August 2015 – January 2017
Read the final report of the “Ask the Locals!” project here.
“30 years of EU evaluations have not managed to uncover what any Sicilian villager could have told them from the onset: what is the money really for and how it is spent”. This idea of leading social scientist Alina Mungiu-Pippidi lies behind “Ask the Locals!” project. Inter Alia and its partners aim to use the power of informal social networks of small communities in order to explore and enhance local agency against fund mismanagement and corruption. The information will be derived from the citizens in order to be utilized by the citizens with the underlying aim to deconstruct negative self-images that perpetuate inequality and injustice and lead to victimization and defeatism both inside partner countries and externally in their relation to other European people and states.
AIMS
-Engage & empower the losing side of corruption
-Inform about & actively promote fair access to resources as a way out of crisis
-Correct misperceptions about peoples and their involvement in corrupt practices
-Promote social participation & initiative as an antidote to corruption
ACTIVITY PLAN
The plan foresees a Capacity Building Activity (CBA), field research, an awareness campaign and a final event. Participants in the CBA will familiarize with the: a. existing discourse & EU policies against fund abuse; b. state of affairs in partner countries as regards corruption; c.ways to promote fair access to resources through collective action. Then, partners will conduct field research in small communities and record locals’ experiences with mismanagement of EU funds. ALO! will utilize these insights for enabling communities’ self-help through an awareness campaign while project findings will be presented at a final event.
DELIVERABLES
Case-study collection; Documentary with locals’ stories of corruption; Awareneness campaign.
