Seminar for university teachers

As part of the Education for Justice (E4J) initiative, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized, in collaboration with KIMEP's School of Law, an expert workshop on a series of university-level modules on the prevention of terrorism and firearms trafficking. This event was held in Almaty, September 11-12, 2019.

The E4J initiative is part of the UNODC Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration on the Prevention of Crime and Criminal Justice. The Doha Declaration was adopted by the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in 2015 and was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 70/174.

In support of the Doha Declaration, the E4J initiative aims to foster a culture of law among children and youth by providing age-appropriate training materials on topics related to criminal justice, crime prevention and the rule of law.

At the university level, E4J seeks to promote and encourage teaching on issues pertaining to UNODC areas of activity, which include the fight against corruption, organized crime, human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, the fight against terrorism, cyber crime, crime prevention and criminal justice, and the prevention of illegal trafficking in firearms and crimes related to wildlife, forests and fish farming, as well as issues of justice and ethics.

University modules on preventing terrorism and illicit firearms contain a valuable knowledge base. Experts and scientists from Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia actively participated in their development.

The aim of the seminar was to unite university professors in order to improve their familiarity with the modules of the E4J University in the fight against terrorism and arms trafficking; to consider effective approaches to teaching modules at universities in Central Asia both at the undergraduate and graduate levels; strengthen the ability of participants to teach module-based courses; support participants in adapting and integrating modules into existing or new courses. The seminar also examined possible impact assessments and other measures to improve university education in these subjects.

The seminar was attended by teachers, senior teachers, associate professors and professors from universities and academic institutions of the Central Asian region (25 participants).

The seminar was designed for conducting in an interactive mode, with the participation of a wide range of scientific, pedagogical and scientific and expert communities and the organization of discussions, which allowed all participants to share their views, experiences, ideas, approaches and other information.

After the workshop, participants integrated one of the modules into their training course and provided UNODC with feedback on the quality and usability of the materials.