Defending press freedom: Five key takeaways from Danai Nhando and Nkosikhona Dibiti

Around the world, journalists are facing growing pressure—from legal threats and online harassment to financial constraints and shrinking civic space. These challenges don’t just affect individual journalists—they impact our collective ability to access credible, independent information and hold those in power to account. In a recent episode of the AccountabiliTea podcast, Cheri-Leigh Erasmus, Co-CEO of Accountability Lab and host of the podcast, spoke with Danai Nhando, a Human Rights Lawyer and Social Entrepreneur, and Nkosikhona Dibiti, Executive Director of Community Podium and Journalist, about the state of media freedom today. Their insights speak to a global moment of reckoning for [...]

2025-04-03T08:28:58+00:002nd April 2025|

Youth Protests: Supporting active citizenship in practice

In an era of growing youth uprisings, there is an increased need to support this latest indicator of active citizenship in the countries in which they erupt. Large-scale protests against corruption, nepotism and excessive taxation of populations already struggling economically, flared up in Kenya, Uganda and Bangladesh over June and July this year. Protestors in all three countries faced brutal crackdowns by government police and security forces resulting in arrests, intimidation, violence and death.  While young democracy and human rights defenders do take steps to secure their safety, there is a need for more support. Mahera Musharrat, a young democracy [...]

2024-09-19T09:24:49+00:0013th September 2024|

From Local Visionaries to Global Changemakers: The Evolution of Accountability Incubator and Civic Charge

By Kibo Ngowi The Accountability Incubator emerged out of a vision to train and support young people with innovative ideas around accountability, participation and open government to build sustainable, effective tools for change. In the decade that AL has run the Incubator, we've had more than 300 accountapreneurs from over a dozen countries go through the program. The initiatives we’ve supported run the gamut from integrity watch groups at primary schools; to building networks of music artists pushing for integrity; to tools using blockchain to secure elections.  AL Programs & Learning Manager Jaco Roets has been at the forefront of [...]

2024-04-19T16:40:09+00:0015th January 2024|

Empowering Global Youth: A Path to Inclusive Democracy

By Kibo Ngowi Amidst the challenges faced by democracies worldwide, a beacon of hope is emerging as young people take charge of their futures. Youth across the globe are stepping up to redefine their roles in shaping governance. And the call for increased youth participation resonates strongly in the global south.  Despite a lower-than-desired voter turnout in the Nigerian elections earlier this year, the resilience of the 'Not Too Young To Run' movement demonstrated the transformative power of youth cohesion as several young candidates who benefitted from the campaign took office for the first time. Pakistan, with its youthful population, [...]

2023-12-07T10:05:42+00:007th December 2023|

CSO tasks NOA DG on national gender policy implementation

A Civil Society Organisation, Accountability Lab Nigeria, dedicated to promoting gender equality and women empowerment, has called for concerted efforts with the newly-appointed Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, on gender equality in workspace and every other human endeavor to afford women a levelled playing field. Accountability Lab made this call during a crucial meeting with the newly-appointed Director General of the NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu, and its Programs and Learning Manager, Ehi Idakwo. At the meeting, the CSO harped on the critical importance of NOA’s commitment to implementing the National Gender Policy in [...]

2023-11-07T10:38:49+00:007th November 2023|

Training to Transformation: The Sahel’s Youth in Political Leadership and Conflict Resolution

By Zeinabou Walet Mohamed Ali    Faced with security challenges and a shrinking civic and democratic space in the Sahel, young people have expressed a strong desire to increase their political leadership and participation in democratic decision-making processes as well as efforts aimed at conflict prevention in their countries. Countries such as Mali - characterized by political crises, corruption and a deep disconnect between the will of the people and the decisions made by those in power - face major political and security challenges. The Sahel region has now become a space in reconstruction, where it is crucial for young people [...]

2023-10-05T12:40:21+00:0030th September 2023|

Ram Bahadur’s Remarkable Journey: From Aspiring to Inspiring

By Dridhata Silwal  Ram Bahadur Kurumbang’s journey began during his school days when he absorbed the invaluable lessons of moral education taught by his dedicated school teachers. These teachings stayed with him for a lifetime, ultimately shaping his core principles and placing integrity at the center of everything he does.  This strong foundation later propelled him to take a stand against corruption and work tirelessly towards building a stronger, more transparent system. His remarkable transformation from a schoolboy learning about moral values to becoming an Integrity Icon award winner is a truly inspiring story. It highlights the importance of having [...]

2023-09-26T13:37:14+00:0026th September 2023|

Raising Voices, Exposing Lies: Investigative Journalism’s Role in Anti-Corruption

By Leah Persons For years, Nepal has grappled with the dire issue of human trafficking, particularly affecting women and girls as young as twelve. A significant incident in 2018 involved a Nepali politician who orchestrated the trafficking of over 200 women; this individual was apprehended and convicted. However, the corrupt Supreme Court of Nepal controversially released the politician, citing mistaken identity by the accusers. The continued prevalence of human trafficking in Nepal is attributed to the deeply rooted corruption within the country. This underscores the urgent need to escalate anti-corruption initiatives to effectively address these grave concerns. A crucial advocate [...]

2023-08-31T12:53:33+00:0028th August 2023|

Pitch Day at HackCorruption Colombia

HackCorruption, our corruption-fighting series of hackathons, has wrapped in Bogotá, Colombia, with 20 teams taking to the pitch stage. Ideas ranged from digital procurement portals to beneficial ownership applications and citizen monitoring systems. Our panel of judges is currently assessing the solutions and we look forward to announcing our winners next week. Accountability Lab hosted the third HackCorruption event in Colombia, following the first event in South Africa and the second in Nepal. The proogram supports talented individuals from the civic tech, CSO, and activist arenas, to build innovative solutions to combat corruption. The hackathon is supported by the Bureau [...]

2023-08-24T18:04:24+00:0024th August 2023|

Five approaches for young people to speak up against corruption

This is one of two winning blogs from the World Bank's International Corruption Hunters Alliance 2023 Blog Contest. In an effort to find a common solution to a common challenge, we asked to hear the views of African youth on the challenges of corruption. We asked for submissions, based on the situation in the blogger’s country, that answered the following question: How can young people work with their governments, academia, and civil society organizations to speak up against corruption and counter the negative impacts corruption has on society? Corruption poses a significant threat to society, hindering progress and impacting the lives of [...]

2023-08-14T12:15:27+00:0013th July 2023|
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