What participants said about this course:

"The course met my expectations fully. Prior to the course, my knowledge on the European Union and its human rights approach  was insufficient. This course helped me to systematize the knowledge and build a much better understanding of the human rights model in the European Union context."

"I can freely say that my increased knowledge of principles and methods of human rights impact and its interaction with EU efforts will directly serve the mission, as I will have a more professional approach towards identifying human rights violations, information-gathering, interviewing, reporting, monitoring human rights and freedoms, etc."

"I was generally satisfied by the subjects studied in the course. I expected much more exchange from participants and learning from their experience. Discussions were more focused on the OSCE countries, however, generally the course offered a broad view of the tools available at the EU level to advocate for human rights."

"When I first saw the massive representation of OSCE people from Kosovo, I was afraid that we’d end up discussing human rights in our context only. However, I hope that the Kosovo/OSCE dominance was not too grave. Thank you for a very inspiring course, especially to [the instructor], who with great competence, personal experiences and optimism guided us through the basics of EU human rights."

"The course did meet my expectations very well, although I had expected more interaction between participants. Also, I was surprised to see how few chose to participate, even though they were listed as proper participants."

"The course helped me choose my university thesis: I chose the limits to the freedom of speech as a topic. It was useful to read and discuss about the freedom of media."

"I found it really interesting. It was my first online course, and I think that it was an important occasion for acquiring knowledge. I acquired a lot of skills and I’m satisfied."

"It met my expectations, although human rights and the EU are still not clear. This is not the fault of the course, but rather of the ‘confusion’ within the EU. I had personally hoped to be able to get into some more detail on certain issues within the EU, but understand from the course now, that time was definitely not sufficient to go into actual detail."

"I think I learnt a lot from the course, an area in which I did not have much prior knowledge. Especially interesting for me and relevant to my work was monitoring of identification of human rights violations in public institutions."

"I was very satisfied with the course and materials provided for readings."

"I gained a general knowledge of the topics proposed, which will help me in my daily work. However, I would have liked to have more case studies and exchange of best practice and lessons learnt."

"This distance learning course provided information on human rights dialogues which the European Union has established with different countries, most prominently with China, and analysed the potential and pitfalls of this instrument. It also discussed the contribution the Union makes through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), which is devoted to finance and assist in promoting human rights and democracy worldwide."

"Very useful and interesting, I really enjoyed it."

"[Readings] sometimes too long; some too “technical”. However, the instructor’s message always well introduced the participants into the week’s topic and was a good introduction to the texts."

"Group work is more interesting and I found the exchange of opinions very productive."

"The written assignments were very motivating for me, as I had plenty of time to do them and as well the opportunity to read other’s opinions, which enabled me to extend my knowledge and apply it directly to my work."

"All the participants were more or less active in the course, depending on their time. I find their contributions very useful."

"I found contributions from other participants sometimes inspiring, but sometimes also just a quick product as a result of self-discipline."

"[The instructor was] very proactive and professional, made the course go smoothly."

"Good instructor with in-depth knowledge. Only recommendation: Participants needed to be pushed more to engage more actively."

"It is a privilege that the instructor gives personal feedback not only on weekly assignments, but especially on the exercise and final project. However, in regard to the exercise and final project, the instructor may also be critical. Being positive is of course motivating, but constructive critique would be even more helpful for the participant."

"The course enriched my knowledge of the most prominent human rights documents, which serve as starting point for legislative norms worldwide. At the same time it enriched my knowledge of internationally accepted standards, conventions, protocols and other guidelines/regulations on human rights."

"I did not have any technical problems."

"I will apply knowledge I gained during the course in my daily work, which consists of reviewing reports produced by various sections within Department of Human Rights and Communities, especially in those areas where the work of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the European Union agencies is interrelated. In addition, as I sometimes participate in interviewing the new staff members, I will expand my human rights related questions to those that include the European Union human rights approach as well."

"I can use the knowledge to better understand the EU’s involvement in Kosovo, e.g. the projects run by the European Commission in the field of human rights, etc."

"I believe that the course has equipped me with some basic knowledge about the complex EU human rights landscape. This will be useful to some extent in my job search."

"I am now working for the European Instrument for Human Rights at Europaid within the EU Commission and I am applying daily what I gained from the course. In particular I would like to propose the integration of a human rights-based approach to development."