Corruption prevention: Trends and Successes - Regional Expert Seminar, Tirana, Albania

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Good practices, effective tools, trends and challenges in implementing corruption prevention measures in Eastern Europe and Central Asia were discussed at the Regional Expert Seminar “Prevention of Corruption – Main Trends and Examples of Successful Practice in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” on June 26-27, 2014, in Tirana, Albania.

The event -- organized by OECD's Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia in co-operation with UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia, OSCE and UNODC, and hosted by the Minister of State on Local Issues of Albania -- provided a platform for discussions and experience sharing on effective approaches to prevent corruption. The two days practice-oriented seminar successfully engaged 60 participants from 23 countries, including public officials, CSO representatives and international organizations, in roundtable discussions, group work, and expert presentations. 

Prominent practices showcased the effectiveness of corruption prevention through enhanced integrity networks, increased transparency through open data and improved access to public service. Among others, the Estonian model “The State Finance as Open Data”, a Business Intelligence software which provides unlimited public access to view, compare and analyze public financial data, is a successful example of public financial transparency. The modernization of the public service delivery is another effective tool to prevent corruption. Through establishment of “one stop shops” for key public services, the Georgian Public Service Halls not only simplified the administrative processes but reduced considerably the corruption risks. 

The role of CSO and international community is not less important in implementing corruption prevention measures. Practical examples on contribution of CSO to prevention of corruption, monitoring of government’s anti-corruption work and conduct of surveys were introduced by Southeast Europe Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI), Transparency International Georgia and Sange Research Center Kazakhstan. Successful initiatives of public institutions working with NGOs to support civic engagement for anti- corruption are the Armenian SMS Polling application, Ukrainian Mobile App for preventing corruption; Macedonian Get involved – give a proposal! and others.

This story was written by Irina Apostol, UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia. Permalink for this story: http://undp.akvoapp.org/en/project/1111/update/5710/

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