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Anti-corruption and compliance efforts to increase investment and growth for SMEs in Africa

In June, Accountability Lab was proud to take a group of inspiring youth activists to the World Bank Group's International Corruption Hunters Alliance 2023 Forum in Ivory Coast. This is part of a series of blogs from those participants.   Written by Simisola Samuel, Afia Poku, Liza Young, and Becky Majani Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are pivotal for economic growth and employment. According to the World Bank, SMEs represent about 90% of businesses and provide more than 50% of jobs globally. SMEs contribute over 40% to the national income in emerging economies and attract domestic and foreign investment. This [...]

2023-08-14T12:23:08+00:0011th July 2023|

Liberian youths urged to be agents of change

Written by Parnneh Mallobe   As Liberians go to the polls in October to elect the president and representatives of the Legislature for the next six years, Accountability Lab Co-CEO, Blair Glencorse, has called on young people to fully participate as "agents for positive change". Speaking to over 60 youth-led civil society and community-based organization leaders and entrepreneurs during an event organized by Accountability Lab Liberia and iCampus in Monrovia, Glencorse said the youth need to focus equally on what happens after the elections, as on the elections themself. “We have to track what the candidates are promising now and [...]

2023-06-20T20:41:32+00:0017th June 2023|

Greening social accountability for climate finance

Written by Louise Cord, Aly Rahim, Ann-Sofie Jespersen, and Michael Jarvis Global spending on climate change is nearing US$1 trillion annually. To optimize the benefit of these climate investments, transparency, equity, and inclusion must be at the heart of climate finance decision-making. We need green accountability – an approach recognizing that effectively addressing the climate crisis requires harnessing the insights and agency of those most affected by climate impacts. In developing countries where a sevenfold increase in climate finance is needed, green accountability calls for systemic ways for people to have a voice and role in climate decisions that most impact their [...]

2023-05-12T16:20:59+00:0012th May 2023|

The vital role of young people in governance processes

The Citizens Summit in Defense of Democracy and Freedom in Lusaka, Zambia, shed light on a crucial message: the active involvement of young people in governance processes is imperative for Africa's success and prosperity. As echoed by summit participants, including political leaders, civil society representatives, and young activists, the strongest and most consistent takeaway from the event was the recognition that the youth hold the key to Africa's future. Written by Kibo Ngowi   “Young people continue to demand a seat at the table when it comes to discussions on democracy and the future of the continent. It is not [...]

2023-04-30T06:06:11+00:0030th April 2023|

In Defense of Democracy and Freedom – Zambia’s pre-S4D Citizens’ Summit

Written by Kibo Ngowi   The Citizens' Summit in Defense of Democracy and Freedom has officially begun! Civil society, international organizations, academic institutions, think tanks, philanthropic organizations, and the private sector converged in the Zambian capital of Lusaka to make their voices heard in the Summit discussions and in the global democracy debate.   “This initiative and engagements such as this one, which bring together various actors involved in a functioning democracy, are extremely important to upholding the democratic ideals that we all share and aspire to attain,” Zambia’s Minister of Justice, Mulambo Haimbe, said during his opening remarks. “We often [...]

2023-03-28T10:08:30+00:0027th March 2023|

Why frontier technologies will drive the fight against corruption

By Daniel Malan and Marlen Heide Frontier technologies promise to fundamentally change anti-corruption practices, making detection, prevention and risk management more efficient and effective. However, technological innovations also carry integrity risks and might be abused for fraudulent purposes. To truly reap the benefits of frontier technology for governance and anti-corruption, three fundamental tensions have to be addressed: privacy, freedom of speech and freedom of choice. Frontier technology is described by the OECD as having the potential to “reshape industry and communications and provide urgently needed solutions to global challenges … and have the potential to displace existing processes.” The disruptive potential of [...]

2023-03-13T09:05:54+00:0013th March 2023|

Changing norms and reaching the next generation of citizens

Written by Madeleine Goerg, AL Global Board Chairperson I first came across Accountability Lab in 2012, when I met founder Blair Glencorse at The German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum. I was part of the organizing team and was struck by the novel and bold approach which Blair outlined during one of our governance panels. Accountability Lab works to make governance work for people by bringing communities into conversations, celebrating exemplary leaders, and strengthening the accountability of institutions. AL takes a positive approach to an incredibly complex set of challenges and creates a community of practitioners to share and amplify their [...]

2023-03-02T13:24:59+00:002nd March 2023|

Lessons Learned During the S4D’s First Year of Action

By Kibo Ngowi Supporting accountable institutions in all the places we work across the globe is a central aspect of Accountability Lab’s mission. It’s work that has become more critical as democracy and human rights continue to come under threat in multiple regions. For a translocal network like the Lab, this is ultimately a question of sustainability, so we are doing all we can to understand how to proactively manage responses to these challenges. At the ecosystem level, this often means collectively organizing to shift political narratives, and increasing the space to push for more fair, equal and accountable societies. [...]

2023-02-17T08:19:52+00:0014th February 2023|

Accountability Lab Has a New Strategy! Here’s a Summary of Our Priorities for 2023-2026.

Written by Blair Glencorse   How Did We Develop The New Strategy? Accountability Lab began over a decade ago as an effort to support local change-makers within specific communities to develop creative ideas around governance issues. Our growth has been exciting- and we are now a global translocal network of Labs that is building an eco-system for accountability around the world. Despite all of the ups and downs of the past ten years, our vision remains the same as it has always been, because it is ever more important- a world in which resources are used wisely, decisions benefit everyone [...]

2023-01-18T06:53:13+00:0017th January 2023|

Super-Charging Accountability In Belize

Written by Blair Glencorse   If you are interested in governance in Belize, you’d be surprised at how difficult it is to find substantive information or networks. Most indices that measure these kinds of issues are not able to access sufficient data. There are several newspapers, but these are published weekly and the quality is variable. At the same time, while a civic infrastructure has developed around core priority sectors in the country- including the environment in particular- the community of organizations working on governance more directly is almost non-existent. This is problematic because it is clear- here, here and [...]

2022-12-15T09:37:24+00:0015th December 2022|
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