Raising awareness about integrity and corruption prevention starts early, and initiatives like the Bundesamt zur Korruptionsprävention und Korruptionsbekämpfung (BAK) (Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption of the Federal Ministry of Interior of Austria) photo competition “Werte & Vorbilder vor die Linse” show just how powerfully young people can express these important themes through art.

The competition invited upper-level students from various schools in Lower Austria to explore what values, integrity, and role models mean to them and to capture their interpretations through their cameras.
The creative process was supported by workshops held at the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), where students were guided through the dangers of corruption and shown the importance of ethical action. The results were impressive: thoughtful, original, and deeply informed.
From five participating classes of around 90 students, 22 works were submitted. The jury, including Bettina Knoetzl (Chair of Transparency International Austria), Elfie Semotan (photographer) and Bianca Kopp (Coordinator GRACE Initiative, UNODC), assessed the entries based on creativity, message, and artistic expression. The winning work, “Reaktionen”, came from a class at BG/BRG Tullnerbach – Wienerwaldgymnasium.

Promoting integrity and strengthening awareness of corruption, especially among our next generations, is a worthy, but never-ending goal. Their perspectives remind us how crucial it is to continue this conversation and to keep integrity in picture-frame focus.

https://www.bak.gv.at/301/Fotowettbewerb/start.aspxhttps://lnkd.in/dYfE3fhk

Photocredit: Sebastian Hochleitner