WORLD BANK INSTITUTE
GOVERNANCE AND INNOVATION PRACTICE

GLOBAL YOUTH ANTI-CORRUPTION NETWORK
GDLN LEADERSHIP RETREAT
12 JANUARY 2010 (6:00pm-10:00pm, Manila Time)

Videoconference Sites:  Washington DC, Colombia*, Macedonia*, Burundi*, Cameroon*, Zimbabwe*, Sierra Leone*, Bangladesh*, Philippines*, India, Belgium

* Core youth group country 

Target audience: Representatives from 10 youth organizations selected for their demonstrated engagement in demanding and obtaining greater public accountability and transparency in their countries through positive initiatives

Context
In many countries, the youth has served as a powerful voice for significant change when inspired and empowered to take up the mantle of reform to take up the mantle of reform. Young citizens are powerful agents for change and innovation when they find a space where they can voice their views, develop leadership capacity and interact creatively. A number of powerful and innovative governance projects have been designed and implemented by youth groups, be they scouts in the Philippines who monitor procurement, a rap band in Burundi whose songs raise awareness of the damaging effects of corruption or cartoon albums in Bangladesh that educate kids from an early age. This World Bank Institute project proposes to connect such youth groups from around the World and facilitate and strengthen their network so that they can exchange their experiences, learn from each other and assess what works well and what does not in their anti-corruption projects. The network aims to create a space where they can set their own agenda and a safe haven for innovating reform approaches involving youth. A first virtual knowledge exchange session will take place on January 12, 2010 connecting ten youth organizations that form the Core Group of this initiative.

Methodology and Outcomes
The program aims to mobilize youth groups around anti-corruption with the help of innovative approaches through which to inspire and engage them in the long term to tackle corruption. For this first VC, the core group of 10 selected youth organizations will be connected virtually through the World Bank Global Development Learning Center (GDLN) and videoconferencing. Each session in the retreat will allow for Q & A and will combine presentations with interactive methodologies whenever relevant. A few local musicians will perform a common anti-corruption song inspired by the work of the youth organizations in between sessions. The aim is to make music a part of the network’s events that would serve as an ongoing awareness raising and outreach tool for the network while being a common thread linking the groups’ work together.  At the end of this half day retreat, the participants would have:

1. Learnt about ways to strengthen and expand their network and the role they can each play in that process
2. Learnt from each other’s experience in fighting corruption and successful case studies of youth action against corruption from around the world
3. Increased their awareness about the role they can play in fighting corruption in their countries
4. Have concrete steps towards the planning of a larger youth event on anti-corruption in the spring 
5. Performed together a song against corruption to be made available as a video that will be disseminated through various video hosting and sharing web devices

This event is open to the public but there will be screening of participants. To apply, contact cornelios25@yahoo.com for interested participants from the Philippines.

AGENDA