Transparency International, the anti-corruption group, today announced the winners of its 20^th Anniversary Youth Photo and Writing Competition. The 1400 submissions revealed a deep understanding of how corruption is a cancer on society that must be stopped.

We asked participants aged between 18 and 30 years old to send images of the damaging effects of corruption on their world or to write an essay describing what people can do to stop it.

“The extraordinary talent exhibited in the hundreds of submissions shows young people around the world understand the terrible damage wrought by corruption and reveals a sincere desire to stop it. Young people clearly want to take a stand against corruption,” said Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International.

The competition is one of several events marking the 20^th anniversary of Transparency International this year and its efforts to thwart the abuse of power, bribery and secret dealings worldwide. It was organised in partnership with the Thomson Reuters Foundation and co-sponsored by the International Anti-Corruption Conference Series.

Entrants from Azerbaijan to Trinidad and Tobago used pictures and words to reveal how corruption invades schools, creates pollution and limits economic development.

The first place winners of the writing and photography competitions are invited to come to Berlin to receive their awards during Transparency International’s 20^th Anniversary celebrations in November.

Winners of the two competitions can be viewed on Transparency International’s website and trust.org, the website of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The winners

Photo Competition

1^st place – Sony Ramany (Bangladesh)

2^nd place – Rajarshi Chowdhury (India)

3^rd place – Maria Francesca Avila (Philippines)

3^rd place – Sumon Yusuf (Bangladesh)

Honourable Mention:

·         Mehman Huseynov (Azerbaijan)

·         A.M. Ahad (Bangladesh)

·         Jonas Kako (Germany)

·         Soham Gupta (India)

·         George Karugu Maina (Kenya)

·         Lee Harper (United Kingdom)

Writing Competition

1^st place – Ugoh Wilson Emenike (Nigeria)

2^nd place – Keisha Baisden (Trinidad and Tobago)

3^rd place – Subecha Dahal (Nepal)

Winners will receive

Photo Competition

·         First Prize – A paid trip to Berlin to participate in a Transparency International event in November; up to €1,000 worth of camera equipment; work published on Transparency International’s website and trust.org, the Thomson Reuters Foundation website

·         Second Prize – work published on Transparency International’s website and trust.org; up to €400 worth of camera equipment

·         Third Prize – work published on Transparency International’s website and trust.org; up to €250 worth of camera equipment

Writing Competition

·         First Prize – A paid trip to Berlin to participate in a Transparency International event in November; work published on Transparency International’s website and trust.org, the Thomson Reuters Foundation website; a tablet computer

·         Second Prize – Work published on Transparency International’s website and trust.org; a tablet computer

·         Third Prize – Work published on Transparency International’s website and trust.org; up to €250 worth of books

2013 Youth Writing Competition Winners

THEME
What can young people do to stop corruption?

Nigeria

Ugoh Wilson Emenike

“I resolved to be the agent of change he often talks about, to fight and possibly defeat corruption”

[Read Story]

(The following is a fictionalised account based upon real events)

As a young boy growing up with my parents in the overly populated city of Lagos, I thought nothing of it each time we embarked on a journey and my father continued his old habit of giving out money to the police on duty at checkpoints.

But as I grew older I began to understand the system in my society. My teachers in secondary school did a lot of work in that regard; I got to know that what my father does each time he gives money to the police is bribery.

Mr. Akubor, our economics teacher, was my role model. His lessons were always filled with passionate talks about changes in attitude. He talked about corruption going on in government circles, the civil service and every sector of the economy. He affirmed how much better our society would be without corruption. He cited instances of how contracts are awarded, how the authorities habitually divert contract funds to their own private pockets. He ingrained in me his assertion that the future of our country is in jeopardy if the younger generation maintains the status quo. They hold the key to stopping the numerous evils besieging our nation, he maintained.

I took him as a standard. I resolved to be the agent of change he often talks about, to fight and possibly defeat corruption.

However, something happened that exposed the person of Mr. Akubor. One day he and I were sent to procure sporting equipment for my school. He connived with the supplier and inflated the cost by five times the actual price. When I questioned him, he told me, “Oh! That is what everybody is doing. The people in high places are busy looting public funds in the billions, I just made the most of an opportunity to get my own share of the national cake.”

Mr. Akubor – of all people – indulging in corruption. Where are those values he had laboured to impart to us? That is hypocrisy.

If people like him, who pose as corruption fighters, can commit an atrocity and term it an opportunity, then we shouldn’t expect any different from our leaders. The discovery about the real Mr. Akubor made me really fear for my country. My esteem for him was an illusion; nevertheless it strengthened my resolve to make a difference.

I shared my beliefs with my parents and made them understand my stance regarding our value system. My father dismissed my views as a mere youngster’s zeal that will die out once I was initiated into the system of things.

To prove his point he set me a test. When I finished my secondary school, I sat an entrance examination to a higher institution for two years without success. My dad suggested meeting an official from the school I applied to to process my admission through the back door. I vehemently refused. Then in the third year, his patience reached breaking point.

Acting against my wish he contacted the school official who agreed to do his bidding. I was offered a place I didn’t merit, so I rejected it.

My dad thought I wasn’t serious, but when I maintained my stance despite the pleadings of relatives, he became visibly worried, arguing that I allowed an impractical moral belief to affect my thinking. But I ignored the statement.

This is what young people should do to stop corruption. They should reject it; they should reject any appearance of corruption. Most importantly, they should keep true to their words, acting upon what they profess; and one can imagine what the world would become.

 

Emenike, 23, is a youth activist, writer and teacher from Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Though from an economically disadvantaged background, Emenike says he believes that there is no limit to what one can achieve with determination. He works with Scripture Union, a Christian organisation, on developing the potential of young people to create a better world. He wants to continue pursuing creative writing and to study engineering as a way to address the need for renewable energy resources and a cleaner environment. Emenike says his interest in corruption developed from his realisation that it can be the root cause of many challenges that youth face globally, including unemployment.

“I use writing as a weapon – drawing the attention of people to the threat that corruption constitutes.”