First published on Voices for Transparency.
1.“We need to tell each other our stories. We need to show that everyone — our neighbors, our families, our community leaders — everyone we know is touched by corruption.” — Jennifer Lawrence, actress.
When did she say it? JLaw made that comment in a post on Facebook after seeing a video from the US organisation Represent.us. Recently, the actress announced that she would be taking some time off to work with that organization in order to get young people engaged politically on a local level. We find that inspiring.
2. “Without strong watchdog institutions, impunity becomes the very foundation upon which systems of corruption are built. And if impunity is not demolished, all efforts to bring an end to corruption are in vain.“ — Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Prize laureate.
When did she say it? This quote is included in the Global Corruption Report 2001 where the activist wrote a section called “The plague of corruption: overcoming impunity and injustice”.
3. “Integrity, transparency and the fight against corruption have to be part of the culture. They have to be taught as fundamental values.” — Angel Gurría, OECD secretary general.
When did he say it? At the forum “Planet Integrity: Building a Fairer Society” which happened last March 2018. You can find his quote in this video.
4. “People’s indifference is the best breeding ground for corruption to grow.” — Delia Ferreira, chair of Transparency International.
When did she say it? Delia said this in an interview with the Argentinian newspaper Clarín back in January 2018. You can find the original article in Spanish here.
5. “Corruption is paid by the poor.” — Pope Francis.
When did he say it? Pope Francis said this in a morning mass in the Vatican back in 2014.
6. “The duty of youth is to challenge corruption.” — Kurt Cobain, Nirvana
When did he say it? Full transparency here. While this quote is largely attributed to the leader of Nirvana, we haven’t found a source to prove it. Never mind, as Professor Lawrence Lessig said: “whatever he meant, embrace his words. It is your duty to challenge this corruption.”
7. “People should be conscious that they can change a corrupt system.” — Peter Eigen, founder of Transparency International.
When did he say it? In August 2011 during a meeting of former students of the Austral University. You can watch the video here.
8. “None of the main issues which humanity is facing will be resolved without access to information.” — Christophe Deloire, secretary general of Reporters Without Borders.
When did he say it? We spotted this quote on this video recorded at the UNESCO IPDC talks back in June 2017.
9. “There are still those of us who work to overcome corruption and believe it to be possible.” — Padmé Amidala, Star Wars.
When did she say it? Corruption is a recurrent topic in movies as we have explored in other articles and it does not limit to our galaxy. She pronounced this quote in the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars in an episode called “Corruption”.
10. “ Corruption is a cancer, a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation and creativity.” — Joe Biden, former vice president of the United States.
When did he say it? In a meeting in Bucharest with Romanian civil society groups and students back in May 2014.
