Youth as a main "anti-corruption shield"
Алима Муслиманова Журналист El.kz
According to government agencies, youth people in Kazakhstan most frequently initiate public initiatives, educational projects, and civic campaigns aimed at preventing corruption and increasing the transparency of state processes.
Why the youth?
The generation raised in a digital environment possesses tools that previous generations lacked. A smartphone in a pocket simultaneously serves as a camera, an archive, and a channel for publishing information. This transparency is not formed from the top down; it emerges naturally - it is the environment in which young people have grown up since childhood.
This is why anti-corruption experts increasingly speak of youth not as objects of upbringing, but as active subjects of change. Intolerance toward dishonesty is not the result of lectures and posters, but part of a worldview shaped by an environment where reputation is verified publicly and immediately.
School and university as entry points
In Kazakhstan, anti-corruption education is included in school and university curricula. Special courses, honesty and integrity councils, and anti-corruption volunteer projects have been created for young people. The Anti-Corruption Agency engages with the youth through competitions, educational events, and social media outreach.
However, formally including the topic in the curriculum and actually changing behavior are two different things. Research in anti-corruption education explains that the greatest impact comes not from lecture formats, but from practice - participation in real anti-corruption initiatives, case studies, and working with open data. It is transition from knowledge to action that determines whether a young person will be a passive witness or an active participant in change.
The digital environment as a control tool
Social media in Kazakhstan has long become a platform where corruption is documented, violations are discussed, and public pressure is exerted on institutions. Youth are the most active segment of this audience. Viral posts about illegal fees in schools, queues in government agencies; they are signs that zero tolerance for corruption is becoming the norm for an entire generation.
This public oversight complements institutional mechanisms and works where official channels are too slow or out of reach. Publicity is one of the most powerful anti-corruption tools.
Global context
According to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, Estonia and South Korea are among the countries with the most consistent improvement since 2012. In both cases, progress is attributed to a combination of factors: the digitalization of public services, institutional reforms, and the formation of a culture of accountability. The UNDP, in turn, directly names youth as key agents of anti-corruption change especially regarding the use of digital tools for public oversight.
The fight against corruption does not end with a court sentence or a dismissed official. It ends when the next generation is simply unwilling to play by the old rules. In Kazakhstan, this generation is already entering adulthood with different standards, different tools, and a different understanding of what constitutes the norm. This is what makes the youth not just participants in anti-corruption work, but its very foundation.
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