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2nd International Anti-Corruption Summer School

From 10 to 19 July 2008, the second International Anti-Corruption Summer School, IACSS 2008, under the slogan "Practice Meets Science” took place in in Altlengbach, Austria.

A selected audience of 60 participants from 30 countries took part in the 10 day event, which was organized by the Austrian EPAC partner the Federal Bureau for Internal Affairs (BIA). IACSS 2008 was academically supported by internationally highly reputed professors and academics, by the four EPAC partner organisations, and financially by the European Union. Globally recognized scientists and practitioners in the field of preventing and fighting corruption were involved in the exchange of experiences in this area.

The main aim of the IACSS is to introduce the anti-corruption practitioners to the scientific aspects of the phenomenon of corruption. The programme included lectures on sociology, political science, psychology, criminology, economics and business administration. The lecturers depicted different ways of approaching and tackling corruption. Among the lecturing scientists and academics were university professors and researchers from Marburg (Slovenia), Linz (Austria), Boston (USA), Ottawa (Canada), Konstanz (Germany), Passau (Germany), Oxford and Nottingham (UK), as well as renowned practitioners from the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Transparency International, the International Chamber of Commerce – Austria, and British weekly "The Economist”, who all actively shared their knowledge with the participants.With his lecture on "Corruption, Informal Networks, State Capture and Integrity Plans”.

Professor Bojan Dobovšek opened the first academic session of the Summer School. Prof Dobovšek is Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Criminal Justice of the University of Maribor, Slovenia. He explored areas of informal criminal networks and ways of tackling them by international anti-corruption-networking.The worldwide known expert on shadow economy Professor Friedrich Schneider from the University of Linz followed up with a stimulating lecture about "Shadow Economies and Money Laundering”. He explained the changing nature of the topic, as well as the most important facts, data and consequences.Wolfgang Hetzer concluded the day with a discussion about the unstable relationship between economic and political factors of society and the constitutional state. Nikos Passas, Professor at the Northeastern University (USA) and internationally recognized advisor on anti-corruption, terrorism and organized crime shared his experience by means of the lecture on "Corruption, Development and Transnational Crime: Challenges and Solutions”, especially concentrating on the borderline between science and practical solutions.

Also famous as a specialist in connecting research and practice in the field of police leadership, ethics and anti-corruption, Professor Michel Girodo from the University of Ottawa (CA) had a great contribution to the Summer School. Professor Michel Girodo is a member of Interpol’s Group of Experts on Corruption, IGEC. His experience allowed him to inspire the participants with a lecture on "Mental Processes Behind Integrity and Real World Decision Making”.In the evening session the Project Manager of the "Fraud Notification Systems” of OLAF, Stefan Knolle, explained the details of the System and utility of innovative technologies to support complex corruption cases. A team from the University of Konstanz, Germany, Professor Dirk Tänzler and the academics Angelos Giannakopoulos and Konstadinos Maras, opened the next day of the IACSS with a description of the project "Crime and Culture”. They explained that the main aim of the project is to investigate which aspects of culture and society in the EU-countries promote corruption. Professor Johann Graf Lambsdorff, the "father” and spiritus rector of TI’s "Corruption Perception Index” (CPI), holds a chair position in economic theory at the University of Passau, Germany. He conveyed his research results in the area of measuring corruption and explored potential new ways of fighting it.An investigative academic at the University of Oxford (UK) and a specialist in reporting on international organized crime, Declan Hill concluded with a lecture about match-fixing in professional football.

Last but not, least Sope Williams from the University of Nottingham (UK) and Mathias Nell from the University of Passau, both as well as Declan Hill members of Professor Lambsdorff’s team, shared their experience in the field of fighting corruption in public procurement and the relationship between the corruptor and the corruptee. In order to engage the participants into the academic discussion the lecturers proposed a number of case studies, role plays, and tests. The lecture of Professor Girodo from Ottawa, for example, included a personality test which has worked as a basis for his research for many years and aims at exposing a relationship between corruption susceptibility and personality factors. Mathias Nell offered the IACSS-participants numerous corruption-games which disclose the corruption tendency under special economic circumstances. Declan Hill provided an insight into the topic of corruption through engaging the entrants in role plays. Certain role plays allowed the public to self-experience the ingredients of the process of match-fixing in professional football.

Along with the daily workshops and lectures the participants were involved in a number of "Fireside Chats”, which took place in a convenient and friendly atmosphere and which were chaired by the Director of the BIA and Chair of EPAC, Martin Kreutner. The climate of the Fireside Chats allowed the entrants to engage into lengthy discussions on special aspects of "International Anti-Corruption Cooperation”, "Private Sector Cooperation”, and "Corruption and the Media”. Despite the demanding lectures the Fireside Chats usually overrun their times. The former president of the Macedonian State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption and internationally accepted expert in the area of organized crime, corruption and money laundering, Professor Slagjana Taseva, took part in the first Fireside Chat. It included a broad introduction and a discussion upon international fight against corruption. Within the second Fireside Chat, Maximilian Burger-Scheidling, Executive Director, International Chamber of Commerce – Austria, and Wolfgang Hetzer, OLAF, discussed strategies for fighting corruption in the private sector and highlighted the importance of the cooperation between state anti-corruption bodies and private entrepreneurs. The third Fireside Chat aroused an especially intensive discussion on the topic of "Corruption and the Media”. "The Economist”-correspondent for Central and Eastern Europe, Edward Lucas, and the Director of Transparency International – Lithuanian Chapter, Rytis Juozapavicius, provided an inspiring contribution to solutions of solving the problems of "Corruption and the Media”.

On the last day of the International Anti-Corruption Summer School the Director of the BIA and Chair of EPAC, Martin Kreutner, awarded all the 60 participants their certificates. At the end of the closing ceremony the entrants expressed their gratitude with "standing ovations” to the whole organizational team of the IACSS 2008.

  IACSS 2008 Course Catalogue