Conference Agenda

People’s trust in government influences compliance with government policies, laws, rules and regulations as well willingness to engage in the implementation of government’s development policies and strategies. When the promises the government makes to the people and the extent to which it fulfils these promises are synchronized with the developmental hopes of the people mutual government/people trust grows.

This paper takes a historical chronological perspective to discuss the relations of trust the people of Uganda have had with their successive governments from the times of colonial administration to today.

Analyzing public trust in government in Uganda is a complex undertaking partly because the country is composed of different tribes who often compete for government power. This phenomenon leads to a situation where some tribes may trust a government in power while the same government is mistrusted by other tribes. The chapter therefore discusses this to expose the extent to which different tribes trust or mistrust the government and for what reasons.

A number of questions guide the discussion in the chapter including the following: (i)What hopes did the people of Uganda have as successive governments came into power? (ii) what promises did the successive governments offer to the people? ( iii) to what extent were governments’ promises and peoples’ hopes synchronized? (iv) To what extent did the governments fulfil the promises they made to the people? And (v) How did the meeting point of the outcomes of the people’s hopes and government promises translate into public trust or mistrust in government.

The paper concludes with the following recommendations on how public trust in government can be sustainably developed and strengthened. (i)Discouraging impunity and abuse of power by government leaders, (ii)promoting and practicing consultative governance to understand and respect people’s expectations and needs, (iii)improving equitable service delivery in response to demands and needs of the people, (iv)Promoting and practicing devolution of powers, responsibilities and functions as well as requisite resources to local governments, (v)Developing a leadership that respects societal values and whose conduct values and harnesses the diversity of the country for development instead of exploiting it to divide the population into those who trust government and those who do not, (vi)And the leadership of the country must envision countrywide aspirations and mobilize the population across tribes to pursue those aspirations so that the hopes of the people, the promises of the government and the development achievements are synchronized to make every citizen benefit from government work.

Methodology: The author adopts the desk research approach reading and analyzing historical documents of governments, reports, policy papers, books, newspapers and other media.

Through an original comparative framework, as well as through archival and pattern-matching research methodologies, this project analyzes key factors to ensure effective implementation of transparency laws and policies. After examining preliminary data on the cases of Boliva, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, the study concludes that citizen participation; technical assistants hired by a third party (e.g., international organization or an integrity watchdog organization); active participation of high-ranking public officials; training offered to citizens and public officials; and design of active transparency indicators before and after the implementation of the project are essential components to ensure effective implementation of transparency laws and policies.

1. Problem Statement and Purpose

Issues of accountability, transparency and ethics are cornerstones of governance. The question is, can whistleblowing increase the risk of corruption or that of a whistleblower? Often, the whistleblower becomes a victim of circumstance and not the perpetrator of corruption. This was witnessed during the state capture, where some whistleblowers suffered consequences for their whistleblowing actions. Yet, the perpetrators were scot-free.

2. Methodology

Employing qualitative methods, particularly case studies, the study pushes the line of critical thinking to investigate the behaviours of employees engaging in acts of corruption and what happened after the whistleblowers blew the whistle.

3. Findings

Given the case studies analysed and informed by international, regional, and local contexts, the study found that whistleblowing is both a risk and an intervention. It became evident that whistleblowing is not an option but a must. The same applies; silence amid wrongdoing is not an option. Wrongdoing must be reported, and it places responsibility on the whistleblowers. Regrettably, as shown in the discussion, whistleblowers are the victims of circumstances worldwide, and they are not adequately protected, if at all. South Africa is a case in point; the primary legislation on whistleblowing leaves much to be desired and should be reviewed and tightened to ensure the urgency and adequacy of whistleblowers' protection.

4. Proposal

In recommending mechanisms for combating and preventing corruption, the study advocates for preventive interventions that shift from pathogenic and whistlegenic to ethogenic culture, which is understood as a culture where the employees find it easy to expose corruption within an organisation, knowing that it is the right thing to do. This is possible when an organisation invests in building an ethical architecture that advocates for promoting an ethogenic culture. As part of the recognition, whistleblowers should be encouraged to blow the whistle on any wrongdoing and be given feedback on the outcome of the investigation without their confidentiality and anonymity being compromised. They are also motivated if consequence management for the perpetrators is applied without fail. The names and shame of the perpetrators through open and transparent processes and reporting protocols should be explicitly promoted so that whistleblowers can derive confidence to blow the whistle.

1. Problem Statement and Purpose

Culture is vital to a city. It is the soul and foundation of a city. In the process of Shanghai accelerating the construction of a socialist modern international metropolis with global influence, how to create a Shanghai model of cultural self-confidence and self-reliance, build a best practice site for Xi Jinping's cultural thoughts, and create a new situation for the construction of an international cultural metropolis, so as to give full play to the empowering role of cultural soft power in urban construction, is an important issue that needs to be studied urgently.

The paper aims to explore how cultural soft power can empower Shanghai's global excellent city construction, provide theoretical support and practical guidance for Shanghai's urban development, and help Shanghai achieve high-quality development in various aspects such as economy and culture, and become an excellent city with global influence.

2. Methodology

A qualitative research approach was employed, as well as case study methods, comprehensively analyzing Shanghai's latest policy documents, historical materials and the actual situation of Shanghai's urban development, and summarizing the role of cultural soft power in Shanghai's urban construction.

3. Findings

The study revealed that cultural soft power empowers Shanghai's global excellent city construction mainly in three aspects. First, integration function. Culture runs through the construction of Shanghai's five major centers, forming a systematic and three-dimensional industrial framework and linkage pattern. Second, identification function. Culture highlights Shanghai's city brand recognition in many fields, and the city's spirit and character demonstrate strong vitality and communication. Third, the inheritance function. A variety of distinctive cultures have laid a solid foundation for Shanghai's profound cultural heritage, providing continuous impetus and vitality for urban development

4. Proposal

To further attach the importance to cultural construction, deeply explore and utilize Shanghai's cultural resources, and continuously enhance cultural soft power, so as to better enable the city's high-quality development and create a Shanghai sample of a global outstanding city with greater attractiveness, creativity and competitiveness.

5. References

Ouyang, J., & Guo, K. (2024). International media portrayals of Shanghai as a global city and its soft power [《国际媒体中的上海全球城市图景与软实力研究》]. Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press.

Li, Z., & Zhang, H. (2022). The function of Shanghai as a global central city: A comparison with London. BCP Business & Management, 24, 455-466. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.54691/bcpbm.v24i.1534

Lai, X., & Yu, Y. (2019). Study on the strategy of cultivating the soft power of urban culture. The Frontiers of Society, Science and Technology, 1(5). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.25236/FSST.19010501