In the framework of TI’s Promoting Transparency and Enhancing Integrity in the Arab Region project, a workshop was held on “Transparency and disclosure in the global financial and economic crisis and its impact on Egypt.” The conference featured six economic and business experts who presented working papers on various issues. The keynote address was by Frank Vogl, co-founder of TI and member of TI’s Advisory Committee. Participants consisted of representatives from the private sector, government and NGOs, in addition to TI-Secretariat participants and representatives from the TI Moroccan, Lebanese and Palestinian chapters. A working session was held on the second day to agree on the publication of the conference papers and recommendations.

TI Israel held a lecture on January 18th with Dr. Yaacov Cory entitled "Ethical and profitability challenges in the business world, in light of the ethical failures in the global economic crisis." Dr. Yaacov Cory argued that "the current economic crisis stems entirely from ethical failures."

A panel discussion followed the lecture, which was mediated by Professor Yossi Gross, Chairman of TI Israel, and included: Amos Mar-Haim, Deputy Chairman of Phoenix Investments and Finances (Chairman of the Israeli Union of Public Companies); Dr. Yitzhak Saporta, active in social movements and a lecturer at Tel Aviv University; and Dr. Irit Haviv-Segel, expert in corporations law and corporate governance.

The fourth edition of the Transparency News includes a special report on local government. The quarterly publication is part of Transparency Maroc’s project Observatoire National de la Corruption, which monitors national news stories on corruption to identify key areas where the national integrity system fails, and makes recommendations on how corruption in different sectors can be tackled.

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has agreed to adopt Integrity Pacts in corporate management. Recurring developmental challenges in the Niger Delta, due to the failure of successive past governments, have made the need for transparency and integrity in the management of resources pressing.

The TI chapter in Argentina, Poder Ciudadano, has launched a new website, which maps the levels of implementation of international anti-corruption conventions at the regional, national and provincial level.

Accessible and easy to navigate, the website brings together both existing and new material compiled by the chapter and partner organisations from three of Argentina’s provinces. It was established to address the lack of a systematic appraisal of on-the-ground realities regarding the integration of convention provisions’ into both legislation and practice. This information is of particular importance for diagnosing the situation in the provinces.

The next step is to incorporate documentation from more of the country’s provinces and other Latin American countries to further strengthen the comparative analysis and better target advocacy efforts around the conventions.

TI Canada and the Ethics Centre, a corporate ethics organisation, held a seminar with speakers from the law firm Blake, Cassels & Grayden.

Entitled “The Balancing Act – Anti-Bribery Laws in International Business”, the seminar was tailored to businesses operating in a global economy and under increasingly complex domestic and international jurisdiction on corruption and anti-bribery. With recent rises in the number and magnitude of prosecutions and criminal penalties being brought against companies for anti-bribery infringements, the event sought to assist the business community in establishing robust internal regulatory systems. Participants were given practical advice on international and domestic legal frameworks, and introduced to specific policy recommendations for better corporate governance.

Transparencia por Colombia has been working with ten privately-owned public service providers to pilot a system of indicators for measuring levels of transparency in this sector. The system consists primarily of surveys and on-site interviews with company representatives and interest groups (customers, shareholders etc). The resulting study assessed business management from four perspectives: disclosure of information; quality of customer service; formalisation of good business practices and corporate ethics; and internal regulation, including monitoring and evaluation procedures for ensuring compliance.

With scores ranging widely, from 90% to 27%, the study found that documents relating to internal audits and risk management were those most likely to be unavailable. Another common challenge experienced by those public service companies was ensuring that high standards on corporate ethics standards were matched by their suppliers and sub-contractees.

In commemoration of Anti-Corruption Day, TI New Zealand organised a Pacific Women’s Tour, which featured speakers from three Pacific Island countries. Focusing on the role of women in fighting corruption in the region, the participants discussed the difficulties and challenges that can be faced when tackling corruption. The tour started in Papua New Guinea and then continued to Solomon Islands before concluding in Vanuatu. The speakers included Marie-Noelle Patterson-Ferrieux from Vanuatu who spoke on the accountability of institutions, Ruth Liloqula from the Solomon Islands who discussed the challenges of leadership in the public service and Francesca Semoso who spoke on corruption in politics.

TI Pakistan, in collaboration with The Citizens Foundation (TCF), organised a painting exhibition as part of the final stage of an art competition on the theme “A child’s view of corruption.” More than 950 students from 39 schools under TCF participated and certificates were given to the first, second and third placed students of each participating school. The project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and TI Pakistan, aimed to get children to reflect and talk about the issue of corruption as a way to instil integrity at an early age.

The EU has given TI Vanuatu a grant worth VT 10,5 million (€70,600) to encourage better and more active citizenship. The project aims to achieve this through developing media ethics, increasing public awareness about the right to information and strengthening media-citizens relations. The main activities of the project, which will last for 30 months, include the preparation of TI Vanuatu newsletters, the development of a weekly radio programme, the provision of media services to NGOs, the organisation of public workshops and the training of journalists in investigative journalism.

TI Hungary and Freedom House Europe signed a memorandum of understanding with eight Hungarian media outlets to actively support efforts to bring more transparency into party and campaign financing in the country. The media outlets also agreed to participate in an investigative journalism project on the issue.

"We are hopeful that, as a result of our efforts and close cooperation with stakeholders and decision-makers, the June 2009 EP elections will be held in different, more transparent conditions than previous polls” said Freedom House Europe and Transparency International Hungary in a joint statement.

TI Slovakia has undertaken a municipal transparency project with the Slovak city Martin. The project will concentrate on key municipal policies, in which potential for corruption may exist. The overall aim of the project is to eliminate these vulnerable areas and increase the openness and transparency of the local government.

For more information, please contact Miroslava Pagacova - pagacova@transparency.sk