ParlAmericas held the 3rd Meeting of the Parliamentary Staff Network on Open Parliament within the framework of the 5th Gathering of the ParlAmericas’ Open Parliament Network
ParlAmericas celebrated the 3rd Meeting of the Parliamentary Staff Network on Open Parliament, which was hosted by the Parliament of Canada on March 22. It brought together parliamentary staff from 19 countries in the Americas and the Caribbean along with subject matter experts to exchange experiences and good practices on technological innovation.
Senator Silvia Giacoppo (Argentina), ParlAmericas Board Member, opened the meeting indicating that “in the path to legislative openness, it is imperative we strengthen the efforts to include innovative technological tools that improve our legislative work as well as our effort to better represent citizens.” In his welcome remarks, Mr. Blair Armitage (Canada), Clerk Assistant of the Senate Committees, added that “the Open Parliament Network and ParlAmericas are essential spaces for building mutual understanding and cooperation not only within the region itself, but between the Americas and the Caribbean and other countries around the world.”
The meeting provided opportunities for parliamentary staff to engage in a dialogue with peers and experts around a series of relevant topics through working groups focused on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, maximizing resources, and virtual parliamentary sessions. It also included a Panel on Technological Innovation in Parliaments with Dr. Tiago Peixoto, Senior Public Sector Specialist from the Governance Global Practice at the World Bank; Ms. María Paz Hermosilla, Director of the Public Innovation Lab (GobLab), from the School of Governance at the University Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile; Mr. Diego Subero, Consultant in the Cybersecurity Program from the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism at the Organization of American States; and Mr. Chris Beall, Policy Lead in the Governance Platform at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. The panel explored strategies to promote technological innovation, for example through collective and artificial intelligence, and strengthen cybersecurity, while continuing to support openness and counter disinformation.
To conclude the meeting, Luis Rojas (Chile), Deputy Secretary General of the Chamber of Deputies, noted the importance and value of these exchanges to improve parliaments’ efficiency, recognizing that “our legislatures have been working exhaustively to incorporate technological tools in parliamentary work, and this is in great part thanks to the wonderful work that parliamentary staff like yourselves do everyday.”
All meeting materials, including panelist presentations can be accessed on the ParlAmericas website. A final report outlining the discussions held within the various working groups will be published in the coming weeks.
For more information on the work carried out by ParlAmericas, visit www.parlamericas.org and follow @ParlAmericas on social media.
