Transparency and Accountability in Action

WATCH THE RECORDING HERE

On Tuesday September 10, 2024, Meridian International Center hosted a virtual panel of IVLP Impact Awardees who are exploring innovative approaches to promoting transparency and accountability, from fighting corruption to ensuring public trust. Tabitha Sarabo-Halley (Guyana) moderated the panel, which featured panelists Merveille Gozo (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Evelise Carvalho (Cabo Verde) and Irena Xhafa (Albania) These IVLP Impact Awardees have first-hand experience, and they shared insights, strategies, and success stories.

Some of the top takeaways from the discussion were:

1. Promoting Transparency and Accountability

As the session began, Tabitha, the moderator, asked the panelists to reflect on the local issues their projects are addressing and strategies for effective community engagement that each is employing to achieve their project goals. While each panelist's project approached the topic from a different perspective, they all referenced the challenges of creating a culture of transparency and accountability in countries with relatively new constitutions. Evelise spoke from Cabo Verde about the "big gap in between teaching journalism in theory and in practice on your day-to-day. So young students leave the universities, but they are not ready to face the reality of journalism." She discussed the need to foster more investigative journalism rather than just reporting "whatever the politicians tell us, whatever the institutions tell us." Evelise focused her project on training young journalists, emphasizing the media's critical role in keeping the public informed and holding public institutions accountable.

Similarly, Merveille touched on the 'crisis of confidence of local populations and the authorities,' she explained how in the Democratic Republic of Congo, "local populations feel left out when national authorities try to discuss with local communities, there [are] false representatives, and they do not target the right people. We try to help them identify the real targets, to be able to strengthen the dialogue, not only with communities, but also [to] identify each target within the communities." Through a series of workshops and roundtable discussions with these diverse community members and local elected leaders, Merveille's project is helping to create a culture of accountability with the active involvement of the local populations.

In Albania, Irena's project is taking on "the misuse of power by political leaders or parties which often offer public administration positions to their loyal supporters in exchange for votes or other services." She explained, "This practice undermines the integrity of the public sector and leads to nepotism and worse, cronyism, with positions being awarded based on political loyalty rather than merit of qualifications...[this] not only degrades public trust in institutions but also creates a culture where accountability and professionalism are undervalued." Her project will address these issues by creating "animated short films that will engage diverse audiences and deliver important messages on corruption consequences." Irena explained her choice of medium, saying that "storytelling bridges the gap between abstract policies and real-life human experiences. By that, we hope to...emphasize the need for integrity in the public service."

2. IVLP Network Connections

Tabitha participated in the IVLP project The Problem We All Live With: Dismantling Racial and Social Injustice, organized by the Institute of International Education in partnership with Global Ties Alabama, Tulsa Global Alliance, and WorldChicago. Tabitha shared that after meetings in Chicago, she "understood how it is that the states can get involved in ensuring that resources are equitably given out to the society and taking all the considerations, the fact that not all societies are homogeneous and all of that. And that helped me in determining how it is I will go about my particular projects."

Evelise participated in the IVLP Transparency and Accountability in Government, organized by FHI 360, in partnership with the International Institute of Buffalo, Utah Global Diplomacy, and the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. She talked about being inspired by her IVLP cohort-mate from Mozambique, who created a practical training program for journalists, highlighting the international collaboration that IVLP fosters. Both Irena and Merveille participated in IVLP projects organized by World Learning. Irena's was titled Global Economic Cooperation and International Citizen Diplomacy of Los Angeles, Global Ties Iowa, Global Ties KC, Global Ties Detroit, and Global Minnesota, all partnered with World Learning to organize the project. Merveille participated in the IVLP Human and Civil Rights for Marginalized Communities, on which World Learning worked in partnership with Global Ties Arkansas, Tulsa Global Alliance, and the New York Program Branch. Merveille remembered "a meeting we had in Oklahoma...with the chief of police, and he spoke about the issues he had with the community and the strategies he had, and these are some of the strategies that I am using with my project."

3. Towards a More Transparent and Accountable Future

When asked how her project would have a sustainable impact after her activities concluded, Evelise said, "We are part of the social responsibility...I know that this group will make a difference." However, she also acknowledged the difficulty of the task, saying, "One workshop won't be enough. We have to reach out to one another, maintain the contacts, keep the relationships we've built...continue the ideas from the project so that they can become reality." Merveille also underscored the importance of ongoing cooperation, remarking, "We need to have a good dialogue; we need to strengthen the dialogue between communities and authorities. But also, we need to speak with all different actors."

Irena spoke about her hope for the sustainability of her project when she explained about youth being one of the target audiences of her videos: "I believe that the young people are the cornerstone of the future change...we hope to engage with them, hoping to plant the seeds of integrity and ethical behavior [from] an early age. These values, I believe, are the bedrock of a healthy society, and teaching integrity in the next generation is essential for a long-term change." Evelise also talked about the enthusiastic participation of a young woman in her workshop who had not even started journalism school yet, noting that "young people have ideas, they have a lot to say. Not only the senior journalists have something to contribute."

Both Tabitha and Evelise discussed how their projects facilitated conversations about the possibility of establishing cross-border cooperation to publish sensitive investigative reports under foreign journalists' names. This was to avoid the "issue of fear of any victimization [or] discrimination" for local journalists in small countries and journalistic communities. Tabitha remarked that "we had that same conversation here as well," despite their projects taking place a year apart and on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Even in the face of the myriad challenges--the disenfranchisement of the local electorate that Merveille is combatting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the corruption that Irena is fighting in Albania, and the need for more wholistic journalistic training that Evelise is working on in Cabo Verde, Tabitha acknowledged the effort and the hope that comes from the panelist's dedication: "It's a lot that you're trying to work through even as you go through your project, because there are many layers and trying to figure out how to maneuver through those layers...and ensuring that everybody there understands the responsibility. I know it's a lot of work, [but] I can hear the passion in your voice!"

"We need to speak with all different actors, because social accountability is mandatory to have good governance. We cannot have good governance if we are not engaging the populations in the decisions we are taking...We need to change things, we do not need to keep this pyramid of [top-down] decision taking." - Merveille Gozo 

If you have any questions, please reach out to the IVLP Impact Awards Team at IVLPImpactAwards@meridian.org.

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