RAI Secretariat joins Week of Integrity organized by the Albanian Minstry of Justice

On December 10, 2020, RAI joined the Civil Society Forum Against Corruption during the Week of Integrity, which was jointly organized by the National Coordinator Against Corruption and the Ministry of Justice of Albania.

This interactive Forum discussed the communication strategy for increasing the sustainable public awareness and education campaign in fighting corruption, which is implemented by the Albanian government authorities, namely the Ministry of Justices in partnership with the civil society organizations. The Forum was opened by Ms. Adea Piredni, Deputy Minister of Justice, and was continued with the presentation of the recently approved Communication & Visibility Strategy of the Albanian Ministry of Justice provided by Ms. Rovena Pregja, Head of Sector on Anticorruption Programs, Directory of Programs & Projects in the Field of Anticorruption.

The discussion focused on exploring ways of enhancing the participation of CSOs to join in the implementation of this Communication and Visibility Strategy, as one of the main goals of the Ministry of Justice in the implementation of the strategic documents. Event moderator, Ms. Stela Suloti, Adviser to the Minister of Justice, summarized activities presented during the Week of Integrity, which was followed by the discussion and proposals on potential collaborations with the Civil Society Organizations in fighting corruption for 2021. In discussion, the anti-corruption education of youth and children was emphasized as an important target group for starting the early education and changing the public perception about fighting corruption.

Speaking of changing the public perception on corruption, RAI Secretariat representative Ms. Amra Softić pointed out that: “While changing of the perception is a long term goal, changing the views and knowledge about corruption through daily information can be accomplished relatively easily”. She also noted a few public-oriented activities conducted by RAI under the auspices of the EU-funded Project “Breaking the Silence: Enhancing the whistleblowing policies and culture in Western Balkans and Moldova”, aiming to increase the understanding of the youth population about the importance of whistleblowing in fighting corruption. These activities included: a pilot youth survey on whistleblowing tested among the members of the anti-corruption teams in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a video story featuring messages from the young people from the SEE  who voiced their thoughts about whistleblowing.