Thursday, December 15, 2005

Whistleblower project to expose Polish corruption

We all hear about the "c" word in Poland and have probably heard about the latest Transparency International Report on corruption in Polska. PolBlog interviewed an official from the local TI office last month, and both Warsaw Station and the Beatroot had something to say about it.

In response, PolBlog introduces "Whistleblower 24/7." Whistleblower is an e-Democracy project to shift the balance of power from rulers to those ruled. By allowing citizens (in Poland) to anonymously post instances of corruption (in Gov't or Business) on an open forum for all to see, those who engage in shady behavior will be exposed more conveniently and to more people.

Any citizen in Poland, at any time of the day/night can register an instance of corruption in this "Whistleblower" forum. This makes the whole process incredibly easy as it avoids phone calls, lines in administrative offices, and bureaucracy that make filing corruption complaints unpleasant, time-consuming, and rare.

Whistleblower is not the end of the process, but rather the beginning...once a complaint is posted (with an optional survey), we will notify the appropriate officials, directing them to the site to read the post.

To go to the forum, click HERE

A similiar initiative was launched in Estonia (or, E-stonia as it is called in cyber circles), and it is quite popular.

3 Comments:

At 12/17/2005 04:37:00 PM, Blogger michael farris said...

cross posted from the link:

what's needed is a typology of corruption which I'd started at my blog before I got too behind on other projects, maybe in January I'll clear enough of the rubble away to get back to it .... for starters

corruption that 's designed for personal gain at the expense of others - bad

corruption that's meant to ameliorate the effects of bad laws/rules and doesn't victimize others - not so bad (hard for Poland to run without)

 
At 12/17/2005 07:27:00 PM, Blogger beatroot said...

I should caution that going around acusing people of corruption is a potentially libelous. So either be very sure of your facts, or get yourself a good lawyer.

 
At 12/28/2005 09:40:00 AM, Blogger Eugene Markow said...

JS and Beatroot, how does once become a selected member of this blog with the right to post individual news items? I await your reply. JS, I think the concept of "Whistleblower" is constructive in the democracy building process, however, individuals who have witnessed alleged corruption here in Poland should post with caution, being sure of what their claims.

Regards,

Eugene
Siemiechow, Poland

 

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