The winning teams of the “Students Against Corruption” programme have successfully implemented their projects during the summer. The high school students’ bold ideas have impressed the awarding organisations – Transparency International Hungary (TI) and the Romaversitas Foundation – already in the design phase.

Student from the ELTE Apáczai Csere János Teacher Training Grammar School organised a thematic week to discuss the risk of corruption and the importance of taking action against it. The students‘ flash mob titled “Don’t fall for dirty money” that was held at Deák tér was a huge success. The student group from Szomolya made a short film about how poor people are punished for stealing wood, while the same done by rich people goes unnoticed. The winning team from the Klebelsberg Boarding School of Kaposvár held a short-story and T-shirt design competition, while students from the Kalyi Jag Roma Minority Vocational Secondary School made a short film based on responses from people on the street to questions about corruption, and discussed their experience with fellow students and teachers as part of an open day held at the school.

The competition was held under the Youth in Action programme, which supports and encourages young people to participate more actively and get more closely involved in democratic life. Under the same project, the Slovenian chapter of Transparency International and Mladinski Ceh, a training and development association launched the same call for projects for Slovenian high school students.

In July, the winning teams from the two countries presented their projects at a three-day conference organised in the Slovenian town of Portoroz. The event served as an excellent opportunity to share experiences and discuss challenges, while the boat trip to Piran and the walks in Portoroz forged a real team spirit amongst the participants.

As part of the project, the organisers prepared a training material that will provide high school students a clear explanation about what is corruption and why it is harmful. It is important that young people learn how to recognise and act on corruption already in high school.