Social Good Peru Dialogue: Young People and Democratic Governance Against Corruption
By Jose Arrieta, Social Good Peru Chapter leader
The “Summit of the Americas”, a meeting of the America’s countries leaders, will take place this April. Peru, as the host of the VIII Summit of the Americas, proposed the “Democratic Governance against Corruption” as the theme. The former Minister Ricardo Luna said that: “The summit will seek to strengthen democracy in the hemisphere and combat corruption in the countries of the region.”
In parallel to the VIII Summit of the Americas, the V Forum of the Americas will take place. The V Youth Forum of the Americas constitutes the official channel for the participation of youth in the VIII Summit of the Americas. The four previous editions of the Forum have involved more than 23,000 young people over the past 12 years. The first Forum was held during the IV Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
The Youth Forum of the Americas is executed by the Young Americas Business Trust and conducted in coordination with the General Secretariat of the OAS, the Summits of the Americas Secretariat, and the Member States. Likewise, it will be held with the support of international organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations agencies, the Inter-American Development Bank and a number of national organizations in the Hemisphere that work with young people and of which many of they are led by young people.
In this context, dialogues will be held prior to the Youth Forum of the Americas. The forum’s previous dialogues are promoted by YABT (Young Americas Business Trust), the World Bank and the OAS. The contributions and conclusions of the dialogues are incorporated in the Forum’s Preliminary Declaration that will subsequently be presented to the Summit Implementation and Review Group (SIRG).
On February 15, the Dialogue: “Youth and Democratic Governance against Corruption” was held at the University of Lima. The dialogue was co-organized by Social Good Peru, University of Lima (the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences), and Young Americas Business Trust.
The dialogue featured panelists and dialogue tables. The panelists were Patricia Stuart, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences; Ricardo Carrillo, Coordinator of the Ethics and Business Dialogue circle and Jose Arrieta, Social Good Peru.
The dialogue tables were coordinated with the professors of the sections of the Business Ethics course of the Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences of the University of Lima. It was attended by 5 groups of students, each consisting of an average of 12 students, who submitted their essay proposals on the subject of the reference. The members of the Circle of Dialogue and Business Ethics also participated. In total, 39 essayes were presented.
Here are some of the prominent mentions that were on the dialogue table:
“But what is really stopping our country from achieving the much-desired development? Well, one of the main factors can be summed up in one word: corruption, which is one of the main obstacles to reducing poverty and inequality in Peru. Corruption, big or small, is worse than illegally charged bills, since the true price is paid later.”
“Democracy is a form of government where power is exercised by the people. The fundamental mechanism is suffrage (voting), [which] is free, equal, secret and direct. Elections are when the citizens choose their leaders or representatives for a specific period.”
“Democracy has cemented roots in Peru, even though there is still a gap in support for democracy as a system of government. There is not currently an ensured equal access to citizenship, some sectors have not managed to access the benefits and rights of the democratic system.”
“Education is definitely the cure for the cancer that constantly attacks our country, not only generating inequality but also greater poverty; that is why the state must emphasize issues of conscience and values in students from a very young age and throughout their lives. Demonstrating that negative acts are punishable by law and that even presidents who governed our country are now imprisoned for acts of corruption and money-laundering.”
Source: Students representing groups that participated in the dialogue.
Being part of this activity was an enriching experience for all participants. The event included active participation in the construction of an academic proposal from a youth point of view on a current issue that affects Latin America and the region in all.
Watch highlights here.
Check out their press release here.
