Serbia: Commitment to Anti-Corruption Education was Highlighted at the International Conference

 

11 December 2023, Belgrade, Serbia - The international conference "Education of Youth in Preventing Corruption: Towards Strengthening Social Integrity" marked the International Anti-Corruption Day in the organisation of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Serbia as part of the campaign „Serbia without corruption“ supported by UNODC and OSCE.

During the conference, the Director of the Anti-Corruption Agency, Dejan Damnjanović, emphasized the importance of integrating the topic of corruption prevention into all levels of education for the youth in our country. He particularly highlighted the Agency's recognition of the role of young people in corruption prevention by incorporating this theme into extracurricular activities and programs of primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions, with significant support from relevant ministries and other domestic and international partners.

In introductory remarks, participants of the conference were addressed by the Minister of Education, Slavica Đukić Dejanović, the Minister of Science, Technological Development, and Innovation, Jelena Begović, as well as the Ombudsman, Zoran Pašalić. They all shared a consensus on the importance of the topic and emphasized the necessity for cooperation and coordination among key stakeholders to truly lead anti-corruption education and the upbringing of the youth towards strengthening social integrity.

This conference was attended by prominent experts from the educational and academic systems of Serbia, including the University of Belgrade, the Judicial Academy, the Ministry of Education, the Human Resources Management Service, the Student Center in Belgrade, as well as international partners from the Special Investigation Service of Lithuania. UNODC presented the activities that are being implemented on the national and regional levels when it comes to anti-corruption education, as part of a regional project with the generous support from the Federal Republic of Germany.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Convention against Corruption on October 31, 2003, designating December 9 as the International Anti-Corruption Day to raise awareness about corruption and the role of the Convention in preventing and combating corruption. The UN Convention came into force in 2005 and was ratified by the Republic of Serbia in the same year.