Narxoz University held a panel discussion “Human Rights Education: Investing in the Future». Participants of the event talked about human rights education as one of the fundamental components of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Kazakhstan.
The event was organized by the Eurasian Center for Economics and Law Research of the School of Law and Public Policy. In the opening remarks, Dr. Andrew Wachtel, rector of Narxoz University, spoke about the need to integrate human rights in both legal subjects, and also in other programs of the university.
The event brought together representatives of educational institutions, teacher training organizations, the UN bodies, civil society institutions and students. The speakers were: Meirgul Alpysbayeva, Education National Professional Officer at the UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office, Brendan Duprey, Director of Sustainable Kazakhstan Research Institute (Narxoz University), Elena Bondarenko, Deputy Director of the Eurasian Center for Economics and Law Research, and Khalida Azhigulova, coordinator of Street Law Kazakhstan project and a certified UN human rights trainer.
Speakers presented standards and best practices at the regional and state levels, including the UNESCO #righttoeducation campaign, the Education for Sustainable Development in the Western Balkans program, and the Street Law Kazakhstan project. The Eurasian Center presented the upcoming project on integrating the tools and skills for human rights education in Kazakhstan’s schools. The project will include training for teachers on the new approaches in education, as well as the development of the first online ESD platform with its first module on citizenship and human rights.
The speakers and participants emphasized that human rights education is an integral component and condition for achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Kazakhstan. This process requires that teachers use modern approaches and tools for the development of skills such as teamwork, intercultural communication, dialogue and participation.
The organizers of the meeting also invited the participants to continue the dialogue and cooperate for the development of human rights and sustainable development education in Kazakhstan.
You can receive discussion materials or contact the organizers at eurasiancenter@narxoz.kz.