Deal with our ‘culture wars’ to combat democratic backsliding – President Obama

A lot of times those of us who are interested in democracy promotion have tried to wish away these so-called culture war questions. We like to focus on rules, law, policy and calculations” — President Barack Obama WASHINGTON D.C., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA , UNITED STATES, November 18, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Keeping young people engaged in governance processes creatively to help prevent democratic backsliding was one of the key messages from Accountability Lab at the Democracy Forum in New York this week. Speaking on a panel with President Barack Obama, Country Director at Accountability Lab Mali Doussouba Konaté, said that democracy “on the streets” had [...]

2022-11-30T23:59:23+00:0018th November 2022|

Deekay Ndoni Sibanda — Activism through art and film

"When I say I’m an activist, I’m on the ground, I’m a street activist. I’m not sitting at a desk — I want to go where things are happening." “I call myself a human rights activist slash a queer rights activist,” says aspiring filmmaker and photographer Deekay Ndoni Sibanda, who is the 39-year-old programme officer for the Accountability Lab’s Integrity Icon campaign. The initiative seeks to highlight the often-overlooked good work that public servants are doing. She told Maverick Citizen that she is very passionate about media advocacy work because of her passion for documenting and narrating activist stories. Activist Deekay Ndoni Sibanda [...]

2022-12-01T00:44:49+00:0018th November 2022|

A public service is only as strong as the people who work in it – recognise the Integrity Icons to squeeze out the bad

By Mark Heywood Maverick Citizen has been a firm promoter of the Integrity Icons campaign. We have done so because without a committed and effective public service we cannot achieve social justice, and because in our day-to-day reporting we frequently come across public servants who work tirelessly and make great sacrifices in the public interest. On Friday evening last week, Accountability Lab South Africa announced the five winners of its 2022 Integrity Icon awards. This was the fifth year of the awards, established in 2018, which according to Sekoetlane Phamodi, the country director of Accountability Lab, aim “to name and fame some of [...]

2022-11-15T01:59:40+00:008th November 2022|

Consolidating support for the transgender community

Written by Tirelo Makwela In May 2018, the Pakistan government passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, a comprehensive response to ensure the rights and welfare of the trans community are protected. It was hailed as a win for the transgender community but experience has shown that the law alone is not enough to ensure the safety and prosperity of transgender people. Many still face harassment, exclusion and violence in public spaces, even when trying to access government services. According to a report by the Guardian, 2021 was the deadliest year for the trans community, with more than 300 [...]

2022-12-07T14:32:41+00:0021st October 2022|

Collaborative approach to deal with effects of fake news and disinformation on freedom of expression

In an event arranged at the National Press Club by Accountability Lab speakers discussed the key drivers and impacts of fake news and disinformation on society and especially on youth. Dr. Zafar Iqbal, Dean, Social Sciences Department, International Islamic University, Islamabad; Ms. Zill e Huma, Deputy Director at the Press Information Department, Iftikhar Sherazi, Bureau Chief, Dawn News and Dr. Sadia Kamal, who is senior journalist and former vice president of the NPC, were among the key speakers. The event was attended by representatives from local media, civil society and students from various academic institutions. In her opening remarks Dr. [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:16+00:0019th October 2022|

From Indonesia to India: Is There Hope for Anti-Corruption Efforts Within the G20?

By Blair Glencorse and Sanjeeta Pant As global crises mount, the G20 is proving unable to find solutions. Political disagreements within the bloc- including most prominently with Russia over the ongoing war in Ukraine- have hamstrung collective efforts. Economic challenges have inevitably led to a focus on domestic priorities. And significant political changes in key G20 countries over the past few months- such as the UK and Italy- have further undermined joint decision-making. Equally, on corruption issues, the G20 has a long way go, although the body continues to reiterate its commitment fighting graft and leading by example on core issues such [...]

2022-11-20T22:41:27+00:0027th September 2022|

Action taken after intervention by Action for Accountability

Dangerous open manholes and incomplete water infrastructure maintenance compromise safety in Mondeor. The open manholes and incomplete water infrastructure in Mondeor is a danger to the community. This was discussed by the newly established CivActs team of the Action for Accountability (A4A) on September 10. The A4A is a project co-funded by the European Union and implemented by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Accountability Lab South Africa and the Public Service Accountability Monitor. The project aims to support communities through better governance as South Africa struggles with an accountability crisis. It has been months since residents are confronted with these problems, [...]

2022-11-20T22:33:33+00:0023rd September 2022|

Consultarán apertura en gobiernos

Como parte del Plan de Acción Local de Gobierno Abierto, será realizada una consulta pública para la definición de temas que deberán ser transparentados por el Gobierno y municipio, informó ayer la Coalición "Nuevo León Abierto". La consulta está disponible desde ayer y su cierre está programado el 15 de septiembre. De acuerdo con la plataforma, las propuestas deberán ser ingresadas por los participantes en el portal nlabierto.org. "En el Plan se establecerán compromisos que los gobiernos, en conjunto con la sociedad civil, impulsarán para garantizar que los principios de rendición de cuentas, innovación y transparencia, permeen en las acciones [...]

2022-11-20T22:21:51+00:002nd September 2022|

HackCorruption announces 5 winning ideas to combat corruption through emerging technologies

WASHINGTON D.C., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES, August 8, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- HackCorruption, a people-powered hackathon to unearth anti-corruption solutions, is proud to announce the winners from the inaugural event in Johannesburg, South Africa. Accountability Lab (AL) and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) hosted 100 virtual and in-person participants for the innovative Tech4Good event between July 22 and 24. After a competitive judging process, five teams have been named as overall winners with solutions that addressed a lack of transparency in public procurement processes and established creative whistleblowing platforms and open data dashboards. The winning teams include Angaza, TransProcure, [...]

2022-08-23T09:02:25+00:005th August 2022|

The value of iteration and innovation

Written by Sanjeeta Pant   This is the second in a series of reflective blogs that will look at how the dynamic nature of Accountability Lab’s Civic Action Teams campaign has facilitated a network of local stakeholders to respond to diverse community needs. Read the first blog here.   “The Civic Action Teams model is a result of incorporating different learnings over a number of years. We did not start out with the intention of solving big problems. We did not even make any promises. We simply wanted to listen to what people had to say and to connect them [...]

2022-08-05T08:26:06+00:0029th July 2022|
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