Declaration – 2014
The Poznan Declaration
The Poznan Declaration is a formal statement aimed at mainstreaming ethics and anti-corruption in Higher Education. The document was unanimously adopted last September by the member universities of the Compostela Group of Universities (CGU) and has subsequently been endorsed by the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), and the World University Consortium (WUC).
Implementing it is a first important step for Higher Education in joining governments, businesses and civil society in the global fight against corruption.
The Poznan Declaration (PDF in English) (PDF in Italian).
How can my institution endorse it?
If you consider that your university could endorse the Poznan Declaration and thus be among its signatories, fill in this Expression of Interest document and send it signed, sealed and scanned to Mr Marcus Tannenberg at marcus.tannenberg@gu.se. After receiving your expression of interest, we will soon approach your university to discuss options regarding how to implement the Declaration’s recommendations.
Discover the list of endorsed institutions:
- The Compostela Group of Universities.
- World Academy of Art and Science.
- World University Consortium.
- Istituto dell’Approccio Centrato sulla Persona.
- Library of Alexandria.
- Transparency International.
- The Quality of Government Institute.
- The Swedish Anti-Corruption Institute.
Implementation of the Poznan Declaration
Recognizing the free and independent nature of universities, there is no one-size-fits-all way on how to implement the recommendations of the Poznan Declaration. We believe that the most important part is to get teaching, researching and administrative personnel interested in the initiative, and to start to talk about it. By discussing, for example, what impartiality means in terms of teaching, grading, hiring etc., and how this can be transparent, the process has already begun.
In addition, teachers themselves are likely to have ideas on how ethics and anti-corruption can be integrated in within their courses, and we are sure that once the interest has been raised there will be a surge in innovative ways in doing this.
That being said, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, and there’s much to be gained through cooperation and best practice sharing, which we will facilitate through the upcoming “Poznan Declaration forum”, where material can be shared and discussed.
Below you will find a few links on examples on data, case studies, eLearning-tools, as well as links to legislations and conventions that can serve as a basis for the implementation. The list will be continuously updated with new material.
We are aware that most teaching staff typically experience that the curricula is already full and that time and resources are scarce. It is important, however, to point out that mainstreaming ethics and anti-corruption can be done without adding additional burden to the curricula, by integrating it within already existing material.
Furthermore, it is clear that there is a demand from business, government and civil society alike, for more ethically aware and critically thinking graduates, and it’s time for institutions of higher education to meet this demand.
Relevant documents and websites
- Markkula Center for Applied Ethics – Has a collection of case studies on ethical dilemmas for students in numerous fields.
- Business Anti-Corruption Portal – Offers free anti-bribery and eLearning tools, as well as discusses all major international and country specific anti-corruption legislation.
- International Association of Universities and Magna Charta Observatory ofrecer directrices sustanciales para un código institucional de ética en la educación superior. Promulgar y adherirse a dicho código ayudaría a las instituciones no sólo a hablar, sino también a actuar.
Conventions and legislation
