Online meeting – Organizing virtual parliamentary sessions for parliamentary staff
On Thursday, April 16, 2020, ParlAmericas held its first virtual meeting for Latin American parliamentary staff on the organization of virtual parliamentary sessions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This meeting was successfully attended by parliamentary officials from 16 countries in the region. The panelists, Gustavo Vasconcellos, Technology and Information Analyst in the Innovation and ICT Directorate of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies; Miguel Landeros, Secretary General of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies; and Claudio Prieto, General Coordinator of Technology and Information of the Ecuadorian National Assembly, provided valuable experiences in parliamentary adaptation measures to allow legislatures to perform their important functions during this unprecedented period of our history.
Member of the National Assembly Elizabeth Cabezas (Ecuador), President of ParlAmericas, stated during her speech that “we are committed to providing useful tools and spaces for dialogue to share the best practices that are being developed in the region to face the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that allow parliaments to adapt to this new teleworking system.” At the beginning of the meeting, the President of the National Assembly of Ecuador, César Litardo, spoke of the successful experience of passing laws using a new voting platform, as was the case with the Fisheries and Aquaculture Law and the School Feeding Law.
During the conclusions, Member of the Legislative Assembly María Inés Solís Quirós (Costa Rica), member of the Board of Directors of ParlAmericas, highlighted that “the experience and best practices shared by the panelists, as well as the participants, allow us to deepen our knowledge as we continue evaluating options and defining solutions that best suit our parliaments and national circumstances.”
For further information on the work of ParlAmericas, visit www.parlamericas.org and follow @ParlAmericas on social media.
