Youth anti-corruption education can be integrated in school subjects such as civics or citizenship education, but also history, politics, religion, life skills, peace education, economics or ethics.

Although most of the curricula may not explicitly refer to corruption, they are all implicitly linked to it in that they touch on moral issues and provide concepts such as the public good and social justice that are key to understanding the need for fighting corruption. Anti-corruption can of course also be taught outside the formal school system.

When teaching anti-corruption, practice is better than theory. Successful methods include students' surveys and polls, role plays to facilitate the understanding of differing interests and to promote the ability for conflict resolution, public debates, and attending parliamentary sessions or visiting public institutions to understand how democracy works.

School practice also is itself an important vehicle for transmitting values. The context in which integrity and ethics are taught needs to be free of repression and fear. Those who teach must themselves represent the values they teach.

Youth anti-corruption education should be linked to themes that are particularly interesting to youth, for example by linking ethics with sports: the consequences of corruption in sports - the disrespect for the value of fairness - are obvious even to younger children. Teaching should build on real life examples so that students can identify with ethical dilemmas. It is particularly important to respect students' values and rights, and to strengthen their capacities for moral judgement without indoctrination.

Universities also increasingly include anti-corruption in their governance and ethics classes. From public administration, business, law and economics schools to technical and engineering professions, anti-corruption is part of the curriculum.

For resources and recommended websites for young people, please go to the resources & links section.

For information on TI chapter activities on anti-corruption education for young people, please see TI projects & activities and the Back to School In Focus.