On September 17, the Anti-Corruption Research and Education Centre hosted the grand opening of the ACREC Anti-Corruption Studies educational program.
In 2020, the specialized training program in the field of (anti-) corruption started for the fourth time, gathering a record 40 participants. This year, the focus of the Certificate Program has shifted to the regional component to strengthen anti-corruption professionalism on the part of the public sectors. Thus, out of the competition, 30 regional candidates were enrolled in the program, which included participants of the Mentoring Support Program “Capacity Building of Regional / Local Anti-Corruption NGOs in Ukraine” (2019-2021) and other representatives of regions and young professionals sent to its activities for the development of the regional anti-corruption. Also, ACREC hosted an open competition for 10 participants. These places were taken by the best graduates, representatives of the scientific and expert community, the public sector, and business.
During the opening of the Program, the students were greeted by Dina Narezhneva, Manager of the Democratic Practice Program, Andriy Borovik, Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine, as well as Margarita Chabanna, Head of ACREC Education, and Oksana Nesterenko, Executive Director of ACREC.
Ms. Dina Narezhneva was the first to greet the participants of this year’s program. In her address to the students, she stressed that the ACREC Certificate Program is a place where everyone can feel the complexity of such an issue as the fight against corruption under one roof. According to her words, the Program successfully combines both practice and the academic component, which cannot exist without each other. Ms. Dina wished the participants to find what they aspire to, strengthen their professional knowledge, and understand what the fight against corruption looks like in practice. “The more motivated people pass the program – the more chances we have to minimize corruption,” she said.
Andriy Borovik wished the listeners to be professionals in their field, to work on strengthening competencies, as well as to be as honest and frank as possible in difficult times of manipulation. “We need to be as effective as possible, focused on the result, and unite for a common goal in both work and study,” he said.
Margarita Chabanna, the head of educational programs, also greeted the students. She rightly noted that the growth of the competition for “Anti-Corruption Studies” testifies to the high quality of the program and the professionalism of the invited lecturers and experts. “The more tested the product, the greater the demand for it. When people return to the Certificate after educational programs, this is the main indicator, ”she emphasized.
It will be recalled that Anti-Corruption Interdisciplinary Studies is the first interdisciplinary anti-corruption educational program in Ukraine, which was created to comprehensively study corruption as a socio-legal phenomenon and ways to prevent it. Theorists and practitioners in the field of anti-corruption from Ukraine, the Netherlands, and Germany are invited to give lectures. The program is useful for representatives of anti-corruption bodies and public sector activists, assistants of deputies, NAPC experts, employees of executive authorities and local governments, journalists, teachers who want to improve their skills in this field, lawyers of private companies, and students.
The Certified Educational Program is a joint project of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and the Interdisciplinary Research and Education Center for Combating Corruption in Ukraine, supported by the MATRA Program from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Open Society for Europe Initiative (OSIFE) ) with the financial support of the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine.