23 February - Nationwide Bribe-Free Day
Nationwide Bribe-Free Day is an annual social action aimed at promoting positive civic attitudes and raising awareness of the dangers and consequences of corruption. Last year, the CBA trained more than 50 different institutions and entities as part of its prevention activities. By the end of 2022, more than 370,000 people had benefited from e-learning training, and almost 70,000 people had participated in on-site training.
Corruption takes many forms, and at the turn of the decade, it was defined - depending on the source - in dozens of different ways. However, the characteristic feature of this phenomenon always remains the use of the function held for private gain.
The social and technological changes that we experience on a daily basis are not insignificant to the phenomenon of corruption. The popular bribe, so far identified with money placed in an envelope, is increasingly taking sophisticated forms. It should be borne in mind that this term includes any benefit that has a specific economic value, but also those not measurable in money, which are intended to satisfy another type of need.
There is a perception in society that corruption is only about big business and that giving certain gifts is a form of expressing gratitude. In this context, it is worth emphasising that corruption occurs at all levels of social life and that the benefit given always affects the impartiality and disinterestedness of the person performing a certain function.
One of the ways to reduce corruption is to undertake educational activities. The educational activity of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau consists, in particular, in conducting training courses and publishing information materials. So far, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau has issued a number of publications, the most popular of which was the Anti-Corruption Guide for Civil Servants. Its publication complements the training provided by Central Anti-Corruption Bureau officers.
In 2022, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted training courses in more than 50 institutions, and among them should be mentioned: local government administration (e.g. marshal offices, municipal offices, town halls), government administration (e.g. the Ministry of Justice, the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, the Office of Electronic Communications, the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station, the Office for Foreigners, the Central Office of Weights and Measures, the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways), public universities (e.g. the Military University of Technology), services (e.g. the Internal Security Agency, the Territorial Defence Forces, the Military Property Agency, the Military Police) and the State Treasury companies (e.g. PKP Intercity S.A, Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa S.A., Tauron Energia Polska S.A.).
It is worth noting that the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau is the first service to provide an e-learning platform on its website. It is a freely accessible platform with anti-corruption training for all those interested in the topic of corruption in Poland, in particular for civil servants and entrepreneurs, but also for students and pupils.
Three separate training modules are available on the platform:
1. Corruption in public administration — contains information on legal and institutional instruments for fighting corruption, anti-corruption regulations, and methods for counteracting the phenomenon; it also contains examples of corruption and tips on how public administration employees should behave when faced with corruption and how they can contribute to curbing it;
2. Corruption in business — presents information on systemic and institutional anti-corruption solutions functioning in legal and economic circulation; it also points out economic results of corruption at the interface of the administration and the private sector, for society and the state;
3. Counteracting corruption — presents the anti-corruption policy of the state and the issue of whistleblowing, illustrates the role of NGOs in counteracting corruption and social research related to this field, and provides information on the impact of corruption on the economy, society, and politics.
The ongoing preventive activities of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau have attracted great interest. By the end of 2022, more than 370,000 people had benefited from e-learning training, and almost 70,000 people had participated in on-site training.
CBA Press Team
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