Peter Maurer , President of the Board of the Basel Institute , gave an inspirational speech , setting the scene during the opening ceremony as he recalled the special context in which the conference took place . He emphasised that , with the recent international upheavals , there is no time like the present to put Collective Active on the global agenda : “ Despite threats to the rules-based order [...], traditional institutions such as the United Nations and OECD have not disappeared . They are , in fact , making notable efforts to adapt to new realities by bringing best practices to the fore and promoting innovative solutions . Of these , Collective Action and other forms of multi-stakeholder cooperation are proving to be some of the most promising .”
" They are , in fact , making notable efforts to adapt to new realities by bringing best practices to the fore and promoting innovative solutions ."
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The conference then led to inspiring panel sessions on a diverse range of topics . Discussions highlighted the strong willingness of each sector to take its fair share of responsibility and play its role in the common fight against corruption .
In the panel session on regulatory and normative approaches , representatives of the public sector and international organisations agreed that governments play a central role in promoting Collective Action as a norm , and going beyond enforcing standards and sanctioning violations to incentivising and guiding companies on how to establish anti-corruption and integrity compliance processes .
In the session on the evolution and variety of Collective Action initiatives , panellists confirmed that such multi-stakeholder initiatives have great potential , while challenges remain to translate these collaborative efforts into tangible actions , increase visibility and attract new stakeholders .
The private sector panel signalled that anti-corruption or integrity compliance is an ongoing process and that compliance policies must take into account that SMEs especially are faced with resource and capacity constraints . Key in making compliance effective is education and training within companies and along the supply chain .
Development finance institutions and investors also had the opportunity to share their experiences . Apart from conducting thorough due diligence before engaging with any entities seeking funding , DFIs can transform the power they hold into business integrity capacity building for their clients .