Liberian Students Mobilize to Advance Liberia’s Open Government Partnership Commitments

By: Ahmed Konneh, Co-founder of SMART Liberia and a student of the University of Liberia Students Making a Real Transformation (SMART) Liberia, with funding from the Accountability Lab and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, have worked together over the last two months to implement “Update 8.” Update 8 is an awareness campaign that encourages public institutions to regularly update their websites with fresh content (a component of the government of Liberia’s Open Government partnership action plan). The goal of this project is to allow the public make informed decisions and monitor the operations of various public institutions. As [...]

2020-03-03T16:03:45+00:0030th November 2015|

What happens when you get 1,200 anti-corruption activists in a room?

 By: Blair Glencorse, Executive Director There was plenty of irony in the fact that Transparency International’s (TI) flagship meeting- the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC)- took place in Malaysia last week during the largest ever protests against corruption in the country’s history. The Prime Minister perhaps sensibly stayed away from the meeting in the end, but Jose Ugaz, the President of TI, certainly wasn’t going to let him get away that easily, asking publicly in the opening session: “Who paid the money and why? Where did it go?” This set the tone- there was a refreshing directness and focus at the [...]

2015-09-08T00:00:00+00:008th September 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|

Can you stop a rumor?

By: Alison Campbell, Senior Director for Global Initiatives at Internews. This article was originally published by Internews. In Nepal, a band of local volunteers are trying — with SMS, radio, the Internet, and old fashioned door-to-door reporting. For survivors, the immediate priorities in a disaster such as an earthquake seem clear: Get to safety. Help your family and those around you. Reach the people you love and tell them, “I’m OK.” A Nepal radio reporter interviews earthquake survivors. Credit: Madhu Acharya/Internews But after the initial crisis is over, survivors are faced with a million uncertainties and questions as they try to piece together [...]

2015-08-11T00:00:00+00:0011th August 2015|

With Support From Google Disaster Corps

One of the most important aspects often not given enough attention after a disaster is how technology can be used to build our capacity to do to good. After the devastating earthquakes in Nepal this year, there was a great need to find creative ways to better provide for those in need and make information more inclusive and accessible. This summer, four members of the Google Disaster Corps traveled to Kathmandu to spend two weeks partnering with Accountability Lab and Local Interventions Group to enhance data management in their earthquake relief project, Mobile Citizen Helpdesk. The Google team consisted of [...]

2015-07-27T00:00:00+00:0027th July 2015|

“I have to do what has to be done”: Leslie Lumeh and the Fight for Liberia’s Cultural Heritage

By: Brooks Marmon and Jim Tuttle, Accountability Lab in Monrovia, Liberia. This blog post was originally published as an article in Images Magazine, Edition 16. A Leslie Lumeh has been proclaimed “Liberia’s most celebrated artist” by CNN. A product of Booker Washington Institute, the visual artist has received accolades from wide and afar, with his works presented at exhibitions in Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, South Africa, and the United States. His services are widely in demand by Liberia’s international partners, such as the UNICEF, the US Embassy, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Stating that “I came to the earth as an artist”, Leslie notes that he began his career by [...]

2015-07-24T00:00:00+00:0024th July 2015|

Building the Next Generation of Responsible Athletes in Liberia

By: Sam Burnette III, who hails from a family of prominent Liberian footballers and is the Founder and CEO of the Liberia Football Foundation. This blog post was originally published by the Huffington Post. Building the Next Generation of Responsible Athletes in Liberia The concept of Sports for Development (S4D) is gaining prominence across the world, especially in developing countries. When properly implemented, these types of programs are very effective at creating social change and supporting development- especially of children. In Liberia, one of several West African countries devastated by the Ebola virus, there are a handful of organizations that see [...]

2015-07-10T00:00:00+00:0010th July 2015|

Integrity Gets Great Ratings

Integrity Gets Great Ratings How Nepalis harnessed the power of reality TV to strike a blow against corruption. BY BLAIR GLENCORSE, SUMAN PARAJULI. Originally published in Foreign Policy. To Gyan Mani Nepal, the newly appointed head of education in Panchthar, a small and beautiful corner of far eastern Nepal, the situation in his school district was a depressing reminder of his own youth. Teacher absenteeism was as high as 90 percent; those who did come to work often showed up drunk. Others shook principals down for bribes just to come to their jobs. Schools were regularly shut down by political [...]

2015-07-09T00:00:00+00:009th July 2015|

Introducing Accountability Lab’s Summer Fellows!

Accountability Lab is excited to welcome six talented interns to our teams in Liberia, Nepal and the US this summer! We are proud of the mission-driven actions plans, creative content and daily support these interns have contributed to the Lab. Because it can be challenging to visualize what accountability means in action, we’ve asked each of them to share what accountability means to them and how they apply it to their professional and personal lives. Take a moment to read through their comments and be inspired. Ashley Day “One of the first things that really drew me to the Lab was how our model strives to [...]

2015-07-08T00:00:00+00:008th July 2015|

How to Design a Battle Plan for Your Next Transparency Fight

By: Tania Sanchez, Open Government Guide Coordinator at Transparency and Accountability Initiative, [email protected]. Are you struggling to make government and public institutions in your country more transparent and accountable to citizens? If so, here’s a chance to improve your battle plan and tool up for the fight ahead. The Transparency and Accountability Initiative is constantly updating and expanding the Open Government Guide. Currently covering 22 different transparency-related topics, the guide enables transparency advocates to quickly and easily identify possible courses of action, link up with others working in the field, access global standards to hold their governments accountable against, and find examples of [...]

2015-07-07T00:00:00+00:007th July 2015|
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