Actor Nicholas Sahputra talks to the crowd as Head of KPK Abraham Samad, TII's Teten Masduki, actor Aji Santosa, and USAID Indonesia Director Glen Anders look on.

On January 26, 2012, more than 600 people attended the premiere of a series of short films,  Kita vs. Korupsi  (Us vs. Corruption), at the Djakarta Theatre in Jakarta, Indonesia. The films about corruption in everyday life in Indonesia were a joint production of Transparency International Indonesia (TII), Management Systems International, the Indonesia Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), USAID and Cangkir Kopi.

The films are one of the innovative ways that are being used to bring corruption to the forefront of public discussion in the country.

More than 50 print, TV, and online journalists covered the premiere including Jakarta Globe and The Jakarta Post.

Leading government officials, heads of anti-corruption NGOs, the USAID Mission Director and representatives from the U.S. Embassy and international agencies were present.

“This film will be a creative channel for our anti-corruption campaign, because it is well made and its message is easily understood by the community,” said Abraham Samad, Chairman of the KPK.

In partnership with TII, MSI’s USAID-funded Strengthening Integrity and Accountability Program 1 (SIAP 1)  project provides prevention support to the KPK, which leads the country’s fight against corruption. TII  conducted a competition for anti-corruption story ideas in mid-2011.  SIAP 1 then worked with KPK to align the movie’s messages with broader government efforts and encouraged leading moviemakers and actors to engage in the process.

Many parties have already requested further screenings of the films, including the Deputy Head of the National Police, the Ombudsman, Bawaslu and leading universities. The film will be circulated throughout cities in Indonesia for special screenings.

USAID's Development Outreach and Communications specialists at a training with Administrator Rajiv Shah.

MSI is pleased to announce that it has won a new contract with USAID to provide training and support for the Agency’s network of communications personnel worldwide. Partnering with Encompass, a small business firm, MSI will provide skills-based training in strategic planning and implementation to help Missions better communicate regarding their development objectives and foreign aid programs in health, education, governance, and other sectors. Training and support will focus on greater engagement through social media and video production, as well as more traditional communications tools and approaches, including media outreach, speeches and events.

MSI has previously delivered this training and support to the Agency as a sub-contractor but will move into the prime contractor role beginning today. MSI personnel will work closely with senior personnel in the Legislative and Public Affairs Bureau and with the network of communications personnel housed in regional and pillar bureaus.

“We’re extremely pleased to have been chosen to carry out this critical work for the Agency,” said MSI Vice President Ellen Yount. “We share USAID’s commitment to transparency and reporting on results – and this training is one way to help the Agency reach that goal through the men and women on the ground using innovative methods to communicate with local audiences in Guatemala, India, Ukraine and all of the other diverse settings where USAID is present.”

Shaukat Hassan had a chance to sit down and talk with us about the challenges, successes and winning formula for MSI’s USAID-funded Afghanistan anti-corruption project.

As Chief of Party for the Afghanistan Assistance for Anti-corruption Authority, he talks about the project and great recognition USAID and MSI received on International Anti-corruption Day in December.

Shaukat Hassan also attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul on January 21.

Photo from Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Click on photo to view their article on the building opening.

The ceremony inaugurated a new training center that MSI’s USAID-funded Afghanistan Foreign Affairs Institutional Reform (FAIR) built for the Institute of Diplomacy.

The training center has wireless internet and contains three classrooms, a study center and administrative section, building the capacity of MoFA employees.

The Pajhwok Report news agency reported on the event and talked with the director of Institute of Diplomacy:

“We are genuinely grateful for this assistance from the people of the United States to Afghanistan,” said Director of Institute of Diplomacy Hazrat Wahriz. “This new center will allow us to conduct more standardised training for our staff, including English language education.”

The conference was attended by more than 550 South Sudanese and donor participants. In partnership with the U.S. government, MSI helped to organize the event and coordinate logistics.

For the first time, South Sudanese government ministers had a forum to present their development goals, challenges and opportunities to major donors, creating a framework for international coordination for work in the country.

Speakers at the conference included South Sudan President Salva Kiir, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice, U.S. Senator John Kerry and musician and former Sudanese child soldier Emmanuel Jal.

President Kiir outlined his country’s development goals. Subsequent sessions focused on the main transition goals of South Sudan, such as the management of oil revenue, good governance and social service delivery.

These discussions included committing to transparency and accountability in laws and finance, improving conditions to assist private-sector growth and creating an effective regulatory framework that invests oil and agricultural revenues back into human capital development.

The conference garnered considerable international press coverage, including print, broadcast, and webcast:

•Washington Post: US Says South Sudan’s Oil Sector Open for Business for US Companies
•The Guardian: Humanitarian needs must take priority in South Sudan, warn aid agencies
•The Daily Beast: South Sudan’s Women: Building the World’s Newest Nation
•NPR: South Sudan: Will Oil Lead it Out of Poverty?
•The Wall Street Journal: US to Hold South Sudan Aid Forum
•Sudan Tribune: Netherlands pledges €75 million annual support to South Sudan

“We express our sincere gratitude for your charitable work and support in carrying out events and activities to further develop legal expertise among our citizens and enhance the awareness of individual human rights,” said Minister Lavrynovych.

The project aims to improve both public awareness of and access to legal rights through a combination of outreach efforts and trainings for lawyers, local NGOs and legal clinics, and governmental institutions including the Ministry of Justice.

The project has already released a televised public service announcement (PSA) to increase awareness of the right to health services, and is in the process of creating two more PSAs on property and employment rights. 110 organizations have received basic legal rights training from MSI technical staff, with partner organizations including 74 NGOs, 27 local law firms and 9 legal clinics. In this manner, both the individuals responsible for upholding and enforcing the rule of law and citizens themselves will feel more confident in engaging and acting upon their rights.

“Please allow us to pass on words of appreciation to MSI staff for putting into action educational and training activities …that were meant to build the professional capacity of experts from Ministry of Justice legal clinics,” said Minister Lavrovych.

The project will continue until April of 2014.