As part of its Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, UNODC organized an Expert Workshop dedicated to the E4J University Module Series on Counter-Terrorism and on Trafficking in Firearms. The event was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 11 - 12 September 2019, and was organized in collaboration with the School of Law, KIMEP University.
The objective of the workshop was to bring together university lecturers, in their individual capacity, in order to:
The workshop also addressed possible impact assessments and other follow-up activities for enhancing education at the university level on these subjects.
In preparation for the workshop, participants were invited to review the modules and identify those which they are likely to teach. At the workshop, participants discussed expectations and concerns related to module adaptation and integration, with the aim of reaching a clear vision and strategy of how to base classes and courses on the E4J University Modules.
After the workshop, participants are expected to teach at least one of the modules in the upcoming academic year, and to provide UNODC with feedback on the quality and user-friendliness of the materials. This feedback will enable UNODC to continuously improve the modules.
Workshop participants and speakers are professors and other academics (Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Professors) from universities and academic institutions in the region (25 approx.). UNODC acted as the facilitator of the meeting.
The workshop was designed to attain its objectives in an interactive manner, with highly participatory sessions and discussions that enabled all participants to share their views, experiences, ideas, approaches and any other information.
Some sessions included in-depth discussions of specific E4J Modules, focusing on their content as well as on the best methods for delivering the modules, adapting them to participants' contexts, and integrating them into the courses participants plan to teach in 2019 - 2020. The workshop was conducted in English and Russian.
At the workshop, participants exchanged ideas and views regarding adaptation and teaching of the E4J University Module Series on Counter-Terrorism and on Trafficking in Firearms. They were furthermore invited to make recommendations on other follow-up activities that would promote usage of the E4J Modules and, more generally, enhance teaching on these topics. Following the workshop, participants are expected to:
11-12 September 2019, Almaty, Kazakhstan - Academics and policy makers from the Central Asian States joined over 600 academics and national experts from more than 550 universities and 114 countries in promoting rule of law. Nearly 50 university teachers and professors from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took part in the regional expert workshop on Education for Justice ( E4J) University Module Series on Counter Terrorism and Firearms, organized by the UNODC Regional Office for central Asia and KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
«Within this initiative, UNODC has developed a series of university modules and other tools to assist academics teaching on some of today's most crucial threats. Specifically, E4J aims to support tertiary level educators and academics in their efforts to transmit knowledge and create a deeper understanding of rule of law related issues, with a focus on the subject areas of crime prevention and criminal justice, anti-corruption, organized crime, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, firearms, cybercrime, wildlife, forest and fisheries crime, counter-terrorism as well as integrity and ethics.» - noted Ms. Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia.
Education for Justice (E4J) University Module Series are designed for use as a stand-alone teaching resources, or as a means of enhancing existing courses in criminology, law, political science, international relations, business, sociology, and many other disciplines.
In July 2019, an Expert Workshop on Cybercrime modules for academics from the region took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This time, the academics from Central Asia got introduced to the modules focusing on Counter-Terrorism (CT) and Trafficking in Firearms (TiF). They discussed E4J module design approaches, including the use of case studies in the context of the modules, went through E4J modules just as users would, discussed how the E4J modules can be adapted to local and disciplinary contexts, promoted and how their impact could be maximized.
A set of E4J modules (on Counter Terrorism, Firearms, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Organized Crime, Trafficking in Persons, Ethics and others) are being translated into Russian to ensure wider access by local and regional educational institutions.