On 3 and 4 July 2025, the Council of Europe Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) held its annual Network Conference in Strasbourg, under the auspices of the Maltese Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The Conference brought together over 130 participants in person, including HELP Network members, representatives of Judicial Training Institutions and Bar Associations, and partners including the European Union, the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), and others.
The agenda can be consulted here. The event was also streamed online.
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The opening session was chaired by Claire OVEY, Director of Human Rights at DG Human Rights and Rule of Law, Council of Europe, who welcomed the participants and reaffirmed the importance of human rights training, and the relevance of the HELP Programme, also proven by the large audience present to the event or following online.
Ambassador Francesca CAMILLERI VETTIGER opened the HELP Annual Conference, marking the continuous growth and transformative impact of the HELP Programme and describing it as a living testament to the Council of Europe’s commitment to legal capacity building and to placing human rights at the heart of the judicial system. She praised HELP as a stabilising force that supports the consistent application of European legal standards, especially in times of uncertainty. Ambassador Camilleri Vettiger also emphasised Malta’s strong support for the Programme and noted that Malta’s judicial institutions are now using HELP courses and integrating them into their training curriculum. She highlighted several developments in HELP that align with the Maltese Presidency’s priorities, as a powerful example of how cooperation can enhance the quality and coherence of justice systems across member states.
Gianluca ESPOSITO, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, underlined the dual purpose of the event: to advance justice and human rights through the HELP Programme and to provide a platform for networking to enhance the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Europe and beyond. He reflected on the serious challenges facing Europe today—including war, democratic backsliding, and disinformation—and stressed the Council of Europe’s role in promoting shared values and legal standards.
Gianluca Esposito stressed the transformative impact of the HELP Programme, now a recognised to-go tool for delivering targeted training in response to complex challenges. He praised the commitment of the institutions and professionals gathered, noting that their engagement empowers HELP’s mission and ensures that its reach extends far beyond Europe, with growing interest from partners in Central Asia, the South Mediterranean, and even South America.
Ambassador Vesna KOS, Head of the European Union Delegation to the Council of Europe underlined the importance of the strategic cooperation between the European Union and the Council of Europe as a vital pillar in advancing shared values and legal standards. She reaffirmed the EU’s strong support for the HELP Programme, particularly in its role in catalysing judicial training initiatives and promoting digitalisation across justice systems. In line with the EU Judicial Training Strategy, she emphasised the need to equip legal professionals with the skills and tools to adapt to a rapidly evolving digital environment. She noted that HELP is well positioned to leverage this transformation through accessible training, ensuring that justice systems remain efficient, ultimately helping to shape a just and inclusive Europe.
Dr Jonatthan ATTARD, Minister for Justice and Reform of the Reconstruction Sector, addressed the public with a pre recorded message, highlighting the strong alignment between Malta’s Presidency priorities and the Council of Europe’s core values to shape a more just and inclusive Europe. He emphasised key priorities such as the protection of children from violence and discrimination, youth empowerment, solidarity with Ukraine, and the promotion of peace and justice. He underlined the significant role of the HELP Programme in linking human rights training to the practical application of the European Convention and jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. He noted the upcoming launch of Malta’s new education platform for justice professionals and the public—closely aligned with HELP’s mission to promote access to justice through provision of high quality professional education content and strengthen the rule of law.
Jelena RISTIĆ, Vice President of North Macedonia Bar Association, HELP Consultative Board member took the floor on behalf of the HELP Consultative Board, emphasising the importance of the HELP Programme in ensuring effective human rights protection. She noted that continuous learning and training are essential for legal professionals to apply European standards in their daily work and welcomed the work carried out by the HELP Network and national training institutions as a valuable source of inspiration and progress.
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The keynote speech was delivered by Judge Arnfinn BÅRDSEN, Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights. He highlighted that the European Court of Human Rights is currently dealing with over 60,200 pending applications, mostly concerning five countries, and noted that in this anniversary year—marked by the ongoing war in Ukraine - the Court was awarded the Dresden Peace Prize, a significant recognition of its role in promoting peace and international understanding. The Vice-President reaffirmed the Convention as a beacon of peace and stability built on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
Judge Bårdsen welcomed the growing catalogue of HELP courses, including six new ones developed over the past year—on topics such as deportation of children during armed conflicts, mental health, drug use, and the abolition of the death penalty—as well as a new course on the use of the ECHR Knowledge Sharing platform. He also noted forthcoming courses on rights in the digital environment and legal remedies for prison conditions, reflecting HELP’s evolving role in both preventing violations and supporting the execution of judgments.
He concluded by thanking the HELP team, HELP tutors, and the broader network for their dedication, and left the audience with a powerful reminder:
“And, as we navigate unprecedented challenges, to apply the Convention and its values as our compass.
In this effort, the HELP Network is important. Training supports the proper implementation of the Convention at the national level.
Accordingly, HELP courses, as a shortcut to Convention literacy, strengthen the Convention’s impact across domestic legal systems and empower those on the front lines of human rights protection.”
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The main achievements of the HELP Programme were presented by Ana-Maria TELBIS, Head of HELP Programme, Council of Europe, who revealed that the number of users on the HELP eLearning platform had grown to more than 155,000 at the end of June 2025 (top 10 CoE member states include: Türkiye, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Georgia and UK). The catalogue of HELP online courses on various human rights topics grew to 62 courses and more than 750 national versions (translations and adaptations to national law and jurisprudence), all freely available on the CoE HELP eLearning platform. HELP courses cover European human rights standards illustrating the interplay between the Council of Europe (ECHR, European Social Charter and other Council of Europe Conventions as well as ECtHR jurisprudence) and EU (EU Charter and other EU law and jurisprudence the Court of Justice of the European Union).
The Programme’s progress ad impact are reflected in the Annual Report accessible via this link, outlining the milestones of the Programme as well as statistics for 2024. Just ahead of the Conference, the HELP Secretariat launched its Newsletter, designed to share the updates on regular basis. Subscription is available here to all interested and the first issue can be consulted here.
The work carried out in HELP was further detailed under the different regional projects: HELP in the EU (presented by Oana GIRLESCU, EU-CoE HELP in the EU IV Project Coordinator), HELP in the Western Balkans (presented by Jasminka PERUNICIC ALLEN, HELP in WB Project Coordinator), HELP in Eastern Partnership (presented by Krystyna KHOKHLOVA, HELP Programme Manager) and HELP in South Mediterranean (presented by Valentina BOZ, Programme Manager – South Mediterranean region).
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As in the 3 previous editions of the HELP Network Conference, a prominent place in the agenda was dedicated to the initiatives carried out by the Council of Europe HELP Programme, to support Ukrainian legal professionals in the face of the war in Ukraine following the Russia’s military aggression and its consequences.
Moderating the session, Lilja GRÉTARSDÓTTIR, Head of the Department for the Implementation of Justice, Human Rights and Legal Co-operation Standards, reaffirmed Council of Europe’s unwavering support to Ukraine, a priority reinforced at the Reykjavik Summit and by the recent visit of President Zelensky to the Council of Europe, which led to the signing of the agreement to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine. She noted that her Department is implementing ten key projects supporting Ukraine, including the highly relevant “HELP for Ukraine’ project. Krystyna KHOKHLOVA, Programme Manager, highlighted HELP’s adaptive response to the war and praised the dedication of national partners. Since 2022, HELP users in Ukraine have tripled to over 20,000, with 2,900 course completions in 2025 and 39 out of 62 HELP courses translated into Ukrainian, significantly enhancing the application of human rights standards during wartime.
The session included interventions from national partners: Olesia OTRADNOVA (Prosecutors Training Center) shared ongoing use of HELP by prosecutors; Tamara ZAKREVSKA (School of Judges) outlined its growing use in judicial training; Valentyn GVOZDIY (Ukrainian National Bar Association) highlighted course accreditation for lawyers' continuous training; and Yulia LYKHACH stressed its value for civil servants.
New HELP courses or modules have been created to address specific issues emerging from the war, such as those on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights –Temporary Protection in the EU and Deportation of Children during armed conflict, the latter presented by Olga POIEDYNOK, co-author of the course.
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A session dedicated to the newly published and updated HELP courses outlined the latest topics, including:
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The new HELP course on Mental Health and Human Rights (presented by Laurence LWOFF, Human Rights and Biomedicine Division);
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The new HELP course on Abolition of the Death Penalty (presented by Sebastien POTAUFEU, Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law,);
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The new HELP course on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (presented by Ovidiu MAJINA, Children’s Rights Division);
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The new HELP course on Human Rights and Drug Use (presented by Anastasiya UGRINCHUK, Pompidou Group);
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The newly updated HELP course on Anti-discrimination (presented by Paolo LOBBA, Anti-discrimination Co-operation Unit);
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And the HELP course currently under update on Business and Human Rights (presented by Biljana NIKOLIC, Transversal challenges and multilateral projects Division);
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The session “Judicial Training and Digitalisation – Synergies at European Level” highlighted the role of HELP Programme in enhancing cooperation between the European Union, other relevant training institutions and the Council of Europe, particularly in the context of the digitalisation. Wojciech POSTULSKI (DG JUST, European Commission) highlighted HELP’s role in supporting the effective use of digital tools while safeguarding fundamental rights. He stressed the need for training to address both the opportunities and risks of digitalisation, ensuring procedural safeguards and equal access to justice, especially for vulnerable groups. Sanja JOVICIC, Legal Expert at the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) presented the tools and resources related to the Charter developed by FRA, among which, the 2025 Fundamental Rights Report, Charter experts’ newsletter, Charter country sheets, Charterpedia (the Agency’s encyclopaedia on the EU Charter), the Charter Handbook, Charter Guidance checklist, Charter case studies, Charter app as well as the FRA platform where, among others, Charter courses are to be found.
The session also focused on optimising efforts and resources among European training networks, with Ingrid DERVEAUX (Secretary General of the European Judicial Training Network - EJTN) underlining the strong cooperation between EJTN and HELP, both of which rely on robust networks for training and knowledge exchange. She mentioned the joint course “Building a Common Digital Culture”, with 127 judges and prosecutors enrolled, and noted that Module 2 will be developed in autumn 2025, paving the way for a digital training passport. She also referred to the upcoming Access to (Digital) Justice module to be developed under the HELP in the EU IV project and which would serve as preparation for the EJTN Seminar of Access to Justice, reinforcing the shared commitment to strengthening digital skills within rights-based justice systems.
Simone CUOMO, Secretary General of the Council of Bars and Law Societies in Europe (CCBE), highlighted the linkage between digitalisation and the rule of law, noting that in the current setting of online hearings and digital court procedures, lawyers increasingly operate in a digital environment. While tools like AI and cloud-based solutions offer new opportunities, he stressed that ethical obligations remain vital, and the CCBE is preparing guidance on the use of AI-generated tools. He mentioned that digitalisation doesn’t automatically enhance transparency and should address human needs. In this context, training is crucial, focused not only on fundamental skills, but also in digital literacy, critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and the ability to identify errors in machine generated outputs.
Eftychia KATANAKI, speaking for the Courts and Tribunals Sector of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), outlined the Agency’s dual support: training national administrations through the European Asylum Curriculum and strengthening the judiciary via tailored capacity-building and a robust Courts and Tribunals Network linking EU and associated countries, as well as key stakeholders in the field of international protection. In line with its mandate, the EUAA fosters peer-to-peer learning, cross-border judicial cooperation, and digital tools to address Europe’s asylum challenges, while valuing collaboration with HELP in areas of mutual interest.
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In a session dedicated to the work of the Council of Europe related to cooperation beyond training, Giovanni-Battista CELIENTO, Head of the Cooperation Programmes Division and Elena YURKINA, Head of Unit, Transversal Challenges and Multilateral Projects Division, presented ongoing and upcoming initiatives, including work with national authorities and training institutions, addressing justice sector reforms, digital solutions, and shared concrete examples of cooperation with member states beyond traditional training frameworks.
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A separate session was specifically focused on Embedding HELP courses in institutional training programmes where Daniela BALESTRA, E-learning system administrator of the HELP Programme outlined a new feature that enables a seamless transfer of HELP courses to the e-learning platforms of national institutions. Gordon SCERRI, Representative of the Ministry for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector of Malta shared first-hand experience with this integration, showcasing Malta’s own e-learning platform as a successful example of how HELP content can be embedded into national training systems.
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The second day of the Conference began with a series of practical workshops focused on enhancing the impact of legal training with HELP. Participants chose from three parallel sessions: Workshop A explored the development of soft skills in legal training, including change management, effective communication on human rights, and legal negotiation; Workshop B addressed digitalisation of training, covering methods, tools, and the evolving human rights landscape in the digital environment; and Workshop C focused on designing sustainable and impactful training, from planning and evaluation to data collection and gender mainstreaming. These workshops offered a space for participants to exchange experiences, trends, and good practices, and will contribute to a forthcoming digest of key takeaways to streamline more effective human rights training initiatives.
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Participants also explored how training contributes to building synergies between cooperation and standard setting/monitoring.
Frederic DOLT, Head of the Department for the Execution of Judgements of the European Court of Human Rights emphasised the crucial link between human rights education and the effective execution of judgments. He noted two essential elements: a solid understanding of the Convention as interpreted by the Court and synergies within the Council of Europe to support implementation. HELP, he noted, strengthens national capacity and is increasingly cited by states as part of judicial training in execution processes. He mentioned that HELP Programme was mentioned in 16 recent Committee of Ministers decisions, including Cămpeanu v. Romania and Tonello v. Hungary, where states were encouraged to provide further training for legal professionals, drawing on Council of Europe expertise and HELP courses.
Renis ZAGANJORI from the ECtHR’s Knowledge Sharing Unit presented updates on the ECHR Knowledge Sharing (KS) platform, public since October 2022. He highlighted newly available resources, how they are regularly updated, and mentioned the translation of the platform to non-official languages. He also introduced the new HELP course on Introduction to the Knowledge Sharing Platform, designed to familiarise users with this important tool.
Amaya UBEDA , from the Department for Social Rights of the Council of Europe emphasised that the HELP Programme has actively contributed to social rights education through collaboration with the Secretariat and the Committee of Social Rights. In 2023, the Committee of Ministers issued a Recommendation calling at enhancing education and training on social rights, with HELP playing an important role. She mentioned that the Secretariat is working on the development and update of tools to boost education on the Social Charter system, ensuring it is better understood and used effectively in daily work across member states.
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A specific session was dedicated to HELP in Universities and the possibilities and advantages for an integration of HELP courses in the education curricula of law faculties. This session was led by Krystyna KHOKHLOVA, HELP Programme Manager, with the participation of Elena PLOTNIKOVA, Doctoral Researcher, Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics who presented a successful example of integration of HELP course in University curricula for Master and Bachelor students, offering credits for completing a course. Olaf KÖNDGEN, OCEAN (Open CoE Academic Network) Coordinator presented opportunities for researchers and scholars to promote knowledge on the Council of Europe Conventions.
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The event concluded with a session dedicated to reflecting on lessons learned and identifying next steps.
Elections for the Consultative Board also took place, and the Conference welcomed the newly elected members, who will play a key role in promoting the further development of the HELP Programme.
In the closing remarks, Clare OVEY thanked participants for their energy and involvement, emphasising that for the European Convention on Human Rights and related instruments to be truly effective, they must be understood, and integrated into national legislation, jurisprudence, and professional practice. This requires more—and better—human rights training for legal professionals, law students, and beyond, as highlighted in the Committee of Ministers’ 2019 Recommendation on the system of the ECHR in university education and professional training and the 2022 Guidelines on preventing and remedying ECHR violations. She reaffirmed HELP’s value as robust training tool and expressed appreciation to the HELP Network institutions for their crucial role and dedication in continuously contributing to the advancement of human rights education.
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Consult the 2024 HELP Annual Report
Subscribe to the HELP Newsletter
