On 29 January-2 February 2018 the Council of Europe held in Dzershinsk, Belarus, a winter school on European Human Rights Standards. The five-day event was organised in co-operation with Belarusian State University for a group of 28 students of law and international relations. The central theme of the school was the right to private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the topics included the issues of protection of personal data, the notion of privacy, discrimination in connection to family life, the balance between freedom of expression and the right to privacy and questions of bioethics.

The combination of varying methodological approaches –  lectures, interactive discussions, case studies, group work – helped to create a unique atmosphere when the participants had an opportunity to get a better understanding of the functioning of the European Convention system but also to freely discuss complex human rights issues and try to apply the new knowledge in practical exercises. The trainers included experts on the Convention system and Article 8, the members of the Council of Europe Secretariat and the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights.

The school was organised as part of the Partnership for Good Governance project "Human Rights for All", a joint programme between the Council of Europe and the European Union. The project “Human Rights and Biomedicine” contributed to the organisation of the school.