To reach more private sector representatives and continue promoting open government and corporate democratic responsibility, Counterpart’s USAID-funded New Partnerships in Open Government program convened two workshops in Quito and Cuenca in March 2024. These workshops aimed to engage in-house attorneys and managers responsible for matters related to transparency, compliance, and related issues. A total of 160 people attended both events. The video below highlights the workshop held in Quito on March 12 specifically.
Counterpart coordinated the workshop in Quito with the U.S.-based International Senior Lawyers Project and Women in the Profession Ecuador, in addition to attorneys of U.S.-based law firm Ropes & Gray. Participants represented various institutions, including the Attorney General’s Office, the National Court of Justice, the Ecuadorean Society of Forestry and Environmental Law, independent firms and lawyers, representatives of sectors such as construction and pharmaceuticals, nonprofit foundations, universities, and networks of women driving innovation and social impact, such as the Red Conexión Azul and Women in Mining, among others.
During the event, Irina Sivachenko and Isabela Garcez, two expert attorneys from Ropes & Gray, presented on global trends and the prevalence of corruption, key mechanisms of a compliance program, and corporate democratic responsibility, among other topics. Participants then engaged in a roundtable discussion led by Ecuadorean expert José Charry Dávalos to discuss the viability of compliance programs and anti-corruption activities, generating numerous questions from the audience.
The workshop effectively increased participants’ knowledge of these issues and overall the private sector’s role in promoting democratic governance. The majority expressed at the end of the conference they had a high or medium level of understanding of the fundamental concepts of compliance and corporate democratic responsibility.
