At the end of August, in Riga, the Baltic Human Rights Society (BHRS) hosted a workshop focused on Human Rights Guide’s communication strategy.

The workshop brought together BHRS's key partners in the Baltic region: the Estonian Human Rights Centre and the Lithuanian Institute for Human Rights and Democracy Education.

The workshop, moderated by communication expert Gintarė Stepanavičiūtė, aimed to strengthen the collaborative efforts of the Guide, a human rights education program currently being implemented in the Baltics and other European countries.

The day’s agenda began with an overview of the human rights situation in each partner country, offering a look into the current local contexts and challenges. This was followed by an update on the Guide Network’s recent progress and a discussion of the current project that is under-way in the Baltic states.

The core of the workshop was a deep dive into the Guide’s communication strategy. Participants engaged in a dynamic brainstorming session to revisit the Guide’s mission, vision, and objectives. The group worked together to reflect what the Guide is, where it is now, and where it’s headed.

A key part of the afternoon session was dedicated to specifying the Guide’s target audiences, ensuring that future communication efforts are tailored and effective. The partners then conducted a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of their current communication practices, providing a clear picture of what is working and what needs improvement.

The workshop concluded with a productive session on setting clear and achievable communication goals for the Guide. This shared understanding will be helpful as the partner organizations continue their work to bring attention to the Guide as a tool to educate and empower people to understand and defend their rights.

The workshop was organised implementing the project “Human rights education - addressing emerging global challenges” financed under the Nordplus Adult 2024 programme (No NPAD-2024/10147). The Guide was created with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of the Netherlands Embassy in Latvia, the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office’s Nordplus Education Programme, the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia and the Active Citizens Fund.