After being hosted for forty hours, the class at the 2020 Anti-Corruption Journalism Academy (AJLK) was closed by three songs performed by Cholil Mahmud, the vocalist of Efek Rumah Kaca. In the virtual classroom, 35 participants from all over Indonesia and from various professions, learned and shared together for eight days.

"Hopefully by joining the Anti-Corruption Journalism Academy, all 35 of our friends will maintain their persistence to continue fighting against corruption," said Head of KPK Public Relations Bureau Febri Diansyah while closing the intensive class which was held online on Wednesday, 10/14.

The Corruption Eradication Commission invited 25 teachers to share and provide materials to the 35 participants in the class. The method of presenting the material is divided into two; the first class is held in the plenary, where all participants join. The other method is the parallel class, which separated the participants into two groups: professional journalists and non-journalists.

The materials received by the participants includes corruption in the public service sector, political corruption and the oligarchy, state budget corruption, persuasive writing, advocacy development, and personal and data safety. The instructors range from legal experts and social activists to novelists.

Next, the participants are assigned to make a final project in one month. Participants are free to determine the form of the Final Project. The KPK hopes that the participants can adjust the Final Project with the closest conditions they often encounter. So, the Final Project is not the end of the role of the participants in fighting corruption. This is because one of the final project requirements is that it must be sustainable.

"Hopefully, all participants will become seeds that grow together with the conviction of destroying the walls mentioned by Widji Thukul in the poem Bunga dan Tembok (Flowers and Walls)," said Cholil Mahmud. He surprised the 35 participants by singing three songs: Seperti Rahim Ibu (Like the Mother’s Womb), the Musical of Bunga dan Tembok (Flowers and Walls), and Mosi Tidak Percaya (Motion of No Confidence).

AJLK was launched by the Public Relations Bureau of KPK to provide insight and in-depth knowledge to the public regarding corruption eradication. The main goal is to increase public participation in fighting corruption. The AJLK’s series of activities began with a webinar which can be accessed on the KPK Youtube channel:

 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLizNjXV_qqEXG8gpmTDAKQqsGHXqGct3-

This activity was attended by professional journalists, citizen journalists, academics, and other activists. The initial stage of AJLK had 1,234 participants, and they took part in the next selection stage, namely a knowledge test about anti-corruption, writing motivation letters, and interviews. The end result was a group of 35 people who were selected and entitled to join the intensive AJLK class.