6th Meeting of the Alliance for Integrity’s Steering Committee Looks Towards the Future

On 17th October, the Steering Committee of the Alliance for Integrity met for the 6th time at the GIZ in Berlin. The meeting was the first for the Alliance for Integrity’s new director Susanne Friedrich, who began the meeting by welcoming the Committee members, including those attending via telephone, and stated her optimism for the future of the Alliance for Integrity.

Silvia Heer of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) welcomed both Susanne Friedrich and the new chairs of the Advisory Groups in Brazil and Ghana. She discussed the Ministry’s perspective on fighting corruption, including its present work in Africa, and announced that she would be moving on to a new position in the future. She was thanked by moderator Kirsten Lorscheid for her contributions in the past few years.

Susanne Friedrich called for consolidation of the Alliance for Integrity’s successes so far in the context of the Vision 2025 plan to ensure the sustainability of the initiative. She listed the digital platform TheIntegrityApp, the trainings for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and working with female entrepreneurs as examples of particular focal points in the years to come. She also emphasised the continued focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the need to quantify the impact of the trainings carried out through the Alliance for Integrity

The Secretariat then presented a review of the global governance system of the Alliance for Integrity, and provided a roadmap for the future of the initiative. The members of the Committee discussed and approved the recommendations by consensus, including the formation of a new Sub-Committee and a general strengthening of the strategic authority of the Steering Committee.

The Chairs of the Advisory Groups from Brazil and Ghana then presented the latest updates from their respective countries, including the elections in Brazil and the new Ghanaian Right to Information Bill. Other global highlights since the last Steering Committee meeting in February were also presented, notably the culmination of the Alliance for Integrity’s writing contest at the Women 20 (W20) Summit in Argentina, the Advisory Group meeting in India, meetings of the Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Working Group in Indonesia and a high-level Integrity Breakfast in Mexico. The members exchanged information about plans and events for the rest of the year and for 2019.

Finally, Kirsten Lorscheid closed the meeting, also announcing her departure from the Alliance for Integrity, and was warmly thanked for her work over the years.

The organisations represented at the Steering Committee meeting were:

Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), the Basel Institute on Governance, Duratex Brazil, the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Global Compact Network, MAN SE, Merck Ghana, Merck Group, METRO AG, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), SAP SE, Seegos, Transparency International Deutschland e.V., and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).