A strong anti-corruption watch-dog in Ukraine

The specific objective of the project was to establish a strong anti-corruption watchdog organisation in the Ukraine (included in the TI network) and to build up its sustainable capacity and expertise in the area of anti-corruption strategies. Furthermore, the project focused on enhancement and support of activities targeted at the public authorities, journalists and other NGOs aimed to increase the pressure to get more actively engaged in the fight against corruption and to present selected corruption cases in the media.

TORO, a national contact of Transparency International in the Ukraine, was chosen as a partner for the project, which included two missions of TIC employees to Ukraine and one study visit of the Ukrainian partners in the Czech Republic. In the course of their stay in the Czech Republic, the Ukrainian staff not only learned about the activities of TIC and other watchdog organisations (e.g. Oživení, Respekt institut) but also got an insight into the activities directed at promotion of free access to information (such as the project Otevřete.cz) and into the capacity of investigative journalism in the Czech Republic (Reportéři ČT). A meeting with the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was arranged where the Ukrainian partners learned about general framework in respect of promotion of human rights, the rule of law and democracy, within the Transition Promotion Program.

The project included the following activities:

• Seminar for public administration officials in Kirovograd
• Seminar for journalists on the theme of public procurement, in Kiev
• Press conference on the theme of free access to information, in Kiev
• Debate with young politologists on the theme of the fight against corruption, in Kiev
• Meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian anti-corruption agency
• Debate on prevention of and fight against corruption with NGOs in Chernigov, under the auspices of the local NGO “Clean politics”
• Discussion with representatives of non-government watchdog organisation “Face to face“ in Odessa

The project led to enhancement of the know-how of TORO and other NGOs, as well as of the know-how of independent journalists, while the emphasis was placed on uncovering the cases related to public contracting and on the encouragement of public discussion promoting the free access to information. This one-year pilot program will be followed by further collaboration between TIC and TORO in 2011 and 2012, supported by the grant provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within its Transition Promotion Program.