Global Integrity 16

Integrity Training

Moral Wholeness for a Whole World

Integrity = Accountability + Competence + Ethics - corruption
(Integrity Action's formula for integrity)

Integrity is moral wholeness—living consistently in moral wholeness. Its opposite is corruption, the distortion, perversion, and deterioration of moral goodness, resulting in the exploitation of people. Global integrity is moral wholeness at all levels in our world—from the individual to the institutional to the international. Global integrity is requisite for “building the future we want—being the people we need.” It is not easy, it is not always black and white, and it can be risky. These entries explore the many facets of integrity with a view towards the global efforts to promote sustainable development and wellbeing.

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How do we train people for integrity? Integrity Action is an example of a civil society organization that is actively providing training in integrity. Their mission is to “empower citizens to act with and demand integrity.” “Integrity Action is an organisation and an active network of committed NGOs, universities and policy makers, working closely with governments, media organisations, businesses and our peers to identify ways of making integrity work in some of the worlds challenging settings.” (quotes from the website: http://integrityaction.org/)

Resources

--Closing the Loop: Empowering and Mobilising Communities (video, 6.5 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YleZveI-XoA

--Integrity Textbook (2015)

http://integrityaction.org/sites/default/files/publication/files/IAC_017_Integrity_Textbook_r5_WEB.pdf

“Integrity Action has taught integrity for over ten years in different contexts and with various audiences such as high-level government officials, academics as well as school students. Over the last few years, we have been asked many times to document our pioneering approach to making integrity work and produce a sourcebook that academics and students can refer to when teaching or studying integrity. The result is, in my opinion, an excellent textbook which we hope will equip you to live and work with integrity in all aspects of your life.” (page 2)

-- Integrity Clubs Manual (2016)

http://integrityaction.org/sites/default/files/training_materials/IntegrityClubsManualOutline_%20V2%2020%2004%202016.pdf

“This manual outline is the result of a joint effort of Community-based Organisations, educational experts and representatives of institutional agencies from DRC, Kenya, Nepal and Palestine, who met at a workshop hosted by Integrity Action in Jordan, from 22 to 25 February 2016. The outline in particular - and the workshop in general—was requested by some of Integrity Action’s partners who wished to establish Integrity Clubs in their communities. Integrity Action noticed that although examples of Integrity Clubs can be found in a number of countries, and guidelines are widely available, none of the current examples reflects what Integrity Action and its partners want to achieve: establishing student led clubs where members can learn - as well as practically apply - the concept of Integrity. This manual outline aims at developing Young Integrity Builders, by equipping them with skills and knowledge needed to be able to monitor projects and services in their communities using Integrity Action’s Community Integrity Building (CIB) approach.” (page 3)

Applications
--Interact with this quote below from the Integrity Textbook, regarding its underlying mission to build integrity as the means to and reduce corruption. (page 2).

“This is the underlying mission of Integrity Action–emphasizing the overarching role of building integrity as a means of reducing corruption. Integrity Action incorporates the original ideas of ethics, and joins this to accountability and competence as the fundamental way of combating corruption.

Integrity Action wants to re-balance the understanding of corruption - to build institutions and ways of working that proactively prioritise integrity as a bulwark against corruption, rather than spend time solely trying to act against instances of corruption. Integrity Action believes that there is a need to have and build strong and resilient societies that can resist the attractions of corruption, and can suggest and live with a better alternative - integrity.

This book starts with the personal perspective and builds on this foundation of personal integrity to how it can be applied to management in government, business or civil society. From this view of professional integrity, the book then moves onto building integrity within communities and society more generally.”