National anti-corruption day will be observed by Transparency International (TI) on December 9 to educate the people about rampant corruption, particularly in government departments and seek help of cross-section of population in eradicating this menace from society.
The Berlin-based Transparency International-Pakistan Chapter is drawing up a comprehensive programme to make the day a grand success. TI will also hold National Anti-corruption Youth Conference, which will be the third in the series of anti-corruption conferences, organised by TI annually.
This conference will give the youth an opportunity to voice their experiences and understanding of our world and their future in a unique, constructive and sustaining way. The most dynamic participants from this conference will also be encouraged to attend other international youth forums giving them exposure to the activities of youth around the world and to share their experiences with others.
According to TI, at the 3rd national anti-corruption youth conference, youth from colleges, universities and various organisations across Pakistan will be asked to pledge to fight corruption.
The conference aims at building a successful coalition and capacity in youth, creating an interaction by youth from civil society and political parties with government officials and members of parliament, in suggesting measures to improve governance and better service delivery to which corruption is an enemy.
Transparency International is working comprehensively to fight corruption and introduction of good governance and has drawn up wide-ranging programme in this regard.
The plan includes: art for transparency exhibitions, walkathons - walk-a-cause "accepting corruption is your choice," television spots, which will depict various types of corruption in Pakistani society and advertise remarks by famous actors or actresses promoting integrity and denouncing grand and petty forms of corruption. Emotional advertisements that teach people the impact of corruption in their lives, the result of being corrupt etc (like the ad against smoking in which a young man starts smoking out of sheer pleasure and ends up in a cancer ward).
Musical shows and exhibitions, art exhibitions, calendar and postcard competitions, skits/plays, dramas/street theatre and puppet shows, two inter-collegiate and inter-school competitions, clean Karachi 2004 fair, children's traffic week, integrity award for investigative journalism.
The stakeholders include: art colleges and schools, educational institutions, multinational companies, industrialists, print and electronic media, government, anti-corruption agencies, NGOs, professional associations, chambers of industry, and business forums.