Fighting Corruption: The Next Generation
What happens when you take a group of young people and give them a taste of citizen power?
The answer: Lots!
“So, you want us to become snitches?!”
That was one of the first reactions we got, in response to our idea.
Our plan was this: run a training lab to make a group of young people aware of their power as citizens.
The aim? To get them to understand the role they can play in making public procurement more transparent. A big ask? Perhaps. But our experience has shown that it can be done, and with positive results that could help shape the future.
The Power of Youth
In the fight against corruption, young people represent the future.
Our setting was Madonie, in the province of Palermo, Sicily. The area has an ageing, shrinking population. That means it’s even more important to convince students of the importance of exercising their power as citizens.
With a group of 13 students, it’s true to say that we didn’t really know what to expect. But with a bit of creative thinking they all got on board and really surprised us.
A Hard Topic for Students?
Ok, ok, so public procurement is clearly not what teenagers spend most of their time thinking about!
