ISSUE 41: MARCH-MAY 2006

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Integrity is missing link in good governance – forum

Corruption and poor governance around the world will only be overcome through much greater emphasis on ethics and integrity in leadership, concluded the first World Ethics Forum, held in Oxford April 9-12.

Organized by the World Bank, the International Institute for Public Ethics (IIPE), United Nations University (UNU) and Griffith University through their joint Institute for Ethics, Governance, and Law (IEGL), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Integrity Institute of Malaysia (IIM), the Forum brought together over 250 leaders, thinkers, development practitioners, and youth from over 70 developed and developing countries.

Participants were those whom have made significant contributions to improving governance in their countries, and have demonstrated exemplary leadership in the public sector, civil society, media, or local communities. Discussions at the forum focused on strategies to promote ethical leadership and public integrity as tools for better governance and accelerated development. The forum was an important step in tackling the missing link in governance and moving ethical leadership in public life to the center of the international development agenda.

Commenting on the outcome of the World Ethics Forum, Danny Leipziger, World Bank vice president for poverty reduction and economic management said: "Leadership with integrity is the missing link in the current governance discussions. I welcome the actions identified by the forum and hope they will contribute to the global effort to foster good governance."

The goal of the forum was to develop, empower, and connect leaders committed to integrity at all levels and in practical ways, specifically through:

• awareness raising, recognition, and networking;
• coalition building across nations and sectors, and alliances for action;
• capacity-building for ethical, effective leadership; and
• supporting emerging leaders, and providing resources and refuge for exiting ethical leaders.

One initiative proposed at the forum is the Global Integrity Alliance (GIA), which will recognize, support and enable the formation of coalitions of leaders from different sectors of society committed to integrity.

"Ethical leaders are the human capital of governance reform,” said Prof Charles Sampford, director of IEGL and president of IIPE. “This forum considered practical ways in which they could be celebrated and supported."

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