Meetings on citizen participation, digital transformation and parity held in Guatemala
Two meetings organized by the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala and ParlAmericas were held today with the participation of Members of Congress, staff of the Congress and experts from international organizations.
The first meeting, entitled Inclusive Citizen Participation: Exploring the Opportunities of Digital Transformation, convened staff of the Congress. The dialogues highlighted the importance of involving different stakeholders, especially historically marginalized population groups, in legislative processes to ensure full representation of the voices of all members of the public.
Member of Congress Nery Rodas (Guatemala), Third Vice-President of the Congress of the Republic and member of the ParlAmericas Board of Directors, welcomed the participants and shared the progress towards digital transformation in Guatemala. Anabella Zavagno, Deputy Director General of ParlAmericas, and Jaroslav Alburez García, Director of Protocol of the Congress, introduced and moderated the meeting, respectively.
In addition, given the National Assembly of Ecuador’s experience in citizen participation, Marjorie Chávez, Secretary of International and Interinstitutional Relations of the National Assembly and former parliamentarian, presented the Assembly’s different programs, projects and regulatory frameworks for inclusive citizen participation. The event also featured the participation of Marcela Ríos, Regional Director of International IDEA; Eduardo Núñez, Resident Director of the National Democratic Institute in Guatemala; Jorge Ceballos, Regional Program Director for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras of the International Republican Institute; and Anneliza Tobar, Acting Director of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy in Guatemala.
The second meeting, Towards the Full Political Participation of Women in Guatemala, brought together Guatemalan women parliamentarians and experts to explore the challenges and opportunities for strengthening women’s leadership and political participation.
Following welcoming remarks by Member of Congress Rodas (Guatemala) and Ms. Zavagno, Member of the Legislative Assembly Carolina Delgado (Costa Rica), President of the Special Permanent Committee on Women and member of the ParlAmericas Board of Directors, gave an address on parity and multi-party agreements in favour of gender equality in Costa Rica. Later, Ana Isabel Garita V., political advisor of the Representation in Governance and Participation of the UN Women Office in Guatemala, spoke about the role of women as transformational agents in politics. Alejandra Mora Mora, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) of the Organization of American States, participated virtually in the event. This part of the meeting was moderated by Member of Congress Karina Paz (Guatemala), First Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Congress of the Republic.
The meeting included a space for dialogue between the participants, moderated by Member of Congress Carolina Orellana (Guatemala), President of the Committee on Women’s Affairs of the Congress of the Republic.
The meeting was closed by His Excellency Olivier Jacques, Ambassador of Canada to Guatemala.
