The Council of Europe is an international organisation focused on protecting human rights, democracy, rule of law in Europe and promoting European culture. Founded in 1949, it has 47 member states, covers approximately 820 million people and operates with an annual budget of approximately half a billion euros.

The organisation is distinct from the 28-nation European Union (EU), although it is sometimes confused with it, partly because the EU has adopted the original European Flag which was created by the Council of Europe in 1955, as well as the European Anthem. No country has ever joined the EU without first belonging to the Council of Europe.

Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws, but it does have the power to enforce select international agreements reached by European states on various topics. The best known body of the Council of Europe is the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Council's two statutory bodies are the Committee of Ministers, comprising the foreign ministers of each member state, and the Parliamentary Assembly, composed of members of the national parliaments of each member state. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the member states. The Secretary General heads the secretariat of the organisation.

The headquarters of the Council of Europe are in Strasbourg, France.

The Council of Europe Venice Office

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In October 2013, the Executive Committee of the UN SDSN - Sustainable Development Solutions Network approved Venice International University's membership.

The Solutions Network is a UN initiative launched by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on August 9, 2012, as a new, independent global network of research centres, universities and technical institutions to help to find solutions for some of the world's most pressing environmental, social and economic problems.

The Solutions Network mobilizes scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society, and the private sector in support of sustainable development problem solving at local, national, and global scales.

VIU will bring its contribution to research, solution initiatives, and policy work. An integrated approach is at the basis of the work of both VIU and SDSN.

VIU is also member of the SDSN Mediterranean Regional Centre which fosters global SDSN activities within the Mediterranean Area region by developing and promoting solutions, policies and public education. SDSN Mediterranean is hosted by the University of Siena (Italy).

Activities of SDSN Mediterranean include:
- Cooperation and joint research activities among Mediterranean countries, universities and businesses;
- Development of practical solutions to sustainability issues relevant to the futureof the region;
- Elaboration of SDG indicators for the Mediterranean area;
- Promotion of networking activities among research centers, the diffusion of SDSN.edu education tools in the Mediterranean , and Euro-Mediterranean joint programming in the context of EU planning activities.

Venice International University has renewed its engagement with the United Nations Global Compact and has recently published a report on the activities conducted since 2017.

VIU has been a member of the UNGC - United Nations Global Compact, since 2015. UNGC is a voluntary United Nations initiative that aims to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies.

In 2016, VIU then joined the GCNI - Global Compact Network Italy Foundation, the Italian branch of the UNGC.

Launched in 1999, the Global Compact initiative counts today 13000 corporate and other stakeholders participants, in 161 countries worldwide.Companies and institutions joining the Global Compact initiative publicly commit to align their corporate strategies and operations with the 10 Global Compact Principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, and to take steps to support UN goals, in order to create a sustainable and inclusive global economy that delivers lasting benefits to people, communities and markets.

Local networks, as the Global Compact Network Italia Foundation (GCNI), work to advance the initiative and its 10 Principles at country level. They help companies understand what responsible business means within different national, cultural and language contexts and facilitate outreach, learning, policy dialogue, collective action and partnerships.

VIU is represented in the elected Board of the Global Compact Network Italia Foundation by Elena Semenzin from Ca' Foscari University.

VIU was technical partner in organizing and hosting the 1st edition of the Italian Business & SDGs Annual Forum, held at VIU premises on the island of San Servolo on Sept. 26, 2016.