Masterclass in Chisinau: Building public support for the fight against corruption

Chisinau, November 24, 2022 – In a gesture of solidarity and in the common effort for public accountability, activists, journalists, and officials gathered today to develop more effective ways to communicate anti-corruption campaigns to the public. The Masterclass in Chisinau concluded a series of Masterclasses, previously held in Sarajevo, Belgrade, Podgorica, Tirana and Skopje.

“Advocacy campaigns are creative and constructive tools to motivate and engage citizens to combat corruption. And citizens themselves are important allies of public institutions, NGOs, and the media in this fight, “ it was said in today’s Masterclass, “From Silence to Action.” The Masterclass was organized by the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI).

Engaging the general public, especially young people, and public pressure are essential allies in the fight against corruption.

“Cooperation between the media, civil society, and public officials is key to raising public awareness of the dangers of corruption. This cooperation contributes to citizens’ trust in the institutional fight against corruption”, concluded Mark Worth, RAI expert on anti-corruption and whistleblower rights.

“Creating public advocacy campaigns comes with great excitement and responsibility for us on the agency side. The primary goal is always to awaken the public by pinpointing a problem clearly through the creative concept. This is the essential step in educating the public about the problem’s importance and for starting a conversation about its potential solution.”, said Kenan Kurdić, Via Media, talking about the importance of informing the public about anti-corruption initiatives through successful media campaigns that can ultimately motivate society to act against corruption.

The Masterclass “From Silence to Action” is part of the project “Breaking the Silence: Enhancing Whistleblowing Policies and Culture in the Western Balkans and Moldova,” implemented by RAI and funded by the European Union. This project aims to inform and educate the general public, especially young people, about the vital role that whistleblowers play in the fight against corruption, and the rights and protections from which whistleblowers should benefit. RAI is working to improve the protection of whistleblowers through better laws and strengthened capacity of institutions to implement these laws, in line with the EU Directive on whistleblower protection adopted in 2019. The project’s overall goal is to strengthen the resilience of societies and their administrations to corruption.