Young students and civil servants celebrated the values of honesty and integrity by expressing their thoughts and views through creative arts and essays to mark International Anti-Corruption Day. The observance of this important day was co-hosted in Suva by the Fiji Independent Commission against Corruption (FICAC) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) under the United Nations Pacific Regional Anti-Corruption (UN-PRAC) project funded by the New Zealand Government.

This year’s International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight the rights and responsibilities of everyone in preventing and countering corruption with the aim to promote resilience and integrity at all levels of society.

Given the specific effects of corruption on the future of young generations and the important role of young people in strengthening and promoting integrity, one of the specific themes of Anti-Corruption Day is precisely ‘Education and Youth’ -- which was chosen as the overarching focus of the observance in Fiji.

International Anti-Corruption Day this year was a culmination of the persistent efforts to advance the values of integrity and the anti-corruption agenda in Fiji. From the public sector to the private sector, to youth, to the education sector – the integrity movement is steadily spreading in Fiji with an ambition to become a whole- of- Fiji integrity movement.

In 2020, FICAC, supported by UN-PRAC, launched a first-ever nation-wide public sector integrity and anti-bribery campaign targeting 50,000 public servants in over 90 institutions.

Despite the practical challenges posed by COVID-19, the commitment is sustained for the continuation of the campaign to reach all 50,000 public servants as initially planned.

FICAC Deputy Commissioner Mr Rashmi Aslam said that the anti-bribery campaign particularly focused on two fundamental values, honesty and integrity.

“The manner in which we advanced this campaign was not to speak to the working brain of a public servant; it’s to speak to their hearts and the emotions and then try to make and change the attitudes and approaches towards them by correcting themselves or by approaching or accepting that integrity and honesty as one of the key components in their personality, and taking that to their workplace because “integrity” is contagious”, said Mr Aslam. 

“By wearing the “I don’t accept bribes” badge, it symbolizes a person’s commitment to embrace the value of integrity and passing this message on to other members of society,” he added.

Mr Aslam acknowledged the 1,116 civil servants who had received the badge for their efforts and for taking up the initiative. “We hope through our campaign and through our program we were able to make a big difference in your mind, in your workplace and also the society at large”, added Mr Aslam.

The campaign has been taken to the next level this year, extending to the private sector. HFC Bank and Ranjit Garments took up the opportunity and became the first in the private sector to participate in the campaign.

Young students and public servants also took part in poster, essay and writing competitions to express their thoughts and views on the values of honesty and integrity which were carried out in the run-up to the observance of International Anti-Corruption Day.

Among 27 submissions from Year 5 to 8 students for the poster competition, and 101 from Year 9 to 11 students for the essay competition from 58 schools across Fiji, and 39 from civil servants for the writing completion, 13 participants received the prizes, with an additional special winner from the civil servant’s category.

Michelle Podmore, Deputy High Commissioner, New Zealand High Commission, Fiji said, “New Zealand has been supporting integrity and anti-corruption initiatives in Fiji and other Pacific countries through the UN-PRAC project. We are pleased to see that the public integrity campaign is sustained, diversified and scaled up now also includes youth as future leaders of this country. We look forward to seeing more stakeholders embraced in this innovative awareness and educational campaign led by FICAC.”

Levan Bouadze, Resident Representative of UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji congratulated and appreciated FICAC of the importance of taking a whole-of-Government and a whole-of-society approach in promoting integrity and preventing corruption.

“Prevention of corruption through education and leveraging the youth engagement in promoting the values of integrity are pivotal for the success of a cultural change in attitudes and behaviours towards corruption and in shaping of the values of tomorrow,” said Mr Bouadze.

“UNDP is committed to continued partnership with FICAC on spreading the integrity movement in Fiji among different sectors and stakeholders to eventually reach the society at large, and we are thankful for the support provided by New Zealand Government to enable implementation of such an impactful initiative,” he added.

This leg of the educational and awareness campaign led by FICAC and supported by UNDP aims to cover over 100,000 primary and secondary school students in approximately 730 primary school and 170 secondary schools across all over Fiji.

Meanwhile, the 2022 campaign will expand to engage more with civil society and strengthen further partnerships for the integrity movement in Fiji.

For more information, please contact:

Stephaine Smith - Ah Yuk, Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, email: stephaine.smith@ficac.org.fj

Tomoko Kashiwazaki, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji, email: tomoko.kashiwazaki@undp.org