Philosophy holds Ethics webinar

One of the ways in which academic life has continued at Chancellor College is through the holding of virtual meetings, replacing the physical meetings that we have been used to. Departments are now able to hold webinars, where discussions on various issues progress with the same intellectual rigor associated with conventional, face-to-face meetings.

On the evening of 26th August, 2020, the Philosophy department held a webinar on “Th­e Role of Ethics in Combating Corruption in Malawi”. Facilitators of the webinar included Mr Lawrence Mpekansambo, a lecturer in the Philosophy Department; Mr Reyneck Matemba, Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB); and Ms Martha Chizuma, the Ombudsman. Th­e webinar was moderated by Ms Tawina Chisi, from the Department of Philosophy.

Ms Chisi observes that the success of the webinar, held on the Zoom platform, is seen primarily in the observation that it drew over 70 attendees from a cross section of industry, public service, private sector, the academia as well as civil society.

During the webinar, the various facilitators made presentations, after which they engaged with the participants. Th­ere was heated debate on the topic of corruption in Malawi, and the roles of the academia, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the ACB in tackling the problem. ­There were many ideas that came from the participants, including the need to structure ethics in public institutions, the need to make ethics a compulsory subject at primary and secondary school levels, the need for all individuals to embrace ethics, and the need to make it part of the country’s education philosophy.

Dr Yamikani Ndasauka, Head of the Department of Philosophy, pointed out that the idea of this particular webinar sprung from current discussions on corruption in Malawi. Th­is prompted the department to discuss the role of ethics in combating corruption. At the end of the webinar, he promised to continue with such conversations on ethics.