| On
29-30 January 2001, a workshop on building civil society
coalitions to combat corruption was conducted in Tirana. The
objective of the workshop was to mobilize civil society
against corruption by establishing an NGO-private sector
coalition and developing a civil society anti-corruption
action plan. The participants of the workshop included
representatives of over 60 Albanian NGOs, the mass media, and
the private sector. Guests included representatives from the
national government of Albania, including the Minister of
State, the Public Advocate, the Mayor of Tirana, and the
Tirana City Procurator. Observers from international
organizations attended the workshop as well. The workshop was
sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development and
organized by Management Systems International (MSI) in
cooperation with Albanian partner organizations.
Workshop
participants identified and prioritized the issue areas where
corruption has the most impact in Albania and discussed
alternative strategies by which civil society can contribute
to combating corruption. It was agreed that civil society
should focus its activity on raising citizen awareness of the
costs and impact of corruption, increasing the “legal
literacy” of citizens about their rights and responsibilities,
promoting participation of citizens in governmental decision
making, conducting oversight of governmental activities, and
developing recommendations for government based on civil
sector expertise and experience.
Workshop
participants committed themselves to establishing a coalition
of civil society organizations, the media, and the private
sector, joining their resources to fight corruption, and
working in partnership with government authorities toward
their common objectives.
In its resolution, the new Coalition expressed
its intention to promote principles of integrity,
transparency, accountability, and the rule of law in
government and society. |
An international conference entitled THE IMPACT OF
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP AS AN ANTI-CORRUPTION INSTRUMENT:
THE EXPERIENCE OF COALITION 2000 will be held in Sofia on
March 23-24. The
purpose of this conference is: (a) to review the experience of
Coalition 2000 in establishing public-private partnership; (b)
to assess the results and the impact of the implementation of
such a partnership in fighting corruption and make an
inventory of best practices; (c) to encourage further
cooperation among governmental and non-governmental
organizations in Southeast Europe within the existing
bilateral and multilateral instruments for fighting corruption
and organized crime as a security building measure in the
framework of the Stability Pact.
The conference comes as the third
in a series of events aimed at sharing the Coalition's
experience. The previous meetings included conferences on
Coalition Building and Monitoring in Anti-Corruption:
Strategies and Impact in Central and Eastern Europe, held in
June 1999 in Varna, Bulgaria and the Southeast Europe
Anti-Corruption Forum, held in Sofia in February 2000. The
events in 1999 and 2000 focused on the conceptual problems of
using public-private cooperation for anti-corruption and the
role of monitoring techniques. They provided excellent
networking opportunities for interested organizations from
transition countries. The conference in March 2001 will
elaborate on these issues by addressing policy-makers and
trying to influence public opinion, both in Bulgaria and
beyond its borders, with a message about the tangible results
of the existing public-private partnership in a transition
context.
The conference will bring
together non-governmental organizations, business associations
and government officials from the countries of the former
Soviet Union, Central and Southeast Europe as well as
representatives of bilateral aid agencies and international
organizations - USAID, OECD, the World Bank, the European
Union, the Council of Europe and the International Development
Law Institute (IDLI).
More information on the Coalition 2000 website. |
A group of
representatives from Ukraine will visit the United States from
February 10-24 to learn about the U.S. experience in fighting
corruption. Participants of the study tour represent Ukrainian
NGO's, the private sector, and the government. During a two
week tour in the U.S., they will meet with representatives of
the federal government, including the Department of
Justice, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Office of
Government Ethics, and civil society groups, among which are
Common Cause, the Center for Public Integrity, Government
Accountability Project, and others. Participants will learn
about regional and local level efforts in fighting corruption
by visiting New Orleans and Chicago.
The study tour is
sponsored by the U.S. government and implemented by Meridian
International Center. |