Mr. Costas Bakouris, President of Transparency International Greece

"[...] Thanks to you and your team’s professionalism we have had a most productive and well organized event. Key contributing factors from AC&C’s part have been (among others) the apparent experience in the field, organizational capacity, the good communication with our staff, willingness and flexibility in meeting unexpected requirements, and the team’s commitment and attention to details.”
13th International Anticorruption Conference
October 30- November 2, 2008

The 13th International Anti-Corruption Conference took place, at Megaron Athens International Conference Centre, between 31 October and 2 November. Organized by Transparency International, the International Anti-Corruption Council and Transparency International Greece, hosted by the Government of Greece and supported by the Ministry of Justice, the conference brought together more than 1,500 participants from over 130 countries who acknowledged the vital role of transparency and accountability in justifying the current economic crisis.

Under the banner "Global Transparency: Fighting corruption for a sustainable future", the 13th IACC featured prominent speakers such as HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan; Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Managing Director of the World Bank; Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission; Costas Karamanlis, Prime Minister of Greece; Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International; Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana, and George Papandreou, President of Socialist International and President of Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK).

The IACC, first held in 1983, has grown into the foremost international meeting on governance and anti-corruption. The conference promotes cooperation and innovation in developing tools to bring an end to corruption, a problem that continues to trap millions of people in a vicious cycle of poverty and threatens sustainable development. The conference brings together heads of state, academics, compliance experts, social organizations, business and government representatives, all of whom are engaged in innovative work to prevent and fight corruption in all its forms.

The conference looked into the role of corruption and governance in the social, political, environmental, and economic questions that define the quality of life for people across the globe, today and tomorrow.

The themes of the conference included:

• Peace and security;
• Corruption in the natural resources and energy sectors (forestry, water, land, fishing and whaling, mining, oil and gas);
• Climate change and corruption;Sustainable globalization.

The conference included 40 workshops (strategy sessions, training sessions and expert panel debates) with various topics under the conference themes.

Participants at the IACC explored ways to combat the many types of corruption that consistently undermine all aspects of sustainability and deepen global inequalities: fostering conflict and violence, distorting natural resource exploitation, aggravating climate change and hampering our response to it.

The Honourable Justice Barry O'Keefe, Chair of the IACC Council, stated that: "The objective of this conference is to re-invigorate anti-corruption work by generating new ideas, partnerships and propositions that can match the depth and complexity of corruption in the 21st century."

Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International, added: "The mission of the IACC, to find anti-corruption solutions through policy, trade and awareness, has never been more relevant for alleviating the poverty, alienation and conflict that corruption breeds. The challenges of transparency and accountability are immense, but so is the commitment and creativity of the anti-corruption community gathered here."

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis also addressed the conference. "International corruption constitutes a common enemy that we are obliged to combat with a persistent effort, both on a national and international level." The premier said that the deeper problems of the real economy are now at the forefront, while warning that the world is facing a recession of unknown intensity and duration. "We are all responsible for the grim reality the world is faced with today [...] and we need to deal with the real causes [of the recession]," he stressed. In terms of Greece, Karamanlis said the country has passed from the stage of idleness to a gradual improvement in the international anti-corruption index.

Costas Bakouris, Chair of Transparency International Greece, stated: "A constructive discussion about the grounds and ways of confronting corruption in the era of globalization is imperative. Raising social conscience and building a coalition of all valuable forces is the essential antidote to corruption. The International Anti-Corruption Conference serves this purpose."

Other speakers included Greek Justice Minister Sotiris Hatzigakis, Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.