REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Jakarta Kristen Bauer spoke to filmmakers, government officials, students, writers, advocates, bureaucrats, businessmen, and journalists at a recent gathering for the first Anti-Corruption Film Festival Award Ceremony.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) received over 180 film entries, and finalists were selected by a panel of eminent judges comprising filmmakers and anti-corruption activists. The categories comprised documentary, animation and games, and fiction, the US embassy stated on Tuesday.
Following the screening of select films in Malang, Palu, Balikpapan, and Padangpanjang, Charge Bauer joined the KPK leadership in Jakarta to award the winners in each category.
Charge Bauer told the audience that the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), was proud to support the film festival and the efforts of the KPK to uphold the rule of law and prevent corruption.
Corruption undermines democracy, perpetuates injustice, and slows economic development, thereby contributing to poverty. In the United States and Indonesia, corruption robs people of their rightful opportunities and goes against the values shared by the two countries.
Preventing corruption is not merely the job of a single institution. It is the responsibility of every individual, government agency, and business. Indonesia is leading this endeavor, both locally and internationally, by chairing the Open Government Partnership this year.