“That’s not fair!” protested Paul, a nine-year-old boy, making sure that everyone in the room heard him.
Paul’s reaction to an unfair game outcome spurred a lively debate about rules and honesty among his classmates, who were participating in the Little Leaders, Big Impact: Young Guardians of Integrity Conference, a pilot activity by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Global Resource for Anti-Corruption Education and Youth Empowerment (GRACE) Initiative.
Children were asked to write a number from one to ten on a piece of paper. If a child chose the same number as the facilitator, they were informed, then they would receive a prize.
Much to their surprise, the facilitator picked 22 as the lucky number.
“You did not stick to the rules!” A collective grumbling rose up in the room as a realization sunk in – that nobody wins if one doesn’t stick to the rules.
This game, tested by educators around the world using UNODC’s GRACE Initiative lessons plans, teaches about the importance of core values such as honesty, preparing little leaders for future decision-making.
“You’re too young, you have much to learn, just wait.”
Dexter Arvin Yang, UNODC YouthLED Integrity Board member, recalls a misconception that young people often hear during his remarks at the UN Anti-Corruption Conference (COSP10). It was the first time that a youth representative had ever addressed the Conference, and he called for giving youth a chance to have a say in shaping the global anti-corruption agenda.
“It is not fair that you are discussing our future without us – the future leaders who will sit in the chairs you are sitting right now,” he said.
The question of fairness came up again and again from youth at COSP10, including during a theatre performance organized by the members of the UNODC YouthLED Integrity Board on the margins of the conference.
“That’s not fair,” echoed a teenage girl in response to the play about match-fixing, where the outcome of a football game was agreed before the game took place.
The theatre performance, based on the UNODC’s teacher’s guide on using forum theatre to promote ethics and integrity, is just another example of a new tool in an education toolkit that teaches youth how to act for the rule of law – and reinforced that they are keen to play a larger role in combating corruption.
In 2023, around 15 per cent of the world’s population were 15 to 24 years old. Corruption can have a significant impact on their lives, affecting their professional careers and impeding access to basic services, including healthcare and education.
Not including youth – the stakeholders who are often impacted most by these decisions – in strategies and policies to prevent and fight corruption is indeed “unfair.”
UNODC works with all age groups, as well as non-governmental stakeholders – academics, educators, civil society and young people – to strengthen anti-corruption, ethics and integrity education, and youth empowerment around the world. Education and inclusive preventive efforts are key to ensure behavioral change and shift attitudes towards corrupt acts.
At CoSP10, UNODC launched a Roadmap to advance non-governmental actors' involvement in the fight against corruption that was presented to the States parties at the Conference. Other tools developed by UNODC and its partners, including the Policy Guide for National Anti-Corruption Authorities on Meaningful Youth Engagement in Anti-Corruption Work and the new UNESCO-UNODC handbook to teach integrity in secondary schools (to be published in February), support countries to collaborate in meaningful ways with non-governmental actors to generate positive impact. The tools also work to strengthen awareness that the responsibility for preventing and combating corruption extends beyond the purview of Member States alone.
