December 16, 2018

Nada Zohdy, Director – Open Gov Hub

***This blog was originally published on Open Gov Hub’s blog on December 15, 2018***

What might American democracy defenders learn from actors in other countries who have leveraged investigative journalism techniques and advocacy to combat grand corruption?

The Open Gov Hub, Global Integrity, Sunlight Foundation, and Transparency International are pleased to present this launch event for the new Defending Democracy: Lessons from Around the World program. Join us to learn from powerful efforts to uncover and counter the international linkages between corruption and kleptocracy across boundaries/ borders, as we hear from visiting civil society leaders from Russia and Tunisia and leaders from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, which was heavily involved in the recent Paradise Papers leak.

This event will put American and international civil society leaders in conversation to learn from one another about the strategies and tactics that have (and have not) worked to combat corruption through journalism. In particular, we’ll explore:

• From Panama to the Paradise Papers: What is the ‘special sauce’ that helps international networks of investigative journalists achieve tremendous success?
• How can journalists and anti-corruption advocates collaborate to achieve greater impact?
• How can everyday citizens be involved in processes to tackle corruption?

As the launch event for the Defending Democracy Program, all speakers and discussants will be asked to reflect on how lessons from international contexts may be applicable to the state of American democracy today. This discussion will cue up subsequent “democracy dialogue” conversations throughout 2018 that will highlight other relevant examples from abroad to help inform the efforts of American democracy advocates.

Program:

Moderator: Zoë Reiter, Transparency International

Panelists:

• Paul Radu, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)
• Drew Sullivan, OCCRP
• Marina Walker Guevera, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
• Ilia Shumanov, Transparency International-Russia

Discussants:

• John Wonderlich, Sunlight Foundation
• Danielle Brian, Project on Government Oversight