The Accountability Lab in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation‚ Corruption Watch‚ LifeCo UnLtd and Democracy Works Foundation has launched Integrity Idol South Africa.
The initiative was launched at Constitution Hill‚ Johannesburg‚ on Tuesday and is aimed at celebrating excellence in the public service.
Integrity Idol draws from its successful implementation since 2015 in Nepal‚ Liberia‚ Mali and Pakistan.
The winning idols have gone on to lead important reform processes in their countries based on the trust and credibility generated through Integrity Idol.
Accountability Lab is now working with the winners to expand their integrity networks to do everything from developing national policies to redesigning curricula for civil service training schools.
The process for the Integrity idol will unfold in this fashion:
• 16 January– end February 2018: Using their phones‚ South Africans nominate an Integrity Idol working for the government in health‚ education or safety & security.
• March 2018: An expert panel of respected South Africans narrow the nominees to the top 10 candidates.
• March – April 2018: Working with a filmmaker‚ young South African filmmakers develop short films of the finalists doing their jobs with integrity.
• May 2018: Short films will be shown on TV and social media platforms‚ with audio on community radio stations. South Africans will be asked to vote for their “Integrity Idol” through SMS‚ social media‚ WhatsApp and online.
The Integrity Idols are crowned in a public ceremony during a special event with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and LifeCo UnLtd and BMW Foundation Herbert Quant.
Accountability Lab is an organisation which aims to catalyse a new generation of active citizens and responsible leaders around the world by supporting change-makers to develop and implement positive ideas for integrity in their communities.
LifeCo UnLtd was established in 1997 as a not-for-profit company and invests in individuals for enhanced enterprise and life performance. It does this by finding‚ funding‚ supporting and investing in these individuals to help sustain their enterprises.
This article was first published in TimesLIVE on 16 January 2017
