The movement of people who reject bribery and are ready to report corruption has escalated in Ukraine. On Thursday, December 7, at the press conference How to Stand Up to Corruption, experts told who had already refused to play the corruption game and what we can do to encourage more people to join in.

“In the current situation, it’s hard to report corruption, since whistleblowers face pressure and even physical abuse, like it happened to whistleblower judge Larysa Holnyk,” said TI Ukraine’s Executive Director Yaroslav Yurchyshyn. “At the same time, the society has this idea that there are very few daredevils who don’t gie bribes. But the results of our communication campaign “I Don’t Bribe” show just the opposite – there are quite enough people like that!”

TI Ukraine’s communication campaign had a simple goal: to collect positive stories of people about personal resistance to corruption. The first wave of the campaign in November asked an open question: “Why do you give bribes?” People got actively engaged in the campaign #IDontBribe in social media, writing over a hundred stories. The second wave of the campaign in December is offering the answer to this question. Celebrities like Tetiana Danylenko, Serhii Zhadan and Michael Shchur are telling about their attitude to corruption from billboards. “There are no excuses for corruption!” they say.

Most citizens are convinced that corruption is a number one obstacle to Ukraine’s development, and almost everyone (90%) believes corruption to be very common in our society. At the same time, Ukrainians’ attitude to corruption is ambivalent: while believing this phenomenon to be shameful and immoral and condemning corrupt officials, they give bribes themselves. “People give bribes for certain services and while they believe it’s evil, it’s a necessary evil, because it makes resolving certain problems easier and quicker. Moreover, a third of the population believe that bribing is an inherent part of our national tradition. And if this mindset prevails in the society, we won’t do anything with top-level corruption, because those officials at the top are quite in line with the national philosophy,” emphasized Iryna Bekeshkina, director of Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation. “Over a half responded no to the question whether the authorities can stop the corruption on their own. Only 20% believe it. Over half the respondents answered yes to the question whether the population and CSOs have to participate in the fight against corruption. At the same time, they are not ready to participate in the activities of these CSOs themselves,” said the sociologist.   

In his turn, Algirdas Shemeta, business ombudsman, initiator of the All-Ukrainian Integrity and Compliance Network, told what Ukrainian business is already doing to fight against corruption: “Corruption has two sides – demand and supply. Not much has been done from the supply side so far. The goal of the All-Ukrainian Integrity Network is to fill this gap. Our task is to create a critical mass of responsible companies with immunity against corruption.”

Detective Artem of the NABU provided some important advice. He listed the following steps that a novice whistleblower has to take to protect himself or herself and make his or her report effective:

“If you get a hint that you need to “reward” somebody for a certain service, there are five first necessary steps.:

1. If somebody demands you to give a bribe, the most difficult and important first step will be to keep it quiet. Don’t call the police, don’t write Facebook posts, blow it up, because the only proof will be your word against theirs.
2. Don’t agree to the bribe, don’t provoke, don’t do anything out of the ordinary – take a neutral position and try to postpone the meeting about corruption.
3. While talking to the corrupt official, try to remember as many details as you can (full name, date, time, location (address, office number), the amount of the illegal reward etc.)
4. Try to obtain the cell phone number.
5. File an application with a law enforcement agency of respective jurisdiction and be ready to actively collaborate with the investigation (participate in measures of inquiry, give testimony etc.). Don’t tell anyone about the proceedings except for the investigator and the prosecutor alone.

The social campaign I Don’t Bribe has been supported by numerous partners who, too, care about the problem of corruption. They are the Ministry of Information Policy, LIGA.net, Ukrainska Pravda, Era FM radio, Hromadske Radio, radio Voice of Donbas, radio group TAVR MEDIA (Kiss FM, Radio Roks, Relax, Russkoye Radio Ukraina, Melodiya FM). Video teasers have been broadcast by Hromadske TV, UA:Pershyi. We are grateful for their support and participation to Serhii Zhadan Charity Fund, Shoot Group Video&Photo Production studio. All information products have been developed by the creative agency PROVID. External advertising is placed in 17 cities: Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Khmelnytskyi, Kherson, Kharkiv, Lutsk, Kropyvnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Rivne, Lviv.

The campaign is created by Transparency International Ukraine as part of the project USAID/ENGAGE (Enhancing Governance, Accountability and Engagement) and is implemented by Pact in Ukraine. The content of campaign materials is the exclusive responsibility of Pact and its partners and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the Government of the United States of America.

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The post «I Don’t Bribe» – ТІ Ukraine Explained How to Stand Up to Coruption first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

I am against corruption because it undermines democracy and affects our rights and freedom https://t.co/ipsxHTbGPv

— Delia Ferreira (@DeliaFerreira) 6 листопада 2017 р.

#IDontBribe because corruption affects people’s lives and opportunities.
Corruption means:
– education
– health
+ poverty@TI_Ukraine_eng

— Delia Ferreira (@DeliaFerreira) 6 листопада 2017 р.

Корупція на найвищому рівні – це крадіжка, яка підриває безпеку та благополуччя країни. Але побутова корупція має також свою ціну #ЯнеДаю https://t.co/QtdTHT7YqG

— Judith Gough (@JudithGoughFCO) 6 листопада 2017 р.

#IDontBribe is a necessary initiative! https://t.co/UWJyAiuc8q

— Rebecca Harms (@RebHarms) 6 листопада 2017 р.

Інновації, креативність, відкритість призведуть до прогресу, покращать життєві стандарти. Все це не сумісне з корупцією. #ЯнеДаю #IDontBribe https://t.co/6ZmzyAQk4C

— Aivaras Abromavicius (@aivaras_aivaras) 6 листопада 2017 р.

The post Social Media Flashmob #ЯнеДаю #IDontBribe first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.

Based on the outcome of the opinion poll done by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, about 25% of Ukrainians have given a bribe during the past year. What makes people support corruption instead of resisting it? After all, according to this research, about half the population consider bribes an unacceptable phenomenon, 44% – negative and only 9% believe it to be “a normal way to solve problems.” Transparency International Ukraine decided to bring up this issue and ask people – why do they give bribes and condone corruption?

“Four years now we are doing communication campaigns to draw Ukrainians’ attention to the problem of corruption and encourage them to reevaluate their own participation in it,” said Olha Tymchenko, head of communications department at TI Ukraine. “Our global goal is to change Ukrainians’ mentality, instill zero tolerance to corruption. Psychologists claim it will take fifteen years. The aim of this year’s campaign ‘I Don’t Give [Bribes]’ is to evoke the feeling of personal responsibility for condoning corruption. To shed light on the problem of petty corruption that tends to get swept under the carpet, comparing it to violence, and to ask Ukrainians – how do they explain bribery to themselves? To show to those who are brave and caring enough to fight against corruption that they are not alone, that what they are doing is important and useful and there are many of us.” The purpose of uniting positive stories was why TI Ukraine and the global TI movement initiated the international flashmob which will take place during November in social media with hashtags #ЯнеДаю #IDontBribe, where people will share their own stories when they encountered corruption and refused to engage in it.

The communication campaign I Don’t Give [Bribes] has been developed by the famous creative agency PROVID, which offered the best concept for the problem in question. Vlad Haliapa, associative creative director of PROVID and author of the idea, explains why the creative experts decided to awaken Ukrainians through provocation: “People don’t really enjoy paying attention to social advertising, especially the kind where they can recognize themselves. Like engaging in petty corruption. We are outraged about top-level bribery, yet keep giving bribes left and right. Of course, we don’t really talk about it, because it’s a little shameful and humiliating. So people may not pay attention to a reminder of petty corruption for their own peace of mind, but everyone pays attention to provocative, scandalous things. That is why we decided to ask people why they gave bribes using three heroes as examples. We just skipped the word ‘bribe.’ The message immediately gained double entendre, playing on the well-known fact that giving bribes is… shall we say, a little inappropriate and humiliating.”

The campaign consists of two waves. The first one provokes, brings up the problem, and leads people to the article on the communication platform www.decorruption.org.ua about the importance of personal resistance to corruption. The second wave will take place with the participation of famous Ukrainian poet Serhii Zhadan and popular TV presenter Tetiana Danylenko, who will broadcast the most incredible success stories from the flashmob.

The social campaign has been supported by numerous media partners who, too, care about the problem of corruption. They are the Ministry of Information Policy, LIGA.net portal and Ukrainska Pravda media website, Era FM radio, Hromadske Radio, radio Voice of Donbas, TAVR MEDIA radio group (Kiss FM, Radio Roks, Relax, Russkoye Radio Ukraina, Melodiya FM). Video teasers will be broadcast by Hromadske.tv, UA:Pershyi. TI Ukraine is thankful for their participation and support to Serhii Zhadan Charity Fund, photo studio Shoot Group Video&Photo Production. All information content has been developed by PROVID creative agency. Outdoor advertising will be located in 17 cities: Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Zaporizhia, Khmelnytskyi, Kherson, Kharkiv, Lutsk, Kropyvnytskyi, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Bila Tserkva, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Rivne, Lviv.

This campaign was conducted by Transparency International Ukraine as part of its project implemented under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact. The contents of this campaign are the sole responsibility of Pact and its implementing partners and do not necessary reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

We encourage everyone to participate in the flashmob on social media and talk about their experience with resistance to corruption using hashtags #ЯнеДаю #IDontBribe. We also invite outdoor advertising operators and media to take part in our campaign.

*Translator note: the word ‘give’, when used without the object in Ukrainian, depending on the context, usually hints at frivolous sexual behavior.

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The post Why Do You Give Bribes? – ТІ Ukraine Started a New Communication Campaign first appeared on Transparency International Ukraine.