Jointly organized webinar by UNODC and the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan

26 June 2020 - The UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia organized a webinar jointly with the Anti-Corruption Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on best practices for promoting ethics and integrity through education. Such educational tools on issues related to the prevention of corruption and the promotion of ethics and integrity are produced within UNODC’s Education for Justice (E4J) initiative.

The event gathered representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science, heads of the regional administrations of education and territorial departments of the Agency, as well as experts from the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia. The webinar focused on the discussion of best practices for promoting a culture of non-acceptance of corruption among children and youth, as well as the empowerment and activation of social participation in countering this phenomenon.

In his welcome speech, Mr. Naweed Riaz, Head of the UNODC Programme Office in the Republic of Kazakhstan, said that “UNODC’s World Drug Report 2020 highlights the nefarious links between different crime types and actions of corrupt individuals within the private and public sectors who act as enablers in the dark trade. It is thus imperative for all of us, whatever profession or walk of life we are in, to join hands in stamping out the enabling elements of corruption.”

In the course of the webinar, Mr. Ganizhan Asanuly, Director of the Integrity Department of the Agency, emphasized that the Agency considers education as the key platform for the development of human capital. Therefore, “Adal Urpak” and “Sanaly Urpak” clubs were established in all educational establishments of the country. These clubs include more than 8,000 youth communities, who advocate for ethics and integrity. On a quarterly basis, Kazakhstan’s “Integrity Hour” campaign is organized.

A standard on integrity and transparency and methods on detection and mitigation of conflicts of interest were introduced at institutions of higher education, which help to address corruption risks.

The Head of Kazakhstan’s project office “Sanaly Urpak”, Mr. K. Tokushev, briefed about the work on the certification of higher education institutions for the international anti-corruption standard ISO 37001.

In their presentations, the experts of the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia, Ms. Saule Issabekova, Ms. Indira Mukimova and Ms. Gulnar Kudaybergenova, presented the various tools and methodologies which were designed in an age-appropriate manner for primary, secondary and tertiary level students, and applicable in international and national contexts for the prevention of corruption among children and youth. Such tools and methodologies include teacher’s handbooks, video materials on the prevention of corruption, animation cartoons based on “The Zorbs” and the interactive game “Play for Integrity”. Finally, the experts suggested strategies for piloting and integrating E4J tools into the curriculum.

Both parties noted the high achievement and efforts put forward by the Republic of Kazakhstan in the area of prevention of corruption and the role of the Agency in promoting ethics and integrity.

As a follow-up, the parties agreed to enhance the existing cooperation, which includes the “Integrity Hours” campaign to strengthen the rule of law and a culture of lawfulness in Kazakhstan.

Additional Information
Education for Justice