events 2009
The Embassy Hosted Discussion on Whistleblowing
July 14, 2009
On July 10, the Embassy hosted a panel discussion on whistleblowing. Whistleblowers often reveal information that is critically important for public life. Allan Cutler, a Canadian bureaucrat, disclosed suspicions of fraud that led to the revealing of millions of misspent public funds and Joseph Darby, a member of the United States military police, alerted the U.S. military command of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib. However, the fear of retaliation often stops employees in the public or private sector to speak out when they witness fraud or corruption.
The discussion at the American Center featured three renowned U.S. experts on the topic - Stephen Kohn (National Whistleblowers Center), Danielle Brian (Project on Government Oversight), and Beatrice Edwards (Government Accountability Project).
The event was attended by representatives of Czech NGOs, Government, business and media. The panel took place in coordination with a multi-regional whistleblowing roundtable organized by Transparency International in Prague.
Whistleblowers and their systematic institutional protection is a concept that is still developing in the Czech Republic. However, once implemented and used by the public, whistleblowing can be a powerful tool to report wrongdoings and abuses of taxpayer´s money, serving significantly the public interest.
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