The University of Latvia’s Faculty of Law leads the development and delivery of the specialised training modules. Its teaching and research team will prepare content on the protection of fundamental rights in the European Union deliver training for public sector professionals whose work involves ensuring respect for and applying fundamental rights.
Human rights govern the relationship between individuals and the state. Decisions made by public institutions affect people’s rights and interests every day, from access to services and equal treatment to the protection of personal data. Understanding and applying human rights principles is therefore essential to good governance, the rule of law and public trust in state institutions.
EDUCHAR will develop and pilot an introductory human rights course and specialised training modules on non-discrimination and equality, data protection and digital rights, and migration and asylum. The programme will combine recorded lectures, face-to-face seminars and individual work, using case studies drawn from public administration. Training is planned to begin in spring 2027 and to reach at least 780 participants from the public sector in Latvia and Lithuania.
As highlighted by Dr. iur. Lolita Buka, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Latvia “Human rights govern the relationship between individuals and the state, which makes them relevant not only to lawyers but to everyone working in public administration. Public sector professionals make decisions every day that affect people’s rights and interests. Understanding human rights principles is therefore essential to good governance, the rule of law and strengthening public trust in state institutions”.
The pilot will provide the basis for integrating human rights education into national public sector professional development systems. Expert working groups, roundtable discussions and an international conference will bring together public institutions, academia and civil society to evaluate the results and develop recommendations for a permanent, state-led programme. This work will address the institutional responsibilities, time and funding needed to sustain the programme beyond the project.
EDUCHAR builds on the Human Rights Education for the Public Sector (HREPS) research project of 2020–2021, in which the public sector helped shape a training framework around its professional needs. EDUCHAR will develop this framework into a programme and test its implementation in Latvia and Lithuania.
EDUCHAR is coordinated by Baltic Human Rights Society (Latvia), working with the University of Latvia, the State Chancellery of the Republic of Latvia, Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania) and Lithuania’s Public Management Agency (Viešojo valdymo agentūra). The Human Rights and Democracy Education Institute in Lithuania participates as an associated partner.
On 25–26 August 2026, the project’s first working group meeting took place at the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Law in Riga, focusing on the programme’s development and its long-term integration into public sector professional development.
EDUCHAR runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028 and is co-funded by the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.
Project number 101293114.
Further information: EDUCHAR project page.
Media contact: Kitija Krastiņa, Public relations specialist, The University of Latvia’s Faculty of Law, kitija.krastina@lu.lv, 67034735
Co-funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia. Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
