A set of different views, the experience of understanding one’s values, and a joint search for ways to build a culture of integrity in Ukraine: the participants of the Dimensions of Integrity seminar shared their impressions
In the fall of 2021, Aspen Institute Kyiv held the first Dimensions of Integrity seminar as part of the Integrity and Governance project. The event brought together public officials, representatives of academic institutions, non-governmental and international organizations, media communities, and experts in the field of prevention and countering corruption. Participants participated in moderated dialogues, analyzing the concept of integrity and looking for ways to build a culture of integrity in Ukraine.
Speaking about their impressions, the participants noted an advantage of the Aspen seminars: they gather leaders from different fields at one table. In the trusting atmosphere of a moderated dialogue, leaders often open up from a completely different angle:
— I wanted to get to the Aspen seminar this year. And so it happened! After seeing the list of participants: judges of the Supreme Court, deputy ministers, representatives of the General Prosecutor’s Office, NACP, and NABU, I became interested in how we will communicate. After all, they do not communicate well with journalists in everyday life. On the first day, I realized I was a prisoner of my stereotypes. Thanks to Aspen for breaking them, and I saw opened, ready to communicate, intelligent people, — says Svitlana Ostapa, head of the Supervisory Board and deputy editor-in-chief of JSC UA: PBC portal, Detector Media portal.
— It would be difficult for me to imagine such things for which NABU, NACP, PGO, Supreme Court of Ukraine, SAPO, High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine, MIA, Ministry of Veterans, Ministry of Reintegration, Ministry of Health, NSSU, journalists, educators, lawyers, and scientists, can find themselves at the same table. Discuss Kelsen, Rousseau, and Hobbes for five days. Write a poetic script of Antigone and with the first sun shoot plots for dynamism. It is unlikely that we will all become close friends, but it is so unexpected to meet in adult life those with whom you can sincerely share yourself and take a part of someone from each other, — says Inna Draganchuk, deputy of the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.
At the seminars, various leaders interact with those who might not have the opportunity to cross paths in everyday life. It helps to see the problem through a wider lens and consider different sides of the same issue:
— Dialogues in the Aspen environment are the best way to see issues in “3D format”, three-dimensionally. After all there were the opinions of representatives of various professions with their unique experiences. In the future, I plan to write a scientific article and talk to students on the topic of integrity, particularly academic integrity, — Maryana Afanasyeva, a professor of the Department of Constitutional Law at the National University Odesa Law Academy, shares her thoughts.
— The seminar became a unique communication event regarding the integrity category. The experience of professionals from various fields of activity combined with well-chosen material and moderation made it possible to understand integrity in nowadays conditions. Today, integrity has become a central tool for reforming areas in which the legitimacy of decision-making is based largely on the characteristics of the employee’s personality. It is worth developing the study of integrity as a multifaceted phenomenon to give it concreteness and the procedures for its application proper certainty, — emphasizes Dmytro Mykhaylenko, judge of the Appellate Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court.
In addition, Aspen dialogue creates special conditions that deepen self-awareness. While jointly looking for ways to build a culture of integrity in Ukraine, the participants at the same time tried to gain a deeper understanding of their values:
— In her autobiography, Golda Meir says: “The disadvantage of any official position is that one loses the measure of things.” The seminar “Dimensions of Integrity” allowed me to feel this dimension, to think more deeply about one’s values, and to understand how they can guide decisions. The Dialogue on Integrity seminar helped to adjust internal and external boundaries, — notes Ludmila Daragan, State Secretary at the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine.
— It is crucial to have the opportunity to take a breath sometimes, turn off the “just-do-now-think-we-will-later” mode, immerse yourself in the discussion of worldview issues, meet in live communication with very interesting people with whom you will develop joint projects in the future, update your vision of the world and understanding one’s place in this world. All this is about the Aspen seminar, — says Serhiy Gorbachev, educational ombudsman.
New acquaintances at seminars, as well as the interaction of different leaders lead not only to theoretical research but also to the further practical application of the results of the discussion:
— The Aspen seminar is not about training with lectures. It’s about finding new meanings, sharing experiences, and making new professional acquaintances. Based on the results of the seminar discussions, I plan to prepare a strategy for spreading the culture of integrity among the authorities through commissioners for the prevention and detection of corruption, as well as heads of organizations of both the public and private sectors, — said Serhiy Derkach, head of the NAСP department.
— Of course, we have not found a miracle recipe for solving all integrity issues. But we looked at them from different angles, points of view, and roles. The discussion on the topic of integrity, which takes place between leaders from various fields, provides an opportunity to implement and spread the practice of virtuous governance in all spheres of society’s life. I believe that such a dialogue is the start of irreversible processes of virtuous governance, — emphasized Oleksandr Danylyuk, a senior resident of the operating and dressing department of the medical company of the 128th Mountain Infantry Brigade of the Transcarpathian Brigade and the head of the expert group on the development of emergency care of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
The Integrity and Governance project implements with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy.
