Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 15 October 2020 Deputy Minister of Public Education of Uzbekistan, Mr. Dilshod Kenjaev talked about the experience of cooperation with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime within the framework of the Education for Justice initiative at the Tenth Session Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The event is entitled “Palermo +20: Building on the legacy of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Using Quality Rule of Law Education to Prevent Transnational Organized Crime and Help the Next Generation Achieve Positive Change” was held online.

The purpose of the event was to demonstrate how education can empower youth and adults in the fight against transnational organized crime.

Examples of good practice in conceptualizing, developing and disseminating educational tools on transnational organized crime at primary, secondary and tertiary levels were presented, which will stimulate fruitful discussions and exchange of views on the importance of quality education for promoting and maintaining the rule of law. In this number, the work done by the Ministry of Public Education of Uzbekistan, which became the first country to integrate the “Education for Justice” tools into the school curriculum, was also highly noted.

Deputy Minister of Public Education Mr. Dilshod Kenjaev noted in his speech: “Of course, the formation of social, cultural and spiritual skills should start from childhood. Therefore, it is imperative that children become familiar with the basics of the rule of law and gain general knowledge about it at an early stage.

Implementing the Education for Justice Initiative for elementary and middle school students to promote the rule of law among youth includes tools to combat corruption, prevent violent extremism, develop critical thinking skills, integrity and support youth in addressing ethical and moral dilemmas.

The ideas put forward by the Education for Justice initiative have played an important role in the process of developing and introducing a new subject “Education” into the curriculum of secondary schools of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The main goal of the subject is the development of personal qualities in students and young people, the formation of social, cultural life skills. This subject will cover students from grades 1 to 11 (7-18 years old). "

Mr. Kenjaev also noted that in view of the epidemiological situation that arose in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, as well as taking into account the relevance of the topic, it was decided to broadcast the animated series "Zorba" for primary school students within the framework of the "Online School" project, as well as through the official Telegram channel of the Ministry in 3 three (Uzbek, Russian and English) languages. With an audience of 6 million students, the animated film received a lot of positive reviews, which has led to the fact that to date all episodes of the animated series "Zorbs" have been successfully implemented in the textbook "Education" for grade 4.

At the end of his speech, Mr. Kenjaev expressed his gratitude to Ms. Ashitta Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia, as well as all partners, for many years of cooperation, friendly support and ideas, which, as a result, are highly appreciated among teachers, students and their parents.