Prevention

Imparting integrity and anti-corruption expertise

Fourth grade students of a secondary school with a focus on fashion and business "HLA Mode Produkt" at Mödling, Lower Austria, participated in an anti-corruption event organised by the BAK on 27 June 2023.

Students on the threshold of entering professional life have usually received a sound education in their respective field, but often have little knowledge about the ethical and criminal law challenges that await them in the working world. The Federal Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAK) specifically addresses this problem when it organises an anti-corruption event.

On 27 June 2023, the students of the fourth grade of "HLA Mode Produkt Mödling" took part in such an event of the BAK. School Headmaster Martin Pfeffer and BAK Director Otto Kerbl explained the social significance of the topic as well as its personal relevance for every citizen. In the course of the day, the participating students learned interesting facts about corruption at eight stations. At one station, for example, they talked to a lawyer and learned about the consequences of corrupt actions under criminal law. At another, IT specialists from the BAK explained how their personal devices are protected.

The speakers, in turn, gained valuable access to the students' concerns, perspectives and problems through their questions and comments. Corruption prevention cannot start early enough, young people will shape our society in the near future; in this sense, conveying a positive image of integrity and incorruptibility as well as imparting expert knowledge on the matter represent an important contribution to the BAK's prevention mandate.