Launch of the HELP course on Fight against Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia

 

 

Launch of the HELP course on

Fight against Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia

 

Concept paper and Agenda

 

 

Date	25June 2021 (9.30 – 12.30)
Location	Online (web-conference) Link – provided to selected participants prior to the session
Language	English/Greek (launch seminar – no interpretation); Greek (online course)
Participation	Judges, prosecutors from Greece
Registration	Via the procedure and by the deadline indicated in the call circulated at national level

 

Background

The Council of Europe (CoE) Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP)^[1]is aimed at supporting the CoE member States in implementing the European human rights standards at the national level, focusing on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), other key CoE instruments, and since 2015, EU law. This is done by raising the capacities of legal professionals to apply those instruments in their daily work.

The objective of HELP is to provide high quality education on human rights to judges, lawyers and prosecutors throughout Europe. Law enforcement authorities such as police and prison staff are also targeted by HELP. Thanks to HELP courses, legal professionals can better protect human rights on a national level and keep up to date with the ever-evolving standards and case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). HELP courses specifically designed for EU countries increasingly incorporate relevant EU laws.

 

HELP is:

1. the only pan-European Network of national training institutions for judges, prosecutors and lawyers in the 47 CoE Member States.

2. an e-learning platform with free on-line courses on human rights.

3. a human rights training methodology for legal professionals.

 

The HELP in the EU II Project

The joint EU-CoE project ‘European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals in the European Union’ (HELP in the EU II[2]) is funded by the EU and implemented by the CoE from 1 September 2019 to 28 February 2022.  Its overall objective is to enhance EU justice professionals’ capacities to effectively and coherently apply European fundamental rights standards at the national level through training, mainly referring to the Council of Europe instruments (the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the (revised) European Social Charter (ESC) etc.) and EU framework (EU Charter on Fundamental Rights, EU Law). It also aims to strengthen the HELP Network in the EU, as well as the capacity of the Network members to effectively implement the HELP methodology and courses and contribute to increasing mutual trust and exchanges between EU practitioners.

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[1] For more information on HELP please visit HELP’s website: www.coe.int/help

[2]For more information about the HELP in the EU project, please go to https://www.coe.int/en/web/help/help-in-the-eu

 

 

The HELP course on Fight against Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia

Racism and xenophobia are a widespread problem in Europe today, with anti-immigrant attitudes on the rise. Across the European countries, several vulnerable and minority groups continue to face discrimination, violence and exclusion in areas such as employment, education or health. In most countries, the bias motivation in racist, xenophobic or homophobic crimes is often not adequately raised or investigated. Underreporting of those crimes is also high, often due to improper record systems or lack of complaints from victims.

The updated HELP course “Fight against Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia and Transphobia” covers in an interactive way the key concepts, the European (CoE and EU) non-discrimination law and the impressive body of case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in addition to decisions of the European Committee of Social Rights. One of the key reference materials to develop this course has been the Handbook on European non-discrimination lawdeveloped jointly by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and the European Court of Human Rights.

The course consists of 3 general modules on Introduction, Key Concepts and Legal Framework, as well as 2 specific modules on Racism and Xenophobia, and Homophobia and Transphobia respectively.

0. Introduction

·         Real life stories

1. Key Concepts

·         Perceptions, bias and stereotypes

·         Key concepts and definitions (racism and xenophobia; homophobia and transphobia; sexual orientation; hate crime, hate speech and discrimination)

2. Legal framework:

·         United Nations/Council of Europe/European Union

·         Procedural aspects

3. Racism and Xenophobia:

·         Introduction to racism and xenophobia

·         Main legal instruments

·         Racism in Europe – Key trends

·         Hate crime/hate speech/discrimination

4. Homophobia and Transphobia:

·         Introduction to homophobia and transphobia

·         Thematic areas

The course has been developed within EU-CoE “HELP in the 28” Project. It was updated in 2021 under the EU-CoE “HELP in the EU II” project to contain the most recent developments, especially in terms of the case-law of the European courts. The update process involved several representatives of relevant CoE services, namely from the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit (SOGI), European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), as well as from the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

 

 

The online launch

The activity is organised under the EU-CoE HELP in the EU II Project. The launch event will be held online, by web conference. Its main goal is to introduce participants to the HELP platform and the course page on which the group will follow the course with the assistance of a tutor. Selected participants will receive from the HELP Secretariat a link allowing them to access the web-conference, based on which they can follow the event on their computer or mobile devices (tablet/smartphone).

 

The course preparation and implementation

Before the online launch event, participants should create an account on the HELP e-learning platform

 

 

For creating your HELP account, please follow these steps: - go to this link and fill in the form (it takes about 2 mins): http://help.elearning.ext.coe.int/login/signup.php - once submitted, you will receive an activation link on the email you used for creating the account - go to your email inbox and click on the link to activate your account.

 

During the launch event, the participants will be registered on their course page, prepared in advance by their tutors. Based on the planning set by the tutor, the participants will go through the online course, complemented by the additional materials and resources prepared by the tutors.

The participants who have successfully completed the course and passed the evaluation set by the tutors will receive certificates issued by the HELP Programme of the Council of Europe.

 

Registration

Interested participants should:

-          be available to attend the launch event (join the web-conference via the link provided by the HELP Secretariat before the event)

-          undertake to follow and complete the online tutored course (approx. 1-2 hours of work per week)

-          register for the event by following the instructions provided by their National Training Institution

-          have a laptop/tablet/smartphone available for accessing the launch event via a link provided by the HELP Secretariat.

 

Further information

For any information, do not hesitate to contact the project team:

Content related issues, speakers, agenda: Ana-Maria Telbis – Project Coordinator (ana-maria.telbis@coe.int)

Organisational and administrative issues: Konstantinos Vratsidas–Project Assistant (konstantinos.vratsidas@coe.int)

 

 

 

Agenda – 25June 2021 (9.30 – 12.30)

 

09.20-09.30	Online registration of participants
9.30 – 9.45	Welcome address Speaker TBC, Greek School of Judges Eva Pastrana, Head of the HELP Programme, Council of Europe
9.45 – 10.05	Combatting Racism and Xenophobia – overview of the work of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) Zeynep Usal-Kanzler, European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) - TBC
10.05-10.25	Combatting Homophobia and Transphobia – overview of the relevant CoE standards Eleni Tsetsekou, Council of Europe Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit (SOGI) - TBC
10.25-10.35	Break
10.35 – 11.05	Presentation of the HELP Programme and the ‘HELP in the EU II’ Project Presentation of the HELP platform and walk through   Ana-Maria Telbis, ‘HELP in the EU II’ Project Coordinator, HELP Programme, Council of Europe
11.05-11.15	Overview of the HELP course on Fight against Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia
11.15 – 11.30	Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia–challenges and perspectives at national level Petros Alikakos – HELP national tutor
11.30-12.30	The implementation of the national course: -          tour de table and sharing of expectations -          presentation of the national page, planning, evaluation Petros Alikakos, HELP national tutor Q/A session, conclusions and closure

 

*Agenda may be subject to change