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If you want to end corruption, turn to reality television

By: Andrew Bezek, Ivy. This article was originally published by Ivy Magazine. On the Nepali version of American Idol, there’s a Nepali version of Simon Cowell—hilariously rebuffing poor performances and glowering at the contestants. After working against corruption in developing countries for nearly a decade, IVY member Blair Glencorse had corruption on the mind as he was sitting and watching that Cowell scowl. He wanted a new way to frame corruption and thought to himself—what about reality TV? “We wondered,” says Glencorse, “What if instead of putting corrupt officials behind bars, we put honest officials in from of cameras?” So [...]

2016-03-01T00:00:00+00:001st March 2016|

Accountability Lab Ends Three-Day Incubation Training

By: Gbatemah Senah. This article was originally published by The Bush Chicken. MONROVIA, Montserrado – The Accountability Lab has ended a three-day training for “accountapreneurs” who are participating in its two-year accountability incubator program. The training lasted from Jan. 12th to 14. According to Lawrence Yealue, the West Africa Representative at Accountability Lab, the accountapreneurs were selected from a list of several individuals and organizations who applied to participate. The participants proposed programs with innovative ideas for strengthening accountability, anti-corruption efforts, and integrity in their various communities. Yealue said that the lab, in a two-year agreement with the accountapreneurs, will provide training [...]

2016-01-20T00:00:00+00:0020th January 2016|

Idols we would like

By: Malati. This article was originally published by the Kathmandu Post. What do we do then? We could wait for the political willpower to clean up the system, but that might be a long wait On Sunday, the Chief District Officer of Gulmi, Pradeep Raj Kandel, was crowned the Integrity Idol of 2015. The award is conferred annually to a government official who reforms the institution he is working in and makes bureaucracy a little more efficient. In the districts he worked in, Kandel has been credited with making the process of finding documents in a government office fast and [...]

2016-01-16T00:00:00+00:0016th January 2016|

Nepal is fighting corruption with a talent show-style scheme called ‘Integrity Idol’

This year bureaucrat Pradip Raj Kandel was crowned winner of the contest for most honest civil servant in Nepal By: James Rothwell, and agency. This article was originally published by The Telegraph. Pradip Raj Kandel (right) being crowned winner of 'Integrity Idol' Photo: AFP In most countries they are the government's unsung heroes, toiling behind the scenes to ensure its laws and policies are implemented properly. But in Nepal civil servants have become the unlikely centre of attention after a TV talent show-style scheme was launched to find the most honest bureaucrat in the country. And after more than 50,000 votes were [...]

2016-01-10T00:00:00+00:0010th January 2016|

Gulmi CDO Kanel is the Integrity Idol, 2015

This article was originally published by Republica. Gulmi Chief District Officer (CDO) Pradip Raj Kanel, has bagged the “Integrity Idol Nepal, 2015” award on Sunday. He was awarded by the Accountability Lab, an organization working to promote accountability and transparency, for his commitment and active involvement in community services including efficient and timely response to service seekers, reduction of littering, fighting for citizen's rights and literacy, as well as tackling corruption. “Kanel, who has served over six districts as CDO, has removed lax in the government office. Service seekers get timely and efficient response and his efforts for district-wide cleanliness [...]

2016-01-10T00:00:00+00:0010th January 2016|

Fighting corruption by ‘naming and faming’ with Integrity Idol

Watch Accountability Lab's Executive Director, Blair Glencorse, speak at TEDx MidAtlantic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgY1FuEmBF4 Blair Glencorse argues that the best way to stop corruption is not by shaming, but rather by supporting and rewarding those doing the right thing. He helped create Integrity Idol, which aims to generate debate around the idea of integrity and demonstrate the importance of honesty, personal responsibility and accountability as well as inspire a new generation to be more effective public servants. Integrity Idol is currently taking place in Liberia, Nepal and Pakistan. Blair Glencorse founded and runs the Accountability Lab, an organization that is redefining how [...]

2015-12-22T00:00:00+00:0022nd December 2015|

‘American Idol’ Can’t Compete With Liberia’s ‘Integrity Idol’

By: Carielle Doe. This article was originally published by NPR.  The winner of Liberia's Integrity Idol 2015 is registered nurse Jugbeh Tarpleh Kekula. She works in the emergency room at the Liberia Government Hospital in Buchanan, the country's third-largest city with a population of some 35,000. Photo credit: Carielle Doe for NPR She was one of the five finalists in an American Idol-style competition. But she did not have to sing. This was Integrity Idol 2015 in Liberia. The candidates all worked for the government and had a record of integrity. The public voted by phone and by the Internet. The [...]

2015-12-16T00:00:00+00:0016th December 2015|

‘Integrity Idol’: Reality TV show seeks honest civil servant in graft-hit Liberia

Comfort Nimely, a caretaker at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Liberia, is filmed as part of the reality television show Integrity Idol, which is asking the public to vote for the most honest civil servant in the West African nation. Photo by Harrison Chie By: Kieran Guilbert. This article was originally published by the Thompson Reuters Foundation. DAKAR, Nov 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Featuring contestants from a caretaker and nurse to a lawyer, a reality television show in Liberia is on the hunt for a different kind of star - a civil servant who embodies honesty [...]

2015-11-30T00:00:00+00:0030th November 2015|

Search for Liberia’s Most Exceptional Civil Servants Begins

By: Zeze Ballah. This article was originally published by The Bush Chicken. MONROVIA, Montserrado – The Accountability Lab, a nongovernmental organization, has launched a campaign to recognize outstanding civil servants. The Accountability Lab is doing this through its first ever Integrity Idol in Liberia. The goal of this program is to help promote positive examples of accountable community leaders with the objective of building a society in which everyone will have an equal opportunity. Lawrence Yealue, the Accountability Lab West Africa representative, told The Bush Chicken that Liberians can nominate an honest civil servant who is 59-years-old or younger by filling the [...]

2015-08-25T00:00:00+00:0025th August 2015|

Art Festival Highlights Industry’s Needs

By Lisa Diasay. This article was originally published by The Bush Chicken. MONROVIA, Montserrado – At a recent one-day art exhibition organized by the Accountability Lab and the Liberia Visual Arts Academy, young artists showcased their artistic works portraying peace, democracy, society, and Liberia’s everyday life. The program took place on Friday, June 26 at the National Museum under the theme, “Liberia’s Quest for Integrity.” The arts festival featured 12 Liberian artists with a variety of styles including paintings, cartoons, and graphic illustrations. They included Duke Appleton of Maryland, Frank Dwuye of Montserrado, Leslie Lumeh of Grand Cape Mount, Isaac Doubor [...]

2015-08-25T00:00:00+00:0025th August 2015|
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