The Roles of ASEAN Youth in Fighting Against Corruption
How the youths of this generation can assist in the struggle against corruption within the nations of ASEAN
ASEAN
Southeast Asia is an exceptionally dynamic and diverse region that has seen a remarkable level of regional integration, starting with the formation of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. ASEAN members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. As such, it encompasses all sovereign states of the Southeast Asia region, except East Timor. In 2015, ASEAN established the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) to enhance trade and economic integration within the region.
As such the countries of the ASEAN region are now among the fastest growing economies in the world, and recent years have seen a significant increase in foreign direct investment and regional integration. However, even with all the economic growth, long lasting development within the region is hindered by the severe shortcomings in governance, particularly in the form of dictatorial/tyrannical governments, low levels of liability/commitment and even the highly highly politicized public sectors.
YOUTH
First of all, it must be acknowledged that Youth constitutes a sizeable portion of society. Even in 2013, Population Reference Bureau it is surmises youth (age 10 to 24) to represent about 25% of the world population and 32% of the population in the least developed countries. And not only that, according to MDG, framework estimates that 87% of the population in developing countries is under 25.
As such the resulting numbers also support the argument/believe in involving the youth in the struggles for social change. Not only are youths representing the significant part of population in the world including the nations of ASEAN, youths/young people also tend to be more exposed towards bribery and as such are also vulnerable towards corruption since they are part of many aspects in society such as students, workers, pupils, citizens and customers. According to Transparency International, within 2013, 27% of people below 30 years old have paid a bribe in the last 12 months worldwide.
Against the circumstances, the youth can actually have an important role in fighting against the corruption. They are usually much more open towards wide-spread socio-political changes and are even not that interested in sustaining the status quo. As such the youths are an important component for the success in having cultural changes within the attitude and behavior against corruption and even in changing the shape and leading the days of tomorrow, that of course is because they will one day become the respective leaders in their own countries.
And there are several practices that can be used in integrating youth in the fight against corruption, such as:
- Competitions and training
Reaching out to a young audience can also be done through innovative approaches. One way to facilitate the development of new youth-oriented activities is to give young people the opportunity to raise their voice, using the networks and visibility of existing CSOs, and implement their ideas through competitions and seed grants. A common way is to use writing and essay competitions. These have been organized by many organizations and they allow young people to communicate how they perceive corruption, how it affects their lives and what they think should be done to stop it. Writing competitions are not only a way to encourage youth to think about the issue, they also serve as a method for CSOs to learn about other perspectives and to understand how young people could get involved.
2. Collaboration with schools and universities
A number of practitioners identify collaboration with schools and universities as a good practice because it uses the existing infrastructure of a certain group of young people which facilitates their engagement. Holding meetings and activities during school is therefore an efficient way to connect with young people, and you can even engage students in elections simulation and debates/discussions on the topic of corruption and ethics, as well as to develop specific curricula and manuals for stand-alone classes or to integrate the topic of corruption into various subjects.
3. Awareness-raising through arts and sport
As mentioned, festivals and concerts are seen by young people themselves as appropriate settings to engage youth. Cultural and sport events are avenues with enormous potential for outreach and awareness raising, thanks to their popularity and the diverse audiences they attract. Many organizations use such events to communicate their message to youth. Arts can also serve as a way to involve youth in the fight against corruption by collaborating with artist groups to organize public events. For example, Transparency International’s chapter in Morocco is associated with a young artists’ collective (many members coming from the art faculty of the University of Casablanca) called Paroles Urgentes that uses street theatre, breakdancing, slam poetry and music to raise public and youth’s awareness about social issues such as corruption.
4. Youth integrity camps
Youth integrity camps stems from a growing understanding that involving, informing and educating young people about the benefits of integrity, transparency and good governance can make a significant difference in the shaping of future societies and the balance of power within them. Integrity camps usually give training from professionals and interactive lessons and activities about their rights, existing legislation and institutions and about the way government should work and even encouraged to come up with creative approaches to mobilize citizens, raise awareness about corruption and wrong-doings and hold leaders to account.
Elements for success
A few elements of success are beginning to emerge in the last decade(s) from certain civil society organizations that have worked with youths of their nations . The elements that are listed below are also taken from the wider context of involving the youths in certain social movements and CSO activities, and also are not limited to the struggles/battles against corruption in their countries.
Who are to be involved?
Many expert studies reveal that youth engagement initiatives that fail to grasp the fundamental differences that can exist between various groups are destined to fail. It is thus important to acknowledge the individual traits of young people. Youth does not function as a homogenous group, and all young people do not think alike or are motivated by the same things. A consensual recommendation is to initiate any youth engagement project with the people who have a predisposition to the cause and appear like natural advocates, instead of targeting the mass of young people or the more difficult groups from the very beginning.
Education equals empowerment
Key to youth engagement is education on the topic. Similar to any people’s engagement initiative, building the target group’s knowledge and informing them about the various aspect of the issue is essential to provide a truthful opportunity to engage. In some cases, the young people CSOs want to engage with start with a rather low level of understanding of the very concepts and do not always see the impact of corruption on their lives. A number of research projects have collected recommendations from young people on how to best involve them in social movements and the need for information is identified as one of the most important conditions. Surveyed young people said that they needed to be better informed about current affairs through adequate guidance and materials targeted to their age group.
Sense of guidance and effectiveness
The youths of the next generation have to feel that their contributions are valued and have made a difference, or at least have the chance to make a difference, on their community, a specific program or whatever area that they got involved in. A certain study that was conducted by the Portland State University in 2005 researched at a variety of factors that have an effect on the civic engagement among youths, and realized that having a sense of citizen political control and of community effectiveness are two of the most essential conditions needed for the engagement of youth. Both of those two things come from the concept of political effectiveness, and show that individuals feel that political action has an impact within the political process and that it is helpful for them to be involved with the civic and political matters. This embodies both the perception of citizens’ capability to influence certain decisions and even policies, and also the awareness of the government or a community’s awareness.
Positive environments
Not only that, the youth engagement activities should not be restricted to working with youth to teaching them all about the principles of integrity and honesty, without taking into account the greater context. Youth engagement activities should be integrated in wider anti-corruption efforts to avoid causing frustration and loss of credibility for the young people involved in sai activities. The Youth Integrity Survey conducted in Vietnam shows that almost a fifth of the young people surveyed thought that dishonest individuals were more likely to succeed in life. With such a common belief, it is important to ensure that the young people dedicated to refuse corruption do not systematically end up losing out in comparison to the others.
Governments and levels of involvement
To create long lasting partnerships with the youth of ASEAN, the government ought to involve young people early in the design phase. The youths should not never be seen not as mere recipients but instead as valued, and active participants of any project or initiative. The understanding and belief of youth should not be neglected by the intent of adults in delivering a finished product to youth. Anti-corruption professionals that have worked alongside the youths can understand that the more youths are also involved in the design phase of projects for the nation and the more they take the lead in said projects, the stronger and successful the project shall be.
Finally, let’s not forget the views of the next generation. Systemic change takes time; whatever seeds can be planted now will eventually come to fruition, leaving something valuable for the next generation to cultivate even further. That’s why we have to “develop greater resistance against corruption among youth and strong commitments by current and future leaders to stop corruption”.