By Georg Neumann

In its latest edition, the magazine Ethisphere lists the 100 most influential people in business ethics 2008. Among them are a number of Transparency International activists and related people. These include Davor Harasic, for his work as President of the Chilean chapter of TI, where he attempted to accelerate the process of promulgation of transparency and probity in the Chilean government administration; Nancy Boswell, TI Board of Directors and Chair of TI USA; and Michael Hershman, TI Individual Member and President and CEO of The Fairfax Group. The magazine also lists Le Hien Duc, a retired nearly 80-year old teacher who won TI’s 2007 Integrity Award, for her taking on corruption in Vietnam by filing complaints and helping citizens combat injustices by the government.

The complete ranking is available here: http://ethisphere.com/100-most-influential-people-in-business-ethics-2008. The list is developed based on what individuals did in 2008, rather than their lifetime achievements. It is developed by an advisory board of professors from business schools around the world, as well as a group of Ethisphere editors, writers and fact checkers.

By Georg Neumann

Bangladesh:

The first anti-corruption rally to take place in the capital Dhaka was marked by the spontaneous participation of people from all walks of life. TI Bangladesh organised the rally in partnership with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bangladesh to observe International Anti-corruption Day. More than 3000 people from various organisations, schools, colleges, universities, trade bodies participated in the rally.

TI Bangladesh and ACC also arranged a cultural programme on 5 December, which featured anti-corruption songs, street drama, folk songs and rock music, and attracted more than 7000 people. During the programme, the audience took an oath to resist corrupt practices, which was broadcast live on the internet.

TI Bangladesh and ACC organised similar events last year all over the country in which thousands of people took part.

Israel:

TI-Israel participated in a special Parliament discussion hosted by the State Audit Committee and involving the State Comptroller and Attorney General. TI-Israel was represented at the discussion by the chapter’s chairman Professor Yossi Gross, who presented Israel's position on different corruption scales, such as TI's Corruption Perceptions Index and the World Bank index.

The State Comptroller and the Attorney General both opened their speeches with references to Israel's score and ranking in TI's 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index.

The Parliament discussion included Parliament members, students and delegates from TI-Israel.

Palestine:

Under the slogan of "Towards the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary", the TI chapter in Palestine (AMAN - Coalition for Integrity and Accountability) held its annual transparency festival. The festival was held in the cities of Ramallah and Gaza through video conferencing facilities.

The festivities included the annual Integrity and Accountability awards, which went to two journalists. Ghazi Bani Odeh received the award for his investigative reporting on expired and counterfeit food and medicines and Abdel Basset Khalaf for his work on urban sprawling in the Palestinian agricultural areas. The 2008 Integrity and Accountability award for public sector employees went to Ibrahim Qindah who suffered harassment after he blew the whistle on corruption cases in the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, which involved bribery and exploitation of public position. The National Insurance Company received the private sector award.

The chapter also honoured the winners of a drawing competition titled: "Children of Palestine: an Eye on Corruption," in which thousands of children from more than a hundred UNRWA and private schools in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip took part.

Sierra Leone:

The TI chapter in Sierra Leone, the National Accountability Group, organised a series of events to commemorate Anti-corruption Day. Events included a quiz and debates for schools as part of the chapter’s anti-corruption education programme “Sowing Seed of Integrity”, radio discussions and a vigil in collaboration with the Inter-Religious Council in the run-up to the day. On 9 December, a public message was broadcast by radio and a procession took place in collaboration with other civil society organisations in the streets of Freetown, targeting schools and young people. The activities were organised with the national Anti-Corruption Commission and the Human Rights Commission. Banners were on display throughout the whole country for a week to raise awareness.

By Georg Neumann

In order to present its actions in the fight against corruption to the public, the chapter participated in two broadcasts on the TV station Flor-TV, one on corruption in the fiscal system and the other on how corruption can be eradicated in the educational system. TI Moldova also used this opportunity to present its proposals about the anti-corruption legal framework in Moldova.

Finally, TI-Moldova donated two educational films to Flor-TV to help familiarise the public with the international practices of preventing corruption by promoting ethical conduct and tackling conflict of interest in public service. TI-Moldova also made a donation of its publications to eight public libraries in the town and organised an exhibition of anti-corruption cartoons and television spots.

The day, supported by the major of the town Floresti, Mr. Lurie Tap, gathered 40 employees of the local public administration and about 100 representatives from civil society.

Learn more about TI-Moldova: http://www.transparency.md/about.htm