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UNODC Blockchain Hackathon Awards presented on the eve of Anti-Corruption Day 

Kiambu, 8 December 2020 - UNODC in partnership with the Kenya Leadership Integrity Forum, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Kiambu County Government today held a side event that brought together different stakeholders and partners involved in the fight against corruption.

The event, which was funded by the UK Government, doubled as the awards ceremony for the winners of the UNODC East African Hackathon competition which commenced six weeks ago.   

With the theme, “the Role of Digitization in Fighting Corruption”, the hybrid physical-virtual event attracted intellectual discourse among the panelists and stakeholders represented, including representatives of Transparency International, EACC, the National Youth Council (NYC) and numerous young tech developers from across Eastern Africa.

In his remarks, the Governor of Kiambu County, Hon. Dr. James Nyoro, said: “One of the main causes of corruption is information asymmetry, especially in public procurement. Let me stress the importance of digitalization of the processes involved in public procurement in order to eliminate information asymmetry by increasing transparency and providing timely information to the public".

Moreover, Governor Nyoro highlighted Kiambu County’s adoption of a cashless policy in order to eliminate the “temptations” of corruption among county officials.

UNODC's Regional Representative for Eastern Africa, Dr Amado Philip de Andrés (pictured below right), insisted that the key to solving corruption in the procurement process is through technological solutions.

The event marked the end of the East African Youth Online Blockchain Challenge that had been ongoing since 12 October 2020 and attracted over 150 participants from the East African region.

Teams competed to develop innovative yet real-world, blockchain-based solutions to corruption challenges.

The team Planet Shakers from Uganda emerged victorious as the winners of the challenge.

The first runner up was Team Uptech Africa while Team Sentinel aas the second runner up. 

Also participating in the discussions, the UNODC Regional Anti-Corruption Advisor, Mr. David Robinson, stated that the Blockchain Hackathon was an opportunity to build African-led tech solutions geared towards fighting corruption. 

The panel discussion focused mainly on ways in which young people, through digitalization, can be engaged in the fight against corruption.

The panelists gave their insights and a remark that was reiterated was that young people have a big role in the fight against corruption and it is their responsibility to stand up and speak out about corruption.

Further to the Blockchain Challenge, young people were also encouraged to use their creativity to come up with innovative technological solutions to combat sophisticated forms of corruption. 

The event marked the culmination of the popular East Africa Youth Online Blockchain Challenge that had been ongoing since 12 October 2020 and attracted over 150 participants from the East African region.

 

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