Being jointly organized by Lviv Business School of Ukrainian Catholic University, Transparency International Ukraine, and UNDP in Ukraine, the School consisted of two modules, which took place on 17-19 March and 20-23 April.

 

Out of over 300 applicants, a group of 27 civic activists, journalists, government officials, business people from all over Ukraine was selected. The participants represented the cities of Lviv, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zhytomyr, Kramatorsk, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv.

 

The keynote speaker of the second module was Professor Frans Geraedts, one of the founders of the Governance and Integrity Netherlands, who develops programs to support governments and has been cooperating with local government authorities in Ukraine for about 10 years.

 

"It is possible to eradicate corruption in Ukraine in 10-20 years. But if during these two-three years we do not take the first steps, the opportunity to start this process will be lost," said Frans Geraedts. "It is not the holy president or the holy government that should fight corruption. Every citizen must personally assume this responsibility."

 

During the School, the participants and the experts of the School shared their experience and opinions on anti-corruption measures/policies at the local level and on raising awareness of personal responsibility for everyday corruption.

 

"Initiate establishment of a formal transparent fund at the school or the day care center which your child attends. So that parents' money would go not into a director's pocket, but to a joint account. You should be aware that you will no longer have any influence on your child's grades, but the transparency of cash flows and the results of their use will be known to everyone," said the professor.

 

The curriculum of the Anti-Corruption School was elaborated by: Sofia Kovach (UNDP Capacity Building Expert), Yuliya Pavlenko (NABU detective), Zurab Alasania (Director General of the National Television Company of Ukraine), Viktor Taran (Director of the Eidos center), Richard Farkas (Professor of Political Science at DePaul University), Viktor Chumak (MP, Head of the VRU Committee on the Prevention of and Counteraction to Corruption), Mykola Khavroniuk (member of the board of the Center for Political and Legal Reform), Frans Geraedts (professor of philosophy, one of the founders of Governance and Integrity Netherlands), Olha Tymchenko (Head of the Communications Department of Transparency International Ukraine), Yaroslav Yurchyshyn (member of the board of Transparency International Ukraine), Dmytro Hnap (investigative journalist), Dmyrto Sherembei (Director of the charitable foundation "Patients of Ukraine"), and others.

 

Based on the results of the School, the participants are now working on their own anti-corruption investigations which they are planning to pass for further investigation to the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine.

 

This initiative is organised under the framework of Enhanced Public Sector Transparency and Integrity Project, implemented by UNDP and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.