Enlisting Youth Against Corruption
By Daniel Stark, Marketing –
Government groups in Fiji are teaming up to encourage youth to fight corruption.
The younger generation has great power to change cultural beliefs about corruption, creating a vital agenda to combat the corrupt norm, as was discussed during a recent Pacific Youth Forum Against Corruption in Fiji.
United Nations Resident Coordinator and Development Program Representative Osnat Lubrari stated, “The UN works with governments to put in place policies and institutional frameworks for prevention and fight against corruption, but we see civil society, particularly the young population, as the creators for demand for accountability, and as future leaders who can build strong and progressive partnerships for building more open, efficient and accountable societies.”
The younger generation needs to step up and take this responsibility on its shoulders.
Fresh Minds and Stronger Platforms
Lubrani further expounded, “We are determined to discover new and innovative ways to increasing oversight, access to information and accountability. We are counting on you and your fresh, creative minds to help take us down that path of innovation.”
Our best and brightest minds are most often found in the world of commerce, using their skills and efforts to create revenue-generating products. What if that brain trust were applied by the youth of today to ending corruption?
The Fiji Minister for Youth and Sports Lt. Col. Laisenia Tuitubou stressed the need to meet regularly to establish a stronger network intent on harnessing the Pacific’s efforts for effective youth development.
Tuitubou said, “I hope that at the end of this Forum there will be a stronger network in the region between each country to establish stronger platforms in promoting integrity and preventing corruption in the Pacific with youths.”
The Purpose of the Forum
The forum represented a starting point for an important long-term goal — seeking to prevent corruption in the region by enlisting the youth of the Pacific. The UNDP and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime have partnered with the Pacific youth council, hoping to give a voice to those youth marginalized by corruption and working to create awareness about the corrosive effects of corruption on society.
The next generation of the region will need all the resources it can get to effectively fight corruption. To assist in endeavors like this, Converus created EyeDetect® — a disruptive technology that recently entered the lie detection market. It detects deception with 85 percent accuracy. Tools like EyeDetect will be very useful to these youth in their cause against corruption.
