The collaboration between Amnesty International France and Edouard Portefaix started early 2017 when we were seeking to build our internal capacities to deal with hate speech and discrimination. The expertise brought by Edouard, his strong sense of pedagogy and his listening skills were very valuable to us to adjust and enhance our practices, develop new resources and tools for our staff and activists. Our collaboration with Edouard continues today with a strong focus on online hate speech and the ambition to develop a community of online activists. Promising prospects to face a major challenge.

I got to know Edouard Portefaix in the framework of a campaign run by the Organisation Mondiale de la Francophonie (OIF) that aimed at promoting the values of liberty, respect, solidarity and diversity amongst youth and youth workers. Edouard contributed to the implementation of the training activities with a high level of professionalism. His is highly skilled in designing and running training activities. He is a very experienced professional that uses participatory approaches and know how to involve each participant in the learning process. Edouard is an excellent trainer that I would recommend to any person or organisation looking for training services.

I had the chance to work with Edouard on several projects at both local and European levels. These collaborations proved very positive thanks to Edouard’s competencies and personal qualities. The last time we worked together, Edouard fulfilled his mission with a high level of professionalism. He used the materials collected during a two-day seminar to produce a publication – ‘Beyond disabilities – European Mobility for All!’ – that we will disseminate and valorise across Europe.

The team of the Bureau International de la Jeunesse collaborated many times with Edouard Portefaix on training courses and the facilitation of workshops focused on human rights, active citizenship, youth participation, etc. Edouard worked on big events such as the World Forum of the French language and on smaller activities such as local training courses with the No Hate Speech Movement Belgium.

Edouard has always displayed a high level of professionalism and rigour. He is a good team player, passionate for the topics he works on, especially when it comes to human rights. We appreciate his professional competencies but also his listening skills and his kindness.

I just recently spent 2 weeks with Edouard as co-facilitators on the international training course for Rural youth leaders in Germany. Participants are from throughout the world (55 countries represented this time). The course is extremely participative and requires the (very) full-time participation of facilitators in all activities from the group work to evening and weekend activities. Edouard more than met my highest expectations and was unfailingly helpful, professional and friendly both with staff and participants. It has been a pleasure to work with him and I highly recommend him as a trainer facilitator.

Edouard joined the Trainers Pool of the Council of Europe Youth Department in 2015. Since then, he has worked as a trainer and consultant on some of the key projects and activities of the youth sector of the Council of Europe, such as the Youth Peace Camp, the No Hate Speech Movement youth campaign and the evaluation of the Human Rights Education Youth Programme. In his services with the Council of Europe Edouard has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment and understanding of the values of the organisation in non-formal learning, human rights education and peace-building, combined with a high sense of professionalism.