Berlin / Brasilia, 28 September 2011 — With the theme, “Mobilising People: Connecting Agents of Change” the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference series (15th IACC) will be held in Brasília, Brazil from 7 - 10 November 2012. Taking place since 1983, the IACC series is the leading independent global platform for those who want to put an end to corruption and eliminate its pervasive impact on governance, the economy, the environment and most importantly on people’s everyday lives, especially the most vulnerable.

Building a more dynamic movement for transparency
The 14th IACC held in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2010 pointed the way for the future of the fight against corruption: The international anti-corruption movement decided on a new emphasis on fighting corruption by empowering and mobilising people, be it from civil society, the private or public sectors, and younger generations. Achieving this needs innovation, fresh new ideas and most importantly, an open and vibrant interaction among all sectors.

Next year’s conference will support and connect people who want to change the rules of the game
People are devising new ways to push for greater transparency and accountability, and are standing up to ultimately achieve greater social justice. Yet corruption and impunity have an immense destabilising effect on society. Now more than ever, mutually accountable action is needed to create irreversible change, and to ensure that the power fuelled by corruption harms societies no more. It is people who will create this change.

Be part of the solution
Over 1,500 participants from over 135 countries are expected at the 15th IACC, drawing together people and leaders from the public and private sectors, young and investigate journalists, the judiciary, law enforcement, activists, academia, media, and civil society. Join the 15th IACC in producing strategies and recommendations to reshape the global governance agenda for a fair and sustainable future.

For further information please visit the conference website at: http://www.15iacc.org or write to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

IACC team: The theme of the 15th IACC has been selected. Next year the conference will evolve around the theme Mobilising People: Connecting Agents of Change.  What does this theme mean to you?

Cobus de Swardt: I think if you look at the key phrasing – mobilising people – for civil society this is a key action and arguably at this time the weakest link of our actions to fight corruption. Historically civil society has fought corruption by doing three things:

Firstly by putting a lot of political pressure at the top for change – we have been very good at that. Secondly we had and continue to have programmes that we run in key areas where we want to have a domino effect where we want to bring about systematic change – we have been quite good at that. The third pillar, namely pressure from bottom-up, arguably over the years has been the one where we have been the weakest at. Over the last couple of years we have seen both – the efforts within the anti-corruption movement, as well as from citizens across the world taking action against corruption as being the most critical game changer in bringing about sustainable change in fighting corruption. In that sense mobilising people is really very much in tune with what is happening in the world out there and what is the next major frontier to bring about fundamental change in the way that we fight corruption. Because fighting corruption is not only about effective ways to deal with corruption. It is also about social justice. That, I think is brought together very poignantly in mobilising people - to bring an end to corruption and bring greater social justice to the world. In that sense I think this conference and the time in which it takes place, as well as the way that it is structured is indeed very, very exciting.

IACC team: At the beginning of September we saw thousands of Brazilians take to the streets to peacefully protest against corruption. This is one of many similar events happening all over the globe. What do you think about this change in protest cultures?

Cobus de Swardt: I think if you look at protest and civil action against injustices and for human rights over the last decade, they have had very particular patterns of not happening in one location at a time: Whether you look at the fight against colonialism, whether you look at the fight against the cold war. Most of these were actions that were bottled-up frustrations against injustices. Not in one country or one city but across bigger areas and where the domino effect started it was in most cases an action that was unstoppable and irreversible. I think we have seen the same in the last couple of years where the demand for public accountability and an end to corruption became something that really was a major driver for change. It is the key driver, in my view, of the Arab spring. I think the events that we have seen in countries beyond the Arab speaking world are very much in that framework of citizens not only saying that they no longer want to live with corruption but that they also say that they want to have their leaders in all sectors to be held accountable for their actions. I think that those [protest movements] we have seen over the last 2 to 3 years take a variety of forms. They can be about food price increases, they can be about issues of access to medical care but ultimately they are about citizens saying they want a greater public accountability in all areas of live. That, I think, is very much also what we have seen in Brazil. It is a fantastic backdrop for us to plan to have the IACC in a country that is critical to that region, that is critical to the world, and of course we have also the eyes of the world focussed on it with the Olympics and the World Soccer Cup being there. So, for Brazil there is a lot to be gained to bring in best practices in terms of public accountability

IACC team: Looking at the future of the anti-corruption movement, what are the opportunities and how can the IACC help to address them?

Cobus de Swardt: I think the IACC has over the years created a very important platform for multi-stakeholder engagement - bringing civil society, business community and governments together. For any initiative to run for a long time one has to, from time to time, take a step back, pause, and think: Does it really still make a contribution? I think in this time when we have a particular awareness across the world that the existing institutional networks of global governance have really been unable to deal with global crises, the importance of multi-stakeholder consultations, multi-stakeholder involvement is more important than ever before. So in that sense the IACC has been, if you look back historically, ahead of its time. The challenge for the IACC now is whether it can work with these constituencies – bring them together and particularly be a vehicle where this quest for this increased public accountability can be part of how these multi-stakeholders interact. I think that will be a major challenge particularly because the existing institutions as they exist in civil society, in the public sector and the business community are by a large not fully engaged or integrated into broad social movements. And those are the ones that are increasingly bringing about fundamental social change across the world. So it is not only; can we bring these multi-stakeholders together in the IACC but can the IACC also since it brings these constituencies together also have a much greater involvement with broader social movements. Social movements that spring up and take on an issue and again dissolve. That only time will tell - whether the IACC can do that efficiently. But I think that it is for both, the IACC as well as the anti-corruption movement, the key challenge: To harness a new model of multi-stakeholder engagement. Particularly a model that will have on the one hand much greater demands on public accountability and on the other hand not formed part of the old structures of governance the way we have known it. That is a challenge for the IACC; that is a challenge for those fighting corruption and a challenge for all of those that look for both – better and as well more just global governance in the years to come.

You can listen to the interview here

IACC Newsletter interview – Minister Jorge Hage – head of the Office of the Comptroller General of Brazil – 2011

This month we spoke to Minister Jorge Hage Sobrinho, the Head of the Office of the Comptroller General of Brazil about the Open Government Partnership (OGP) that has been launched this month. The OGP is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. In the spirit of multi-stakeholder collaboration, OGP is overseen by a steering committee of governments and civil society organizations. In its inaugural year the OGP is co-chaired by minister Hage and United States Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero.

In respect to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) which your government is co-chairing, where do you think Brazil is setting an example?

We have been working hard in Brazil to increase the transparency of public information and stimulate civic engagement.

In November 2004 the Brazilian Office of the Comptroller General created the Transparency Portal of the Federal Public Administration (http://www.transparencia.gov.br ) to provide free access to the federal budget data.

The Portal can be accessed by anyone without the need of a username or password. It is developed using user-friendly language, in less technical terms than those used in the accounting system.

The goal is to facilitate citizen oversight of the federal budget and it is worth noting that the use of the Transparency Portal by citizens, as a source of reliable information on the federal budget execution, has continuously increased.

The Portal is also constantly improved to better service Brazilian citizens. A great example of how we are constantly working to improve the Portal relies on the fact that since May 2010 data on budget execution and revenue collection of the central government is updated on a daily basis. In other words: every transaction completed every day is published and available for consultation on every following morning on the Portal.

I believe that is very unique and unprecedented, as very few other governments are able to publish their budget’s execution on a daily basis.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest corruption challenge in Brazil, and how do you think this challenge can be overcome?

We still have some challenges ahead of us in the fight against corruption. Some of our major challenges are: 1) the slowness of the judicial process and the continuing perception of impunity; 2) private financing of electoral campaigns and political parties; and 3) the resistance of the business community to the idea that corporate integrity can be good business.

Most of these challenges cannot be tackled by the government alone. It is critical to involve all interested actors, every stakeholder in the efforts to address such issues. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that we include and engage every actor in the debate, that we create opportunities to raise awareness on these issues and for all stakeholders to contribute to the debate and to the crafting of solutions.

The stakeholders in question include the Congress, the Judiciary Branch and the business community.

How do you see the OGP country action plans supporting an effective implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)?

UNCAC, going beyond previous Conventions against Corruption, devotes an entire chapter to the prevention of corruption, holding obligations on issues like public procurement (establishment of transparent systems of procurement), management of public finances, transparency in the public administration, enhancing integrity and accountability in the private sector and participation of society in the prevention of and fight against corruption, just to name a few of them.

The five grand areas of challenge that OGP aims to address, in terms of creating safer communities, effectively managing public resources, ensuring public integrity, delivering services more efficiently and promoting corporate responsibility, are clearly very closely linked to the obligations under the UNCAC.

Since the beginning, our idea in the OGP Steering Committee has always been to create synergies with existing initiatives in the key areas of open government. Overlapping initiatives and duplication of efforts do not help any countries in the fight against corruption. So, OGP, while asking countries to stretch beyond current practice in open government, aims to also complement, to work together with existing initiatives, especially one like the UNCAC that congregates more than 100 countries.

OGP country action plans are elaborated by each country based on the country’s unique circumstances, needs, goals and objectives and, since every OGP Steering Committee country is a State Party to the UNCAC, we can only expect that OGP country commitments will strengthen and assist countries in their efforts to implement obligations under the UNCAC.

Since the OGP is a multi-stakeholder approach, where do you see the biggest challenges in terms of civil society participation, and how would you recommend to overcome these challenges?

The OGP is a multi-stakeholder approach to governance challenges countries have been facing for decades by themselves. However, every participating country agrees that there is no “one solution fits all” for these challenges. We can help each other by sharing experiences, sharing successes and lessons learned in the roads we have travelled on trying to tackle these challenges, but we cannot tell each what the best way to go is. Our goal in OGP is to foster change by our examples, by our strong commitment to engaging society in the crafting of solutions for the governance problems we face every day. That is why we are creating a voluntary partnership and a non-binding Declaration of Principles.

Hosting the 15th IACC will bring the global anti-corruption community to Brazil in November 2012. What specifically would you like the OGP to have achieved by then, and how would the 15th IACC participants provide input into the OGP process?

By September 2012, we will have celebrated OGP’s first official year of existence and the first year of implementation of the commitments announced by the Steering Committee countries.

Furthermore, we will have already welcomed to the Partnership new participating countries, the ones set to announce their commitments in March 2012 in Brazil.

So, we hope that when we meet in Brasilia for the 15th IACC in November 2012, OGP will have established and consolidated itself as a vehicle for countries, through their country action plans, to involve the public sector, citizens and civil society organizations in initiatives that will improve and strengthen the management of public resources, the delivery of services, civic participation, corruption combating and prevention, transparency, public and private accountability as well as the access to public information.
We believe the 15th IACC in Brazil will provide a great opportunity to further the debates and exchange of experiences on how to address the cross-cutting issues featured in both the Conference’s and the OGP’s agenda; issues like how to energize civil society and foster civic participation in the fight against corruption; how to take advantage of new technologies, platforms and tools to provide access to public information, increase transparency of public data, improve the management of public funds and provide better services to the population; as well as many other issues.

As I mentioned before, the goal of the OGP is also to create synergies, to collaborate with existing initiatives and avoid duplication of efforts. This is very much in line with the IACC Series goals. So, to benefit the global movement, we have the unique opportunity to create a strong synergy between the OGP and the IACC Series starting in 2012 in Brazil.

Save the date in your diary: The 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference is taking place 7 – 10 November 2012 in Brasilia, Brazil and we are very excited to announce that the theme of the conference is “Mobilising people: Connecting Agents of Change”. Since 1983, the conference series has served as the leading international platform for those who want to put an end to corruption and eliminate the negative impacts it has on the economy, the environment, democracy and most importantly people’s everyday lives.

People across the globe are demanding fair and democratic systems where they get a say in how their country is governed.  This has been proven by the wave of demonstrations and protests in the Middle East and North Africa. The joint forces and voices of many resulted in the overthrow of two head of states. Just recently and still ongoing in this context are the events taking place in Brazil, where thousands of people peacefully protested against corruption on the country’s Independence Day. However, besides releasing undemocratic and corrupt leaders, politicians and officials from their positions of power change is needed in those countries’ governance and power structures. All this points to a need to restore people’s trust by ensuring accountability of leaders and officials and to prevent repetition in the future.

Now more then ever the combination of engaged societies and national and international justice systems that hold people accountable for their actions need to be embraced. The 15th IACC will be the platform to explore these issues and come up with innovative solutions with one thing being clear: This time the focus will be on people. Giving agency and listen to those who are ready to create change, encouraging those who have innovative ideas, and supporting those who are willing to speak up. People can and will create change – the 15th IACC will support all those who are willing to change the rules of the game.

Participants from the public, private and civil society sectors will gather in Brasilia to reshape the international agenda by creating collaborative strategies and advocacy on a national and global scale. Held every two years in a different region of the world, with up to 1500 participants from over 135 countries, the IACC is a great opportunity to collaborate with influential people and participants from other sectors for effective action against corruption.

For more information, regular updates and details on the ways you can get involved with the 15th IACC, whatever your area of interest or expertise; visit the 15th IACC website here: www.15iacc.org

Brasilia

History

The plan for a new, planned central capital of Brazil was first conceived in 1827 by José Bonifacio, an advisor to Emperor Pedro I but it was not until 1956 that construction began on Brasilia; the embodiment of urban planning. Built in just four years between 1956 and 1960 under the leadership of President Juscelino Kubitsche, the plane-shaped city is made up of well defined sectors; residential, hotel, commercial and embassy. In 1987, Brasilia was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the only city built in the 20th Century to receive this mark of distinction due to its unique design and fantastic architecture. The original plan of the city was to accommodate 500,000 people, mostly government workers but now the city has over 2 million inhabitants. Many of the migrant workers who came to help build the city ended up staying, and these communities now form the basis of Brasilia’s many “satellite cities.” Brasilia’s history is one of the things that makes this city unique. Brasilia is a model to future city builders about what can be done with determination, skill and urban planning.

Brasilia Now

Brasília is the seat of all three branches of the Brazilian government and works as a venue for political events, music performances and movie festivals. Brasília is a cosmopolitan city, with around 119 embassies, a wide range of restaurants and well-designed infrastructure. You can visit innovative buildings and imaginative monuments, ranging from the hyperboloid Cathedral of Brasilia to the lunar-esque Complexo Cultural da Republica to the glass-box Palacio da Alvorada.

Weather

The climate in Brasilia Brazil is mild and comfortable any time of year. The 15th IACC will be taking place in November when the average temperature is 22˚C

Travel

By bus

Most local buses start from or go through the rodoviária, at the precise center of the city, and run along the “wings” - serving the residential zones - or through the Monumental Axis. Red-and-white minibuses, called Zebrinha (little zebras) or Transporte de Vizinhança are very useful for moving around, as they link the central area of Brasilia (Setor Comercial, Setor de Diversões etc.) to Esplanada dos Ministérios, the airport and some of the main avenues (L2 and W3).
Buses must be flagged; otherwise they will only stop when a passenger requests to hop off. Single fares are R$ 2.00 for travel within Brasília. There is no advance sale of tickets, pay as you board.

By taxi

Taxis are relatively expensive in Brasilia and usually cannot be hailed on the streets. Taxi stands, however, are close to all tourist attractions and any hotel will be able to call a cab or provide the phone number of the best known dispatch offices. All taxis must have taximeters and can start charging only after the passenger has boarded.

By subway

The Metrô subway system started operating in 2001. Its Y-shaped line starts in the main bus station (Rodoviária de Brasília - “Central” station) and makes its first stop at Setor Comercial Sul (“Galeria” station), which is fairly near some hotels South of Monumental Axis. It runs along the south wing, stopping at blocks 102, 108, 112 and 114, then going through suburbs. The subway uses to operate 6 AM to 11:30 PM from Monday to Friday (some stations stop selling tickets at 10:30 PM), and from 7 AM to 7 PM on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. It is common to be offered special timelines on some holidays, like New Year’s Eve and the April 21st (city’s anniversary). It’s not particularly useful for tourists, as it does not attend the main attractions, but you may check Around Brasilia by subway, for a proposed itinerary that includes attractions such as the Buddhist Temple (EQS 115/116, access by “114 Sul” Station); Parkshopping mall (next to “Shopping” station) and a typical fair in the satellite city of Guará (access by “Feira” Station). Single fare: R$ 3,00, R$ 2,00 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

Safety

In Brasilia crime has recently been on the rise. Tourists should practice caution and common sense while travelling in Brasilia. Pickpockets tend to target places where tourists congregate, so be cautious when going to historic sites, museums, restaurants, or when taking public transportation. Avoid walking alone in isolated areas, especially after dark.

Culture

Tipping in Brazil is typically not expected nor given. Obviously, if someone provides a typically good or special service, you might consider a bit extra.

At almost all restaurants and bars, a standard “Serviço” service fee of 10% is included as a line item at the end of the “conta” or bill.  It is not expected to surpass this amount. It is always clearly identified this fee is not obligatory, but it is hardly expected you pay it.

At bars, the bartenders do not handle cash. In a bar or a restaurant, you ask the bartender for your bill, and he brings a total (usually with full details). Communication is often informal and does not rely on strict rules of protocol.