Nur-Sultan, 13 December 2019 - Marking International Anti-Corruption Day, this week the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the National Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Academy for Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan jointly hosted the Youth forum within the International Anti-Corruption Conference on 9 December 2019. Bringing together over 200 participants working in the area of anti-corruption as well as youth, the youth forum was designed to promote public participation and accountability in finding ways to combat this complex phenomenon.
Given the multifaceted issues surrounding corruption, the forum was designed to look at this from a number of approaches - including through educational programmes in order to empower future generations to resist and prevent this crime.
During the forum, the UNODC's Education for Justice (E4J) initiative was presented, including its tools on anti-corruption and ethics and integrity training which have been designed in an age-appropriate manner for primary, secondary and tertiary level students.
Through a series of interactive sessions involving State representatives, academics, students, and youth organizations, the conference provided a sounding board for E4J activities, in order to adapt and localize materials around national needs. Feedback from the key recipients - the youth who themselves will benefit from these materials - was encouraging, with a number speaking positively on the E4J materials: "Thanks to the games we've played, I am realizing that actually corruption leads nowhere," said one of the students during one of several interactive sessions.
On the part of the administrators and educators in attendance, the outcome of the first day of the forum was equally positive. Participants expressed their keenness to integrate the E4J educational tools into their curriculum and further develop and adapt them to the national environment as part of their efforts to use education to tackle social ills, such as corruption. Indeed, the anti-corruption, integrity and ethics E4J teaching tools and modules are aligned to international standards enshrined in the United Nations Convention against Corruption - the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument which the Republic of Kazakhstan ratified in June 2008.
About the Education for Justice initiative:
E4J is an innovative and comprehensive educational initiative, which aims at building the capacity of educators to equip students with a better understanding of, and ability to address, the issues that can undermine the rule of law. The initiative strives to achieve this through the creation and dissemination of educational activities and materials designed for primary, secondary and tertiary levels. These resources are developed in close collaboration with organizations such as UNESCO and in consultation with academia, educators and students themselves.
For further media enquiries, please contact:
Saule Issabekova
UNODC National Programme Officer
Telephone: +7 (7172) 69 65 62
Email: saule.issabekova [a] un.org