The Open Council of Europe Academic Networks (OCEAN) unite universities, research institutions and scholars from the Council of Europe´s 46 member states around the shared goal of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

The OCEAN initiative video

Initiated in 2018 by Prof. Michele Nicoletti, then president of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, OCEAN is now ready to welcome academic members, institutional and individual, to join.

The Open Council of Europe Academic Networks aim at sharing and creating knowledge around the Council of Europe´s more than 200 conventions in European academia through teaching and research.

OCEAN provides a platform for connecting universities, research institutions and individual academics who focus on a Council of Europe convention of their choice or other topics related to the work and mission of the Council of Europe. It serves as a resource for information on Council of Europe activities; helps to share best practices and research; connects its members to the Council of Europe and its expert teams and gives them the opportunity to join events organised by OCEAN in Strasbourg or in Council of Europe member countries offline and online.

Institutional members are requested to organise a minimum of one academic activity per year – for example workshops, conferences, summer or winter schools – in the substantive fields described above. Individual members are required to take a leading role in the organisation of the above activities or publish an academic paper or book focused on a Council of Europe convention or other topics related to its mission.