Transparencia por Colombia
Description
Corporación Transparencia por Colombia is the Colombian national chapter of Transparency International, which works in more than 100 countries. It was founded in 1998 as a response by Colombian civil society to widespread political corruption and the weakening of democracy at the end of the Samper government. It was created under the leadership of Juan Lozano with support from the Organización Corona, by a group of journalists, academics, business people and social leaders. It joined the Transparency International network the same year.
It frames the fight against corruption not as an end in itself, but as a way to strengthen the rule of law and safeguard public interests through active citizenship. It is governed by a General Assembly that brings together institutional members, such as universities, civil society organisations and private companies, and individual members. This assembly is overseen by a Consejo Rector. Day to day, the organisation is directed by an Executive Director and a Junta Directiva.
The organisation turns research and data into citizen proposals and action on transparency and anti-corruption. It works across politics, public procurement, justice, the private sector, investigative journalism and civic activism. Its Legal Advisory and Anti-Corruption Centre follows priority corruption cases and supports people reporting corruption. This includes work on a legislative bill to protect whistleblowers and a guide on whistleblower self-protection.
It monitors major corruption scandals and produces manuals and recommendations for prosecutors and other authorities on access to information. It has pursued strategic litigation, together with the organisation Dejusticia, over the Ruta del Sol II and Odebrecht case. It measures business integrity and corruption-risk management in companies, and runs a business anti-corruption commitment initiative. It also publishes indices, such as a transparency index covering Bogotá’s district entities.
It works on environmental transparency, political financing, and equitable access to campaign funding for women candidates. It runs citizen education programmes, including an anti-corruption school for adults that has trained over a thousand people, and a children’s programme reaching thousands of students in several Colombian cities. The corporation’s members include universities, civil society organisations and private companies such as Bancolombia and Grupo Nutresa, alongside individual members. It is based in Bogotá, Colombia.