A powerful network of compliance multiplier: Trainers of the Year 2023 awarded

The Trainer of the Year Award 2023 of the Alliance for Integrity has been presented on 22 June. Compliance experts from thirteen member countries of the multi-stakeholder network were honored for their high commitment in facilitating capacity-building addressing anticorruption for SMEs and thereby have contributed significantly to the success of the network of the Alliance for Integrity.

In their acceptance speeches, the awardees expressed their gratitude for the award and spoke about their motivation of serving as a facilitator for Alliance for Integrity. “What I like most about the job is to address SMEs who are usually the weakest links in the supply chain”, explained Carlos Biagioli from Brazil. Dinesh Agrawal from India said: “It is a privilege to witness the spark of realization in the eyes of the professionals as they began to understand the impact of their choices and commit themselves to a path of ethical leadership”. Royani Lim from Indonesia mentioned that she enjoys supporting women entrepreneurs on business integrity. “I learn a lot from them”, she said. Patrick Kwadzie, Trainer of the Year 2023 from Ghana, pointed out that it is motivating to see the effect with the companies: “The Eureka moment is when participants realize that they have been doing the wrong thing all along, having now seen the new way. That is to the delight of all of them.”

The award ceremony took place in the framework of Alliance for Integrity’s Global Conference in Berlin. Four award winners accepted the award in person and received their certificates from Susanne Friedrich, Director of Alliance for Integrity. Video messages of the other nominees were shown on site. In her speech, Susanne Friedrich stressed the importance of the facilitators’ work: “The From Companies to Companies programme is a central part of Alliance for Integrity’s work. It promotes collective action and strengthens the collaboration and exchange between compliance and integrity officers worldwide. You all have thus contributed in a special way to our overall mission of fighting anticorruption in the economic system worldwide.”

The From companies to companies training programme, also known as DEPE, has been existing since 2015. It seeks to assist SMEs in developing and implementing effective corruption prevention systems. Major companies with established compliance systems provide facilitators who support SMEs with little or no experience in countering corruption by transferring their knowledge and experiences. This way, enterprises gain practical knowledge to address challenges related to corruption and increase their competitiveness.

Since 2018, a Trainer of the Year award has been granted to the most engaged trainers working on promoting a level playing field in their respective region. Criteria for nomination are the amount of training courses held as well as an exceptional support of the activities and working groups of the Alliance for Integrity.