The Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia-Pacific has organized an e-seminar on “Engaging youth generation in youth generation in the fight against corruption”. More than 80 anti-corruption experts attended in the seminar from the Asia and the Pacific region.
During the seminar, Lawrence Chiu, Head of the International Liaison and Training Unit of the Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption, introduced the work of his organization's Public Relations Department to promote honesty among children and youth and increase tolerance against corruption.
The Public Relations Department, one of the three main units of the Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption, has 170 employees. Kindergarten, primary and secondary school children, and university students are making up to 15 percent of Hong Kong's 7.5 million population. Anti-corruption education begins in kindergarten, as it is believed that everyone needs to be prepared from an early age to build a healthy and fair society.
Programs for young people from kindergarten to university graduation focus on building a fair, honest, accountable, and disciplined individual rather than promoting anti-corruption legislation. Pre-schoolers use fairy tales, cartoons, and coloring books, while programs and activities for secondary school children focus on understanding wrongdoing and injustice. At this age, children begin to understand the dangers of corruption, the importance of anti-corruption laws and regulations, and the importance of making ethical decisions.
University student programs, on the other hand, aim to prevent corruption in the workplace and inculcate professional ethics, and to behave in their own inner values and commitment. These trainings are organized independently by the Independent Commission Against Corruption and are integrated into the curriculum of secondary schools, such as Ethics and Civic Education subjects.
The commission works closely with the Ministry of Education, the Teachers' Association, and parents to develop information, training materials, and manuals for these subjects.
