Promoting online education and research across national borders

Recommendation 2250 (2023)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 3 March 2023 (see Doc. 15714, report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media, rapporteur: Lord Alexander Dundee).

1. Referring to its Resolution 2489 (2023) “Promoting online education and research across national borders”, the Parliamentary Assembly draws attention to the right to education under Article 2 of the Additional Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ETS No. 9), as amended by Protocol No. 11, and to its crucial role in creating and upholding democratic societies and ensuring individual and social progress.

2. This fundamental right has recently been challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic and the military attack by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which have shown the fragility of current education systems in Europe.

3. At the same time, technological progress enables educational institutions, teachers and students to make a strategic transition to more inclusive and interactive education through the use of online resources, thereby preparing coming generations for further changes in interpersonal communication, the media, democratic processes and work environments.

4. Therefore, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

4.1 define the right to education, including online education, as a priority for Council of Europe action towards more inclusive and coherent democratic societies;

4.2 convene on this subject a session of the Council of Europe Standing Conference of Ministers of Education;

4.3 update the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (ETS No. 165, Lisbon Recognition Convention), possibly through a protocol, in order to set common standards on the recognition of online education periods and qualifications;

4.4 support the work of the Council of Europe on library legislation and policy in Europe, including encouragement of online learning and research through libraries;

4.5 support the European Youth Centres of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and Budapest, so that they can provide more online education programmes for young participants across Europe;

4.6 analyse the legal exception for educational purposes under the current copyright legislation in Europe in view of online education requirements;

4.7 widen the scope of the European Support Fund for the Co-production and Distribution of Creative Cinematographic and Audiovisual Works (Eurimages), in order to include targeted help for the co-production and distribution of creative and socially responsible European video and computer games designed to help an interactive learning process;

4.8 establish practical projects in member States to promote online education, possibly financed through voluntary contributions by member States or joint programmes with the European Union and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).