The ParlAmericas Parliamentary Staff Network on Open Parliament hosts a virtual Working Meeting on Digital Transformation with the support of Bússola Tech within the margins of the Legistech Forum 2022 and in commemoration of the International Day of Democracy
Carried out virtually with the support of Bússola Tech and within the margins of the Legistech Forum in commemoration of the International Day of Democracy on September 15, 2022, the Working Meeting on Digital Transformation convened parliamentary staff from across the Americas and the Caribbean to discuss strategies and opportunities to advance the digital transformation agenda.
The meeting opened with remarks from Mr. Luis Rojas, Deputy Secretary General of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and General Coordinator of the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Staff Network on Open Parliament and Mr. Luís Kimaid, Executive Director of Bússola Tech. The remarks of Mr. Rojas noted this meeting as “an excellent opportunity to share with colleagues from the hemisphere some of the experiences and lessons learned from digital transformations in terms of innovation as well as how these were leveraged by parliaments in their institutional responses to the restrictions imposed by COVID.”
To further contextualize the importance of the meeting, a high-level dialogue was held to explore the main impacts of digital transformation and provide parliaments with recommendations to help ensure their parliamentary modernization processes leave no one behind. The panel, which was moderated by Ms. Martha Carrillo, Technical Secretary of the Transparency and Anticorruption Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, featured Dr. Chris Beall, Policy Lead for Platform Governance with the Digital Economy research team at the Centre for International Governance Innovation; and Ms. María Barón, Executive Global Director of Directorio Legislativo.
The meeting also included a space for parliamentary staff to deliver a succinct presentation on the experience of their national parliament. Guided by the skillful moderation of Mr. Soufiane Ben Moussa, Chief Technology Officer of the House of Commons of Canada and Regional Coordinator for North America of the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Staff Network on Open Parliament, parliamentary staff exchanged their experiences and lessons learned regarding the implementation of parliamentary modernization processes, taking into consideration the current challenges facing legislative branches.
To close the meeting, Ms. Beverly Gibbons, Deputy Clerk of the Parliament of Barbados and Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean of the ParlAmericas Parliamentary Staff Network on Open Parliament, offered final reflections where she reiterated that “parliaments are becoming increasingly more aware of how central the digital transformation agenda is in making parliament a more in-tune institution that is receptive to the needs of an empowered citizenry, recognizing the importance of building closer relationships between parliament and citizens, strengthening their trust in their representatives, and providing tools that enables parliaments to take part in global discussions.”
