VIENNA, Feb 13 (KUNA) -- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are teaming up to an ambitious initiative to combat crimes and extremism through educational tools.
The Initiative on Global Citizenship Education: Educating for a Culture of Lawfulness is developed jointly by UNODC and UNESCO with the aim of equipping primary and secondary level educators with tools to uphold the principles of human rights and democracy, as well as to preserve and strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of law.
"We look forward to pooling our respective know-how and delivering what will undoubtedly be a valuable asset to educators in helping steer our future generation in the right direction," noted John Brandolino, Director of Treaty Affairs at UNODC, said in a press statement Tuesday.
He noted that the initiative aimed to developing a range of educational guidance materials, alongside several activities to strengthen education systems.
It envisaged the enhancement of the capacity of policy-makers and teachers to plan and undertake educational activities that address the underlying causes and motivations of unlawful behavior and strengthen learners' commitment to non-violence and the respect of the rule of law.
The initiative will be rolled out over the next two years and pools existing expertise from the two organizations, he said.
It draws from ongoing programs currently being used to provide educational responses to a number of challenging issues. It builds on UNESCO's efforts to promote Global Citizenship Education aimed at empowering learners to become proactive contributors to a more peaceful, tolerant, inclusive and secure world, as well as UNODC's Education for Justice (E4J) initiative.
Collectively, these are focused on the prevention of violent extremism, tackling crime and corruption and promoting a culture of peace and non-violence.
The project is geared towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular, Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 16, which call for quality education and the building of peace, justice and strong institutions. (end) amg.ibi