The Integrity Campaign is an initiative of Ashesi’s Class of 2019, led by Carol Armah ’19, to educate high school students about integrity and ethics in their academic careers. “We came to Ashesi to gain all this knowledge about integrity and ethics and we wanted share that message with our alma maters,” she explained.

The aim of the campaign is to reduce the culture of cheating that has become commonplace in high schools, and to institute ethical systems of engagement in these schools. The class believes that by engaging students in fun and educational activities, they can begin to drive conversations on integrity in their schools and create tangible solutions.

Asked what the inspiration for this campaign is, Winston Best-Eziane ‘19 said, “It is a chance to make a difference in the lives of these students. When we tell them they do not need to cheat in the exam hall, they are awakened to a new reality: the reality that they are smart, capable and can pass exams without being unethical.”

The team hosted 5 schools on Ashesi’s campus on Ghana’s Independence Day; New Hope School, St. Martin de Porres, Alsyd Academy, Hillview Montessori and Beacon International School. As part of the event, the coaches guided the high school students through exercises where they came up with ethical solutions to problems in their schools by applying the concepts of design-thinking.

Asked how the experience impacted them, one of the high school students said, “I had a lot of fun. I was a little nervous about presenting our solution, but we were able to speak well. We have come up with a way to tackle the problem of littering in our school and I am very excited to present that to the rest of the school.”

With sponsorship from the Ford Foundation and the support of the Ashesi administrative body, the class of 2019 is confident that the journey has only just began.