Op/Ed: Fighting Corruption Through Transparency and The Internet

Posted in: Blog, CEO Notes by Marco Puccia on October 26, 2009

“There ought to be a way to use interactive media, especially the Internet…to report in real time allegations of corruption.” These were the words of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a plenary Q&A session at the 8^th Annual Forum on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Secretary Clinton called on youth and civil society to leverage new technologies to combat corruption through increased transparency. Read more…

Bringing Transparency To “The Kitchen”

Posted in: Blog, CEO Notes by Marco Puccia on September 20, 2009

International Transparency Solutions is honored to have been selected to pitch at this years “The Feast Kitchen” Pitch Competition in New York City. Over 80 startups from around the world applied or were nominated, and only eight were selected to pitch — so it’s an honor to be among them!

From the website:

See what’s cooking in “The Kitchen” of the world’s most innovative and creative entrepreneurs looking to make the world a better place.

All Day Buffet will flip over every rock and boulder to find 10 startups who will have five minutes to pitch their ideas in front of 200 fellow entrepreneurs, investors, and press.

Here’s an overview of the other startups being featured (an awesome lineup!):

Michael Mossoba, Goodness500.org

Goodness500 makes it easy for people to learn which corporations are the most socially responsible.
Nicole Betancourt, Parent Earth
Connects busy parents to the newest and best ideas for raising healthy children on a sustainable and equitable planet.

Jose Serrano-Reyes, Trust Art
Trust Art is a social platform that is commissioning ten public artworks over the next year.

Monaqui Porter Young, Srina

Srina tea is 100% organically grown, hand-plucked, packaged and produced on a small scale farm in a rainforest in Sri Lanka.

Eli Halliwell, VotaVox
VotaVox collects opinions from voters around the world on issues that are meaningful to them.

Breatt Beach, Madecasse
Madécasse chocolate is the only chocolate produced bean to bar on the island of Madagasca.

Cynthia Koenig, Hippo Roller International

Aims to improve global access to water by making it possible to collect 24 gallons (90 liters) of water- five times the amount possible using traditional methods – in less time and much more easily.

The overall conference, dubbed “The Feast”, is put on by All Day Buffet, a NYC-based organization on a mission to “change the world through creativity and business.” The main conference will take place on October 1st, hosting an awesome lineup of speakers that includes:

• Annie Duke, Professional Poker Player (Yeah, and former Celebrity Apprentice finalist!)
• Joshua Viertel, Slow Food USA
• Uffe Elbæk, The Kaos Pilot
• Matthew Bishop, The Economist (And Co-Author of the Book PhilanthroCapitalism)
• William Drenttel, Winterhouse

The Word “Corruption”

Posted in: Blog, CEO Notes by Marco Puccia on May 14, 2009

I had a meeting last week with a business consultant who advised me against the use of the word “corruption” in ITS’ vocabulary. His argument was that the word is so politically charged it could only lead to trouble. My thoughts after the break…
Read more…

Let’s Do Good Together!

Posted in: Blog, CEO Notes by Marco Puccia on February 10, 2009

We at International Transparency Solutions (ITS) are thrilled to announce the launch of our new business development blog! We hope that through this site, you will join us and participate in the development of this exciting new social enterprise.
Read more…