Greece launches corruption awareness campaign aimed at youth

Greece's government launched a corruption awareness campaign on Tuesday geared toward informing youth, on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day which is observed on Dec. 9.

The program aims to educate young Greeks starting from the classroom about the heavy cost of corruption on society and how to prevent it.

Despite progress in recent years to tackle the problem, considered one of the key factors behind the seven-year debt crisis in the country, Greece still has a long way to go to limit the phenomenon, according to experts.

In the 2015 Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, the country improved its standing, ranking 58th out of 168 countries, up from 69th place a year before.

But Greek and foreign officials acknowledge that Greece has to work harder to get a better score.

Other international organizations and Greek scholars have sketched a similar image. Tax evasion, clientelism and bribery in order to win lucrative public works contracts or simply get better service in the public sector remain widespread.

According to a recent survey conducted by Ernst & Young with the Greek think tank Dianeosis, tax evasion costs the Greek state up to 9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in tax revenues every year, about 16 billion euros (17 billion U.S. dollars).

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has estimated the size of the Greek grey economy would be over 20 percent of GDP, resulting each year in 20 billion euros of unpaid taxes.

In order to stamp out corruption, Greek officials now are targeting younger generations to change citizens' attitude towards corruption.

"The problem of corruption will not be resolved if we do not address it by changing society's mentality. And the best way to change mentality and culture is by addressing the youth. This is something we believe in," Costas Christou, general secretary against corruption, told Xinhua during Tuesday's event.

"Who better to change the game than the young people? The young people who are paying today a heavy price because of the mistakes and criminal actions of others," said Greek deputy justice, transparency and human rights minister Dimitris Papaggelopoulos, addressing the event.

"Only by identifying the problem can we solve it. We should teach the future citizens how to envision their happiness and prosperity not regardless and at the expense of their fellow citizens, but as an integral part of the common prosperity," education minister Costas Gavroglou added. (1 euro = 1.06 U.S. dollars) Endit