and recommendations to help participants apply their knowledge and get involved in promoting, protecting and implementing human rights in sport, including through research, awareness-raising, political or social commitment, management, activism, etc.
• To promote the role of young people to contribute to the evolution and positive impact of sport on individuals, societies and sustainable development.

Topics covered

• Human rights framework related to sport: key concepts and resources around ethical, safe and inclusive sport.
• The sports ecosystem and its stakeholders, structures, organisation and governance at national and international level
• Integrity in sports: issues affecting personal integrity, organisational integrity and integrity of the competition
• Emerging issues in relation with sports

Follow-up

Participants who successfully complete this and/or other HEY courses will have the opportunity to apply for the Trainings of Tutors (TOT) to become certified HEY tutors. In 2025, two TOT are planned, in June and September, in the framework of the NSC Summer Youth Universities.

More about the course

The working language of the first edition of the course is French. The conceptual and methodological framework of the course is based on the HELP course on Human Rights in Sports and the Global Education Guidelines, developed by the North-South Centre. Participants’ learning process will focus on developing competences related to the main topic of the training course. The CoE Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) is the main reference in terms of competences. Through a non-formal learning approach, collaborative and interactive activities and exercises allow participants to contribute to their own learning process.

The training course is fully online, hosted on HEY Programme e-learning platform, based on MOODLE WORKPLACE. Working methods are structured according to the possibilities offered by the Learning Management System, they include different kinds of activities and exercises that meet the different learning styles of participants. Two tutors accompany participants during the 4-weeks activity, supporting their learning process, providing feedback, moderating discussion, giving inputs, and promoting further reflections on the main topics of the training.

For more information on the application and selection processes, please carefully read the call for participants to verify the eligibility criteria.

The course Towards responsible, safe, inclusive and ethical sport has been developed by the NSC, in collaboration with the Council of Europe Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), the African Union Sports Council and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). This course is implemented as part of the programme "Protecting human rights, rule of law and democracy through shared standards in the Southern Mediterranean" (South Programme V – 2022-2025), a joint initiative between the European Union and the Council of Europe, co-financed by both organisations and implemented by the Council of Europe to support to ongoing reforms in the Southern Mediterranean through the establishment of a common legal space between Europe and this region.

About HEY

The Human Rights Education for Youth (HEY) programme is designed to strengthen young people’s capacities to act for human rights, by raising their knowledge and understanding of European standards and other international legal frameworks for human rights protection, such as specific United Nations, League of Arab States and African Union treaties, conventions, protocols and charters.

It builds on the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) programme, which has been successfully training legal professionals on topics related to human rights and rule of law for over 20 years in Council of Europe member States and beyond.

HEY courses are developed building upon existing Council of Europe’s materials (NSC and HELP programme). Courses are adapted to a younger audience, with an interactive approach, based on the NSC expertise on global education and youth cooperation.

Participants who successfully complete the tutored courses online have the possibility to apply for a residential training for tutors, which results in a certification as HEY tutors and gives them the possibility to implement cascade HEY courses in their regions or countries, with the support of the North-South Centre and relevant experts. Other networking, participation and granting opportunities will also be available.

 Useful links

 Call for participants

 Application form

 HEY programme