United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Expert Workshop of the Anti-Corruption Academic Initiative

With the increasing recognition of corruption as a major impediment to global development, interest in addressing corruption as a subject of academic research and teaching has grown rapidly amongst the academic community in recent years. The new and innovative nature of this field of study, however, has led to recognition from many that while the interest and will to deliver courses is strong, actual experience of teaching anti-corruption topics, in stand-alone or existing courses, is more limited.

At the meeting of the Anti-Corruption Academic Initiative1 in Doha, Qatar on 25 and 26 February 2015, representatives of universities from around the world called for greater capacity-building support, training and technical assistance to be provided to professors who wish to introduce anti-corruption courses and classes in their institutions.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organised an Expert Group Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Academic Initiative (ACAD), held at NUS Law on 13 and 14 June 2017. It was aimed at academics from the Asia-Pacific region for the purpose of enhancing the capacity of participating professors and academics to deliver high-quality anti-corruption education in their respective institutions.

With the goal of supporting the development of stronger teaching capacities in the field of anti-corruption studies, the meeting facilitated the exchange among professors of academic expertise in the delivery of anti-corruption education. This knowledge exchange was structured around substantive sessions and facilitated by leading experts. Specialized support was also provided regarding use of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) Academic Course, as developed by UNODC, as a framework for teaching in this field.

In addition to providing a detailed analysis of the substantive issues involved in relation to each thematic area, session leaders shared their thoughts and experience with regard to how best such topics can be taught to students with limited prior knowledge.

UNODC acted as facilitator of the workshop, with small teams of experts leading individual sessions.

Participants were professors and other academics affiliated with universities and academic institutions in the Asia-Pacific region who have expressed a strong interest in delivering and/or enhancing anti-corruption education, including those who wish to deliver the UNCAC Academic Course. Participating academics had experience in research and teaching in the fields of law, governance, business studies, political science and other social sciences.

Methodology

The workshop was designed to attain its objectives in an interactive manner over two days. It proceeded in plenary sessions, thereby enabling participants to provide presentations and engage in broad discussions with a view to exchanging information and clarifying key concepts. The workshop was conducted in English.

Output

In addition to facilitating the exchange of ideas regarding anti-corruption education, workshop participants provided recommendations on how the ACAD initiative can better achieve its goal of supporting academics in teaching and researching anti-corruption issues. A session at the end of the workshop was dedicated to articulating these recommendations, which will subsequently be made available on the ACAD website and provide a basis for future ACAD activities.

This workshop was convened by Associate Professor Helena-Whalen-Bridge LL.M. ’03 from NUS Law, and Sigall Horovitz from the UNODC Corruption and Economic Crime Branch.

List of Participants (From left in photo above)

• Upolu Luma Vaai (Pacific Theological College, Fiji),
• Tui Ratu Nawi Rakuita (University of South Pacific, Fiji),
• Kimsan Soy (Royal University of Law and Economics, Cambodia),
• El Cid R. Butuyan (Philippine Competition Commission, Philippines),
• Khin Mar Yee (University of Yangon, Myanmar),
• Syed Waqas Shah (UNODC Country Office Pakistan),
• Nazir Hussain (Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan)
• Wahid Abdallah (BRAC Institute of Governance and Development, Bangladesh),
• Sirilaksana Khoman (Thammasat University, Thailand),
• Giao Vu Cong (Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam),
• Yanan Shi (Remnin University of China),
• Makiko Nishitani (Kobe University, Japan),
• Xiuemi Wang (Beijing Normal University, China),
• Sigall Horovitz (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)),
• Catherine Ordway (University of Melbourne, Australia),
• Adam Graycar (Flinders University, Australia),
• Rahimah Abdul Aziz (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia),
• Arvind Patel (University of South Pacific, Fiji),
• Prakash Chandra Bhattarai (Kathmandu University, Nepal),
• Choky Ramadhan (University of Indonesia),
• Normawati Hashim (Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia),
• Helena Whalen-Bridge (NUS Law, Singapore),
• Cornelia Koertl (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)),
• Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed (Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia),
• Agustinus Pohan (University of Pariyangan, Bandung, Indonesia),
• Walter Woon (NUS Law, Singapore)

Participant (Not in Photo)

A Kumaralingam (NUS Law, Singapore)