Learning from other multi-stakeholder initiatives at the 16th IACC

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Learning from other multi-stakeholder initiatives at the 16th IACC

By Sven Biermann
IACC

PUTRAJAYA, 4 September 2015. The Secretariat of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative was invited to the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) in Putrajaya/Malaysia to take part in a panel discussion on the importance of global transparency initiatives.

Panel IACC
Picture @Open contracting

For this session, the FiTI shared the panel with representatives of other major global multi-stakeholder transparency initiatives: the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST), the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and the Garment Industries Transparency Initiative (GITI). The session was moderated by Prof. Dr. Peter Eigen, Chair of the International Advisory Group of the FiTI.

The session was a unique opportunity to exchange lessons learned amongst major global multi-stakeholder transparency initiatives and to reflect on what conditions are needed to drive change.

The discussions highlighted that despite the fact that these initiatives target different sectors, those face similar challenges. A main conclusion of the session was therefore that all these initiatives would benefit from exploring synergies and mutual learnings amongst each other.

All panelists emphasized that the success of multi-stakeholder initiatives depends on an enabling environment in which all stakeholders can actively and effectively engage. In fact, the full benefits of multi-stakeholder deliberation can only be realized when representatives from government, the private sector and the organized civil society interact. Such approach provides valuable opportunities to strengthen trust between parties with different interests. This is part of a long-term process as trust builds over time, they added.

Despite a lot of similarities and valuable potential for learnings between all initiatives, it was mentioned that each of them needs to carefully consider the respective industry characteristics.

During the conceptual phase of the FiTI, the experience and lessons learned from other global multi-stakeholder initiatives will be valuable in elaborating a credible and generally-accepted framework for the FiTI.

Picture @Opencontracting