A colloquium on the topic of “The Global Fight against Corruption and the Notion of Global Citizenship” was co-organized by the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens and its partner International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) in Laxenburg, Austria this morning. The event attracted more than 70 attendees from students to professors in academia, delegates from the Embassies, and other stakeholders from different sectors.
BKMC Co-chairs Ban Ki-moon and Heinz Fischer and IACA Dean & Executive Secretary Martin Kreutner delivered a keynote during the event moderated by Senior Coordinator Richard Eames of IACA. During the Q&A session, the participants actively engaged themselves in the discussions, bringing up questions and sharing ideas. Co-chair Ban said that “anti-corruptions and global citizenship go together hand in hand,” emphasizing that organizations from all different sectors must cooperate.
He added that transparency and accountability is important for any type of organization or company, following the 10 principles that the United Nations Global Compact has set. Co-chair Fischer said that for a state or an organization to be stabilized based on the Rule of Law, they have to “fight corruption.” He added that “corruption is a poison for democracy and for Economic Growth” of any country, emphasizing that it must be cleaned up for a country to prosper.
“There is still a way to go in addressing issues of corruption. What’s important is extending knowledge, focusing on implementation, and encouraging ownership. We need to have the courage of using our own understanding to achieve the common good,” Kreutner concluded. On the margins of the colloquium, BKMC Co-chairs and CEO Monika Froehler also had a bilateral meeting with Kreutner.
