International Anti-Corruption Day is an opportunity, through events organized every year on 9 December, to raise awareness among people worldwide about the dangers of corruption and to promote integrity, transparency and accountability in the public and private lives. The 2025 campaign focuses on young people's role as "guardians of integrity", and messaging framed around uniting with youth against corruption and shaping tomorrow's integrity.
Date, Background and 2025 Theme
International Anti-Corruption Day was established after the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2003, and is marked annually on 9 December. The day reminds governments and citizens that corruption weakens democracy, fuels inequality and undermines sustainable development.
For 2024–25, UN campaigns emphasize that, with 1.9 billion young people in the world, the fight against corruption must actively include youth as key actors, innovators, and watchdogs. In 2025, taglines like "Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow's Integrity" highlight collective action and intergenerational responsibility.
Key Aspects of International Anti-Corruption Day
A main focus of the day is encouraging the UNCAC as the global "rulebook" for preventing, detecting and punishing corruption and enhancing cooperation to trace and recover stolen assets. The observance also underlines that corruption diverts money from schools, hospitals and infrastructure, undermines trust in institutions and hits the poorest and most vulnerable hardest.
The 2025 campaign also stresses that transparent governance, strong oversight bodies, and protection of whistle-blowers are particularly important in reporting wrongdoing. Another key focus is the ethical behavior of the private sector, which is called upon to adopt robust compliance systems and business practices that ensure fair, decent opportunities for youth.
Role of Technology and Innovation
With the inclusion of safeguards, emerging technologies like AI and blockchain are being framed as excellent methods of preventing, detecting, and exposing corruption. These can be used to generate tamper-resistant records, track public spending, and create secure and anonymous reporting channels for citizens and whistle-blowers.
As young people are often early adopters and developers of digital solutions, the campaign invites them to design applications, platforms and data-visualisation tools that make government information more accessible and understandable. Thus, digital literacy and cyberethics form part of the integrity education for youth.
How Youth Can Contribute?
Youth can contribute first by educating themselves about what constitutes corruption - such as bribery, nepotism, embezzlement, and vote‑buying - and by refusing to participate in or normalize these practices in daily life. Students and young professionals can join or form integrity clubs, campus campaigns, and community forums that discuss ethics, transparency, and the rule of law.
Young people can also employ social media and creative content—posters, blogs, short films, street plays to raise awareness and call out corrupt practices in a respectful and factual manner. Volunteering with NGOs, youth parliaments, and anti‑corruption initiatives allows young people to observe governance processes, monitor local projects, and promote citizen oversight.
Building a Culture of Integrity
It is underlined that education, in general, and schools and universities are indispensable for “shaping tomorrow’s integrity”, while values of honesty, fairness, and responsibility can be practised daily. Young people can demand open procedures within student unions, examinations, admissions, and campus contracts and show that it is possible and desirable to act ethically.
In the workplace, young workers can demand transparent codes of conduct and disclosure norms, as well as grievance mechanisms, to develop transparent and accountable organisations. Through speaking out, advocating for whistleblower protections, and voting for clean candidates, young citizens build institutions and societies more resilient to corruption.
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