Eye Opener
Promoting a culture of integrity, cultural excellence
(Second of two parts)
Promoting a culture of excellence is a way of being and thinking, rather than a destination. It requires ongoing creation, looking and anticipating, but never reacting and responding, so that in the end, we align individual goals with the goals of the group or the sub-group where we belong -be this in the family, community, clubs or other areas where interaction exist according to Vandebon. The Belgian graft fighter asked, “What can young people and the young at heart do to achieve this culture of excellence?”
First you have to be willing to change, let go of the past and invent the future; secondly, you have to make this a priority: you need to define the benefits and your Return on Investment and see your gains in the latter. Thirdly, this is not just about one person but about individuals and parts of the organizations or of a group making up one organization or a group; or lastly, you have to apply excellence to every part of your organization. Mr. Vandebon would like to call on young people to hold on to their vision intact and use every opportunity to learn and to work for the common good. For after all, Vandebon continued, both integrity and excellence have the common good as their goals.
The European Commission, for its part, Vandebon said, assures everyone in the community of their full commitment in continuing to support the core values of integrity and excellence under good governance and the rule of law that the Philippines and the European Union share together.
The conduct of this multi-event competition is one of the numerous activities lined up by the Office of the Ombudsman under the project entitled: Improving Governance to Reduce Poverty, Corruption Prevention Project which is jointly funded by the Ombudsman and the European Commission in the Philippines.
The overall objective of this project, Valdebon said, is to prevent corruption in the Philippines and thereby improve service delivery to the poor; increase inward investment and reduce crime, terrorism and political violence. Given such enormous tasks and objective, the cooperation of the wider public is indeed very important.
The multi-event competition is, therefore, a step towards this direction-the stimulation of awareness and greater understanding of the evils of corruption and the importance of integrity and excellence in every undertaking. He concluded his piece by congratulating all regional winners of the just concluded Multi-event Competition in On-the-Spot Poster Making, Slogan and Essay Writing. He said the winners in the Visayas will compete for the national event. 'Mabuhay ang Kabataang Pilipino and we are one with you in promoting culture of integrity and excellence,' says Luc Vandebon, European Commission head of political, economic, trade and public affairs section to the Philippines.