INFOBULLETIN

RESOURCES

• Latinobarómetro Report 2021
• Report “The Global State of Democracy 2023” from International IDEA
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness 2.0
• Latin American Legislative Transparency Index 2023 (In Spanish)

ELECTION ADVISORIES

Board of Directors

Open Parliament Network (OPN)

During the 20th ParlAmericas Plenary Assembly and 8th Gathering of the Open Parliament Network, elections will be held for certain positions on the Board of Directors, the OPN Executive Committee, and the host parliament of the next gathering. The nominations received can be found below.

Board of Directors

Representative of South America

• Chile
• Peru

Representative of Central America

• Guatemala
• Panama

Representative of the Caribbean

• Saint Lucia
• Dominica

Open Parliament Network (OPN)

OPN Vice-Presidency – South America

• Ecuador

PRESENTATION

• Generative AI and Jobs: A Global Analysis of the Potential Effects on the Quantity and Quality of Work, Regional Director Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes, Latin America and the Caribbean International Labour Organization (ILO).
• The Effects of Artificial Intelligence on the Working Lives of Women, Specialist in the Labor Markets Division Livia Gouvêa Gomes,  Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).

RESOURCES

• Generative AI and jobs: A global analysis of potential effects on job quantity and quality. ILO, 2023.
• The Effects of AI in the Working Lives of Women. IDB, 2022.

RESOURCES

• The Importance of Parliamentary Oversight during the COVID-19 Pandemic

INFO BULLETIN (in Spanish)

RESOURCES

• Road Map towards Legislative Openness 2.0. ParlAmericas, 2022.
• Latin American Index of Legislative Transparency. Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency, 2020. (in Spanish)
• Indicators for democratic parliaments. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
• Declaration on Parliamentary Openness. OpeningParliament.org, 2012.
• Open Parliament in the World, evolution and good practices. Rafael Rubio and Ricardo Vela, 2017. (in Spanish)

MEETING RECORDING (Day 1)

MEETING RECORDING (Day 2)

INFO BULLETIN (in Spanish)

KIT INFORMATIVO (in Spanish)

PRESENTATIONS

• General Directorate of Equality. Argentina (in Spanish)
• Open and Inclusive Parliaments: Promotion of Gender and Racial Equality in the Federal Senate. Brazil (in Spanish)
• Open and Inclusive Parliaments: Experiences and Strategies in Latin America. Chile (in Spanish)
• Children’s congress. Honduras (in Spanish)
• Alliance for Open Parliament. Paraguay (in Spanish)
• Citizen Participation. Uruguay (in Spanish)

Presentations:

• Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) – In Spanish
• UN Women – In Spanish
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights – In Spanish
• Media Institute of the Caribbean
• Digital Moment
• Member of the Legislative Assembly Luz Mary Alpízar (Costa Rica) – In Spanish
• Senator Kenneth Pugh (Chile) – In Spanish
• Latin American Network of Legislative Transparency – In Spanish
• She Leads IT
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – In Spanish

During the 7th Gathering of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network, elections will be held for certain positions on the Network’s Executive Committee and for the host parliament of the next gathering. Nominations received can be found below.

• Presidency
  • Senator Javier Macaya Danus (Chile)
• Vice-Presidency – North America
  • Senator Bertha Alicia Caraveo Camarena (Mexico)
  • Senator René Cormier (Canada)
• Vice-Presidency – Center America
  • Member of the National Assembly Luz Mary Alpízar Loaiza (Costa Rica)
  • Member of the National Assembly Corina Cano (Panama)
• Vice-Presidency – South America
  • Member of the National Assembly Wilma Piedad Andrade Muñoz (Ecuador)
  • Member of the Chamber of Representative Catherine Juvinao Clavijo (Colombia)

RESOURCES

• Agenda of the Open Americas Conference
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness 2.0, ParlAmericas (2022)
• Parliamentary Engagement in Local OGP Processes – Menu of Options (2022)

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness 2.0, ParlAmericas (2022)
• Organizing Virtual Parliamentary Sittings, ParlAmericas (2020)

PRESENTATIONS

The experience of:

RESOURCES

• Corruption perceptions index, International Transparency (2021)
• Cultivating a culture of integrity in the civil service in times of crisis, OAS (2021)
• Guidelines on Anti-Corruption and Integrity in State-Owned Enterprises, OCDE (2019)
• Public Integrity in Latin America and the Caribbean 2018-2019, OECD (2019) (in Spanish)

During the 6th Gathering of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network, elections will be held for certain positions on the Network’s Executive Committee and for the host parliament of the next gathering. Nominations received can be found below.

• Vice-President – The Caribbean
  • Senator, His Honour Reginald Farley (Barbados)

RESOURCES

• Parliamentary Integrity: A Resource for Reformers, OSCE ODIHR (2021)
• Public Integrity Handbook, OECD (2020)
• Lobbying in the 21st Century:Transparency, Integrity and Access, OCDE (2021)
• OECD recommendation of the council on public integrity, OECD (2017)

RESOURCES

• Engaging Youth in the Fight against Corruption, OECD (2018)
• Behavioural Insights for Public Integrity, OECD (2018)
• The Five Levels of an Ethical Culture, BSR (2017)
• OECD Public Integrity Toolkit

PRESENTATIONS

• Reflections on the advances made to legislative openness of the Senate of the Republic of Colombia (in Spanish), presented by Mónica Vanegas, Chief of the Office of Citizen Attention, Congress of the Republic of Colombia
• New web site of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico (in Spanish), presented by Andrea González Somellera, Advisor to the Secretary General, Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
• The new internal regulations for the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil (In Spanish), presented by Fabio Almeida Lopes, Legislative Analyst, Chamber of Deputies of Brazil and Public Policy Director, Bússola Tech

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness. ParlAmericas, 2016.
• Guide to Develop an Open Parliament Action Plan. ParlAmericas, 2019.

Note: Agenda also available in Russian.

RESOURCES

• The Importance of Parliamentary Oversight during the COVID-19 Pandemic. ParlAmericas, 2021
• Legislative Transparency Toolkit. ParlAmericas, EUROsociAL+, and Transparency and Access to Information Network, 2020.
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness. ParlAmericas, 2016.

PRESENTATION

• Gendered Disinformation & Online Attacks Against Women in Politics. Lucina Di Meco, Gender Equality Expert and Co-founder of #ShePersisted Global.

During the 5th Gathering of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network, elections will be held for certain positions on the Network’s Executive Committee and for the host parliament of the next gathering. Nominations received can be found below.

• President
  • Member of the Chamber of Deputies Javier Macaya (Chile)
• Vice-President – North America
  • Senator Bertha Alicia Caraveo Camarena (Mexico)
  • Senator, the Honourable René Cormier (Canada)
• Vice-President – The Caribbean
  • Senator, the Honourable Ranard Henfield (The Bahamas)
• Vice-President – South America
  • Member of the National Assembly Wilma Piedad Andrade Muñoz (Ecuador)
• Vice-President – Central America
  • Member of the Legislative Assembly Ana Lucía Delgado Orozco (Costa Rica)
  • Member of the National Assembly Corina Cano Córdoba (Panama)

PRESENTATIONS Panel on Technological Innovation in Parliaments

• Integrating Citizen Participation in the Legislative Process through Collective Intelligence. María Paz Hermosilla, Director of the Public Innovation Lab (GobLab), School of Governance, University Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile. (in Spanish)
• Common Cybersecurity Attacks. Diego Subero, Consultant, Cybersecurity Program, Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE), Organization of American States (OAS).(in Spanish)

Presentation of the Open Data Hub

• Open Data Innovation Hub. Patricia Almeida (Brazil), Coordinator of Innovation and Digital Strategy of the Chamber of Deputies and Coordinator of the Open Data Center.

Working Group: Artificial Intelligence in Parliaments

PRESENTATIONS Working Group 1: Addressing the gendered dimensions of disinformation

• Addressing the Gendered Dimensions of Disinformation. Sandra Pepera, Senior Associate and Director for Gender, Women and Democracy, National Democratic Institute.

Working group 2: Ensuring data protection and securing electoral integrity

• Securing Electoral Integrity and a Democratic Information Space. Dan Arnaudo, Advisor for Information Strategies, National Democratic Institute & Victoria Welborn, Technology and Innovation Program Manager, National Democratic Institute.

Working Group 3: Collaborating with the news media sector and promoting ethical algorithms

• Presentation of collaborating with the news media sector. Nazima Raghubir, First Vice-President, Association of Caribbean Media Workers.
• Presentation of promoting ethical algorithms. Micaela Mantegna, Professor at the Center for Technology and Society, University of San Andrés.

RESOURCES

• Social media guide for parliaments and parliamentarians. Inter-Parliamentarian Union, 2021.
• Guide to guarantee freedom of expression regarding deliberate disinformation in electoral contexts. Organization of American States – OAS, 2019.
• Malign Creativity: How Gender, Sex, and Lies are Weaponized Against Women Online. The Wilson Center, 2021.
• Creating a Data Protection Framework: a Do’s and Don’ts Guide for Lawmakers. Access Now, 2018.

PRESENTATIONS

• Experiences of Legislative Modernization in Latin America: Adaptation, Innovation, and Citizen Participation in the Legislative Process. Member of the Legislative Assembly Ana Lucía Delgado (Costa Rica). (in Spanish)

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness. ParlAmericas, 2016.
• Citizen Participation in the Legislative Process. ParlAmericas, 2018.
• Strengthening Accountability through Fiscal Openness: A Toolkit for Parliamentarians in the Americas and the Caribbean. ParlAmericas, Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, and Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency, 2020.

RESOURCES

• ParlAmericas Road Map towards Legislative Openness
• Latin American Legislative Transparency Index (in Spanish)

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness. ParlAmericas, 2016.
• Organizing Virtual Parliamentary Sittings. ParlAmericas, 2020.

PRESENTATIONS

• Presentation of the Legislative Transparency Toolkit. María José Méndez, Eurosocial+. (in Spanish)
• Presentation by INAI of the Legislative Transparency Toolkit. Blanca Lilia Ibarra, National Institute for Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data Protection (INAI) of Mexico. (in Spanish)
• Presentation by the Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency. Marcelo Espinel, Citizenship and Development Foundation. (in Spanish)
• Presentation of good practices in legistlative transparency from Europe. Miguel Ángel Gonzalo, Project Coordination and Planning Unit of the Office of the Secretary General, Congress of Deputies of Spain. (in Spanish)
• Presentation of the Congreso2030py platform. María Liz Sosa, Legislative Strengthening and External Cooperation, Chamber of Senators of Paraguay. (in Spanish)
• Presentation of the Open Data Portal. Manuel Cotado, Program for Parliamentary Modernization, Innovation, Transparency, and Democratic Strengthening, Chamber of Deputies of Argentina. (in Spanish)

RESOURCES

• Red de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública (RTA) (in Spanish)
• EUROsociAL+
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness. ParlAmericas, 2016
• ParlAmericas Open Parliament Portal. ParlAmericas.

PRESENTATIONS

• Strengthening Oversight of Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Gender Agenda in Argentina. Member of the Chamber of Deputies Jimena López (Argentina). (in Spanish)
• Brazil x COVID-19: Parliamentary Action during the Pandemic. Senator Confúcio Moura (Brazil). (in Portuguese)
• Strengthening Oversight of Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Legal Committee for Women’s Equity. Senator Esperanza Andrade (Colombia). (in Spanish)
• COVID-19 Working Group of the Senate of the Republic: Activity Report. Senator Antares Vázquez (Mexico). (in Spanish)
• Experiences of the Bicameral Congressional Committee for the Oversight of Resources Provided in Law N°6524/20 “Which declares a State of Emergency throughout the Territory of the Republic of Paraguay.” Senator Agustín Amado Florentín (Paraguay). (in Spanish)

RESOURCES

• COVID-19 and Parliament’s Role during a Pandemic. ParlAmericas, 2020.
• COVID-19: The Challenge of Adapting and Strengthening the Role of Parliaments. An Analysis from an Open Parliament Perspective. ParlAmericas and Directorio Legislativo, 2020.
• COVID-19: The Challenge of Adapting and Strengthening the Role of Parliaments. An Analysis of the Legislative Agenda and the Centering of Gender Equality in Legislative Responses. ParlAmericas and Directorio Legislativo, 2020.
• Strengthening Accountability through Fiscal Openness: A Toolkit for Parliamentarians in the Americas and the Caribbean. ParlAmericas, Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy, and Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency.
• Public Procurement in States of Emergency: Minimum Considerations by Governments to Reduce Risks of Corruption and Misuse of Extraordinary Resources. Transparency International, 2020. (in Portuguese and Spanish)

PRESENTATION

• The Economic and Social Effects of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean. Alicia Bárcena, CEPAL. (in Spanish)

RESOURCES

• COVID-19 and Parliament’s Role during a Pandemic. ParlAmericas, 2020.
• Compendium of Legislative and Executive Actions from the Americas and the Caribbean in Response to COVID-19. ParlAmericas, 2020.
• Practical Guidebook to Inclusive Rights-Focused Responses to COVID-19 in the Americas. OEA, 2020. (in Spanish)
• The post COVID-19 recovery: How to articulate integrated responses to the health, economic and climate crises in Latin America and the Caribbean. UN, 2020.
• Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Work in times of pandemic: The challenges of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). ECLAC, 2020. (in Spanish)
• COVID-19 Observatory in Latin America and the Caribbean. ECLAC, 2020.

RESOURCES

• COVID-19: The challenge of adapting and strengthening the role of parliaments. ParlAmericas and Directorio Legislativo (2020).
• Video of the implementation of the virtual sessions of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil. (in Portuguese and Spanish)
• COVID-19 and parliament’s role during a pandemic. ParlAmericas (2020).
• Manual of technology transfer for remote parliamentary sessions. Brazilian Federal Senate (2020).
• How to run a parliament during a pandemic: Q and A. Inter-Parliamentary Union (2020).
• CPA Toolkit for Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and delivering parliamentary democracy. Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (2020).
• Organizing Virtual Parliamentary Sittings. ParlAmericas (2020).
• COVID-19 Hybrid proceedings in the House of Commons. House of Commons of the United Kingdom (2020).

PRESENTATIONS (in Spanish)

• Virtual Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil. Gustavo Vasconcellos Cavalcante
• The Implementation of Virtual Sessions of the National Assembly of Ecuador. Claudio Prieto

RESOURCES

• Video of the implementation of the virtual sessions of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil. (in Portuguese and Spanish)
• COVID-19 and parliament’s role during a pandemic. ParlAmericas (2020).
• Manual of technology transfer for remote parliamentary sessions. Brazilian Federal Senate (2020).
• How to run a parliament during a pandemic: Q and A. Inter-Parliamentary Union (2020).

RESOURCES

• • Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas (2016).
  • ParlAmericas Open Parliament Portal (website).
  • Toolkit: Citizen Participation in the Legislative Process. ParlAmericas, 2018.
  • Design Thinking for Public Service Excellence. UNDP, 2014.

AGENDA: Parliamentary Track of the OGP Global Summit (May 29-30)

RESOURCES

• Official Website of the Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2019
• Latin American Legislative Transparency Index, Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency (in Spanish)
• ParlAmericas Open Parliament Portal (website)
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas (2016)
• Parliaments as Partners for Open Government Reform, Open Government Partnership
• Guide to Develop Open Parliament Action Plans

PRESENTATIONS Session 1: Towards a systemic transformation to counter corruption

• Citizen participation and action, Shaazka Beyerle, United States Institute of Peace

Session 2: Strengthening parliamentary oversight to promote openness and counter corruption

• National Anti-Corruption System in Grenada, Anande Trotman-Joseph, Integrity and Anti Corruption Commission of Grenada
• Anti-money laundering regimes and beneficial ownership transparency, Esteban Fullin, International Monetary Fund
• Strengthening parliamentary oversight to promote openness and counter corruption, Jaime B. Guerrero, Foley & Lardner LLP

Session 3: Applying openness practices to advance sustainable development

• Shaping a model for successful civil society participation in national governance & sustainable development processes, Zakiya Uzoma-Wadada, Caribbean Natural Resources Institute
• Bribri and Cabecar Indigenous Network (RIBCA), Leví Sucre, Atlantic Block of the Bribrí Cabécar Indigenous Network
• National Forum of Women in Political Parties, Juana Herrera, National Forum of Women in Political Parties (FONAMUPP)

• Report of the Expert Advisory Group on Anti-Corruption, Transparency, and Integrity in Latin America and the Caribbean. Inter-American Development Bank, 2018
• Corruption Perceptions Index 2018. Transparency International, 2019
• Latin American Legislative Transparency Index. Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency, website (in Spanish)
• Open Parliament Portal. ParlAmericas, website
• Executive Summary: Guide to Develop an Open Parliament Action Plan (preliminary draft). ParlAmericas, 2018
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness. ParlAmericas, 2016
  

  ---

  WORKSHOP ON POST-LEGISLATIVE SCRUTINY IN COLLABORATION WITH THE WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY

  WORKSHOP ON POST-LEGISLATIVE SCRUTINY IN COLLABORATION WITH THE
  WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRAWORKSHOP ON POST-LEGISLATIVE SCRUTINY IN COLLABORATION WITH THE WESTMINSTER FOUNDATION FOR DEMOCRACY

  AGENDA PRESENTATIONS

  • Post-legislative scrutiny: Introduction, Devin O’Shaughnessy and Franklin De Vrieze, Westminster Foundation for Democracy
  • Canada’s Perspective on Post-Legislative Scrutiny, Senator Percy Downe (Canada)
  • Post-Legislative Scrutiny in the Congress of the State of Guanajuato: Methodology and experiences, María Fernanda Arreguín Gámez, State Congress of Guanajuato, Mexico
  • Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: Post-Legislative scrutiny, Angelique Massiah, Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Workshop on Post-Legislative Scrutiny, Rocío Noriega, Bicameral Group on Transparency of Chile
  • Post-legislative scrutiny: Principles and Practical Steps, Franklin De Vrieze, Westminster Foundation for Democracy

  RESOURCES

  • Principles of Post-Legislative Scrutiny by Parliaments. Westminster Foundation for Democracy, 2018
  • Post-Legislative Scrutiny: Comparative study of practices of Post-Legislative Scrutiny in selected parliaments and the rationale for its place in democracy. Westminster Foundation for Democracy, 2017

During the gathering, elections were held for the Open Parliament Network Executive Committee. The result of the election was the following:

• Vice-President – Caribbean:
  • Senator Ranard E. Henfield (Bahamas)

RESOURCES Costa Rican Open Parliament  Action Plans and commitments

• Costa Rica Legislative Openness Action Plan 2015-2016 (in Spanish)
• Costa Rica Open Parliament Action Plan 2016-2017 (in Spanish)
• Costa Rican Open Government Partnership Action Plan 2017-2019 (in Spanish)

Reports and resources on the progress of open parliament in Costa Rica

• Latin American Legislative Transparency Index, Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency (in Spanish)
• Progress and ongoing issues in Costa Rica’s open parliament agenda, Alliance for an Open Assembly (in Spanish)

ParlAmericas’ resources and other international publications

• ParlAmericas Open Parliament Portal (website)
• Guide to Develop an Open Parliament Action Plan (preliminary draft), ParlAmericas (2018)
• Guide to Develop an Open Parliament Action Plan, Executive Summary (preliminary draft), ParlAmericas (2018)
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas (2016)
• Declaration on Parliamentary Openness (2012)

PRESENTATIONS

• Success Story: Addressing the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (IVE) in Argentina. Mercedes de los Santos (in Spanish)
• Disseminating Open Parliament Culture beyond the Limits of the National Congress. Paulo Henrique Alves Araújo (in Spanish)
• The State of Open Parliament in Costa Rica. María Inés Solís (in Spanish)
• The Evaluation of Candidates for the Office of Magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice. Norman Quijano (in Spanish)
• The Inclusion of the Indigenous Population in Open Parliament. Cesar Solórzano (in Spanish)
• The Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation of Open Parliament Action Plans. Luis Rojas (in Spanish)
• The Monitoring and Evaluation of Open Parliament Action Plans. María Liz Sosa (in Spanish)
• Protocol on the Prevention and Punishment of Sexual Harassment in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile. Natalia Castillo (in Spanish)
• Workshop on the Creation of Open Parliament Action Plans. Francisco Sebastián Sánchez Lay (in Spanish)

RESOURCES

• Strategies for Chairing Gender-Inclusive Meetings, ParlAmericas (2017)
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas (2016)
• Parliamentary Commitment Tool, ParlAmericas
• A Toolkit for Advancing Legislative Openness, NDI
• OGP Participation & Co-Creation Standards, Open Government Partnership (2017)
• OGP Participation and Co-Creation Toolkit, Open Government Partnership (2018)
• When More is More: Toward Higher Impact OGP Commitments, Open Government Partnership (2018)

COUNTRY PRESENTATIONS

• Report on the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation of Argentina. María Dolores Martínez (Argentina) (in Spanish)
• Report on the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil. Paulo Enrique Alves Araújo (Brazil) (in Spanish)
• Report on the Senate of the Republic of Colombia. Marcela del Pilar Rodríguez Cuéllar (Colombia) (in Spanish)
• Report on the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Costa Rica. Juan Carlos Chavarría Herrera (Costa Rica) (in Spanish)
• Report on the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador. William Córdova Carrillo (El Salvador) (in Spanish)
• Report on the Honourable Chamber of Senators of Paraguay. María Inés Ramírez (Paraguay) (in Spanish)
• Report on the Congress of the Republic of Peru. Leny Palma Encalada (Peru) (in Spanish)

EXPERT PRESENTATIONS

• Concepts and Experiences from Monitoring and Evaluating Transparency Initiatives. Daniel Pefaur Dendal (in Spanish)
• Innovating in the Public Sector: A Road Full of Thorns. Alejandro Barros (in Spanish)
• Communication Challenges for Congress. Giovanna Peñaflor Guerra (in Spanish)
• Regional Perceptions of the Progress of Open Parliament. Rocío Noriega (in Spanish)

RESOURCES

• Strategies for Chairing Gender-Inclusive Meetings, ParlAmericas (2017)
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas (2016)
• Parliamentary Commitment Tool, ParlAmericas
• A Toolkit for Advancing Legislative Openness, NDI
• OGP Participation & Co-Creation Standards, Open Government Partnership (2017)
• OGP Participation and Co-Creation Toolkit, Open Government Partnership (2018)
• When More is More: Toward Higher Impact OGP Commitments, Open Government Partnership (2018)

SPEECHES

• Keynote address, Martin Kreutner, Dean & Executive Secretary of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA)

PRESENTATIONS

• Keynote presentation, Martin Kreutner, Dean & Executive Secretary of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA)
• Communications at the Senate of Canada. Senator Rosa Galvez (Canada)
• “Participatory” Participation Regulations. Member of the Chamber of Deputies Paulina Nuñez (Chile)
• Adoption of Parliamentary Initiatives on Communication and Citizen Participation: Experiences from the National Congress of Honduras. Member of Congress Welsy Vásquez (Honduras)

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas
• Toolkit: Citizen Participation in the Legislative Process. ParlAmericas, 2018
• Regulatory Frameworks for Citizen Participation in the Legislative Process in the Americas and the Caribbean. ParlAmericas, 2018
• The Open Government Partnership: An Overview for Parliamentarians in the Americas and the Caribbean. ParlAmericas, 2017
• Working document – Session 4: Guidelines to Develop Open Parliament Action Plans
• Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, OAS
• Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC)
• Common Ethical Principles for Members of Parliament, OGP Legislative Openness Working Group, 2015
• OECD Recommendation of the Council on Public Integrity, 2017
• Gender-Sensitive Parliaments: A Global Review of Good Practice, Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2011

Following the elections held at the gathering, the composition of the Open Parliament Network Executive Committee is as follows:

• President:
  • Senator Blanca Ovelar (Paraguay)
• Vice-President – North America:
  • Member of Parliament Randy Boissonnault (Canada)
• Vice-President – Central America:
  • Member of Parliament Marvin Orellana (Guatemala)
• Vice-President – Caribbean:
  • Senator Saphire Longmore (Jamaica)
• Vice-President – South America:
  • Member of the Chamber of Deputies Javier Macaya Danús (Chile)
  • Alternate: Senator Andrés García Zuccardi (Colombia)
• Observer:
  • Member of the National Assembly Williams Dávila (Venezuela)

PRESENTATIONS

• Open Government Partnership and its Impacts on Citizens and Parliaments. Member of the National Assembly Paula Forteza (France)
• Evolution of a Partnership and a Concept. Joseph Foti, Director of the Independent Reporting Mechanism, Open Government Partnership
• First Action Plan Open and Transparent Congress. Senator Mauricio Lizcano (Colombia), Vice-President of the ParlAmericas Open Parliament Network for South America
• First Legislative Visualizathon – PARALELO. David Bello, Winner of the Colombian Congress’s Legislative Visualizathon

RESOURCES

• The Open Government Partnership: An Overview for Parliamentarians in the Americas and the Caribbean. ParlAmericas, 2017
• Open Government Partnership, website
• Open Government Partnership, brochure
• Open Government Declaration
• Parliamentary Engagement Policy Guidance, Open Government Partnership
• Legislative Openness Data Explorer, National Democratic Institute, website

PRESENTATIONS

• Access to Information Act –The Canadian Model. Nancy Bélanger, Deputy Commissioner, Legal Services and Public Affairs, Office of the Information Officer
• Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer: Role, Legislative Mandate and the Importance of Data Access. Jean-Dénis Fréchette, Parliamentary Budget Officer, Parliament of Canada
• Open House Nova Scotia. Mark Coffin, Executive Director & Founder, Springtide
• The Role and Mandate of the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. Mary Dawson, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
• Public Engagement at the House of Commons. Eric Janse, Clerk Assistant, Committees and Legislative Services, House of Commons
• Senate Communications. Mélisa Leclerc, Director of Communications, Senate of Canada
• Indigenous Peoples and Participation in Parliamentary Process(es). Gwen Phillips, British Colombia Region Data Governance Coordinator, Co-chair of the national INAC Community Development Strategy Implementation Working Group and British Colombia First Nations Health Council Representative
• Legislative Action Plan – Paraguay. Senator Blanca Ovelar (Paraguay)
• Legislative Action Plan – Experience of the National Congress of Chile. Member of the Chamber of Deputies Patricio Vallespín (Chile)

RESOURCES

• Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada, website
• Open data, House of Commons of Canada, website
• Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, website
• Open Parliament Canada, Civil Society Initiative, website
• Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada, website
• Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada, website
• Office of the Senate Ethics Officer, website
• Open Government Canada, website
• Participate, House of Commons of Canada, website

PRESENTATIONS

• Educating Citizens and Promoting Participation: Focus on Youth (18-30). Caro Loutfi, Executive Director, Apathy is Boring (Canada)
• Improving Local Governance in Jamaica. Prof. Rosalea Hamilton, Member of Board of Directors, National Integrity Action (Jamaica)
• Public Engagement and Sensitization Relative to the Business of Parliament. Senator Mauricia Thomas-Francis (Saint Lucia)
• Strategies for Citizen Participation at the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Jason Elcock, Manager of Corporate Communications, Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
• Citizens Initiative for Participation & Good Governance. Sharda Ganga, Director, Projekta (Suriname)

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness. ParlAmericas, 2016
• Report: Citizen Participation Co-creation Meeting. ParlAmericas, 2017
• Report: 2nd Gathering of the Open Parliament Network of ParlAmericas: Strengthening the Ties between Citizens and Legislatures. ParlAmericas, 2017

PRESENTATIONS

• Towards Establishing a Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) in Jamaica. Cheryl Gibson, Assistant Clerk, Parliament of Jamaica
• Fiscal Openness and Opportunities. Juan Pablo Guerrero, Network Director, Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT)
• Fiscal Transparency as an Element of Government Accountability. Sandeep Saxena, Senior Economist of the Public Financial Management
  Division, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• Public Participation in Fiscal Policies. Juan Pablo Guerrero, Network Director, Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT)
• Public Participation in Budget Policy – The Story of Gender Responsive Budgets in Mexico. Manuela Garza, Founding Partner, Colectivo Cometa

RESOURCES

• Report: Workshop “Building Trust between Parliaments and Citizens”. ParlAmericas, 2017
• Budget Transparency Toolkit. OECD
• Recommendation of the Council on Principles for Independent Fiscal Institutions. OECD, 2014
• Draft Guideline for Operationalizing a Parliamentary Budget Office. The Global Network of Parliamentary Budget Officers, 2015
• Public Participation Principles Guide. GIFT, website
• The Fiscal Transparency Code. The International Monetary Fund, 2014

RESOURCES

• International Standards for Lobbying Regulation. Access Info Europe, Open Knowledge, Sunlight Foundation, Transparency International, 2015
• OECD Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying
• Laws and articles for lobby regulation in Latin America
  • Chile: Lobby Law (Law 20.730)
  • Chile: Lobby Law Platform
  • Colombia: Law 1474, Chapter IV: Regulation of lobbying
  • Mexico: Regulations of the Senate of the Republic, Chapter IV: On Impediments and Incompatibilities
  • Peru: Lobby Law (Law 28024)

PRESENTATIONS

• How to Implement a Budget Office or Other Control Tools in Parliament?, Nelson Shack, World Bank
• Open Budget Survey: An Instrument for Transparency in the Public Budget, Mario Martínez, Survey on Open Budget
• Latin American Index on Legislative Transparency 2016, Octavio Del Favero, Ciudadano Inteligente
• Infographic by the Budget Technical Assistance Office (OATP, Spanish initials) for the Congress of Colombia
• Parliamentary Initiatives Adopted for Communication and Citizen Participation, Member of Congress Welsy Vásquez (Honduras)
• Open Parliament for Public Budgets in Mexico, Guillermo Ávila, Fundar
• Public Participation in Budgetary Policies and Processes: International Perspective and Experience, Juan Pablo Guerrero, GIFT
• Perceptions and Progress of Parliaments: How Are We Doing?, Rocío Noriega, Bicameral Group on Transparency of the Congress of Chile

RESOURCES

• ​​Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency, GIFT (website)
• Public Participation Principles Guide, GIFT (website)
• Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policy
• Open Budget Survey ​
• Corruption Perceptions Index 2016

* This workshop was held in collaboration with the World Bank, the Congress of Chile, and the Congress of Colombia.

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas
• Declaration of Commitment of the 2nd Gathering of the Open Parliament Network (OPN)
• Legislative action plans:
  • Chile (in Spanish)
  • Colombia (in Spanish)
  • Costa Rica (in Spanish)
  • Guatemala (in Spanish)
  • Paraguay (in Spanish)
• Legislative Transparency Index 2016, The Latin America Network for Legislative Transparency (LALT) (in Spanish)
• OGP Participation and Co-creation Standards
• Legislative Engagement in the Open Government Partnership

PRESENTATION MEDIA

• TV News (March 17, 2017), TV Legislativa, Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica (in Spanish)
• Radio interview featuring Senator Marcela Guerra (México), President of ParlAmericas, and Senator Hernán Larraín (Chile), President of the Open Parliament Network (OPN) (March 17, 2017), Matices, Radio Monumental (in Spanish)
• TV News (March 16, 2017), TV Legislativa, Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica (in Spanish)
• Inauguration (March 16, 2017), TV Legislativa, Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica (in Spanish)
• TV News (March 13, 2017), TV Legislativa, Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica (in Spanish)
• Press release (March 13, 2017) (in Spanish)

DECLARATION OF SOLIDARITY WITH PERU PRESENTATIONS

• New horizons for citizen participation, Scott Hubli, National Democratic Institute (in Spanish)
• The role of CSOs in an Open Parliament, Agustina de Luca, Fundación Directorio Legislativo
• A step forward towards transparency, Senator Mauricio Lizcano (Colombia), President of the Senate
• Incorporating Gender Perspective in the Costa Rican Parliament, Haydee Hernandez Perez, Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
• Leveraging Citizen Engagement: Guiding Questions for Incorporating Citizen Engagement into the Legislative Framework, GovLab, Yale Open Government & Open Data Governance Innovation Clinic

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas
• What is Open Parliament?, ParlAmericas
• Best practices for the use of social networks by parliamentarians, ParlAmericas
• OGP Participation and Co-creation Standards
• Legislative Engagement in the Open Government Partnership
• Legislative Transparency Index 2016, The Latin America Network for Legislative Transparency (LALT) (in Spanish)
• World e-Parliament Report 2016, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
• Model Inter-American Law on Access to Public Information, Organization of American States (OAS)
• Inter-American Program on Access to Public Information, Organization of American States (OAS)
• Legislative action plans:
  • Chile (in Spanish)
  • Colombia (in Spanish)
  • Costa Rica (in Spanish)
  • Guatemala (in Spanish)
  • Paraguay (in Spanish)

INAUGURAL SPEECHES

• Member of the Legislative Assembly José Alfaro Jiménez (Costa Rica), Interim President of the Legislative Assembly (in Spanish)
• Senator Marcela Guerra (México), President of ParlAmericas (in Spanish)

During the 2nd Gathering of the OPN, the four vice-presidents of the OPN executive committee were elected:

• North America: Member of Parliament Marcela González Salas (Mexico)
• Central America: Member of the Legislative Assembly Karla Prendas (Costa Rica)
• South America: Senator Mauricio Lizcano (Colombia), President of the Senate
• Caribbean: Senator Saphire Longmore (Jamaica)

RESOURCES

• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas
• What is Open Parliament?, ParlAmericas
• Best practices for the use of social networks by parliamentarians, ParlAmericas

PRESENTATIONS

• Social Media Strategies for parliamentarians, Mr. Sebastián de Lara (Navegación Política)
• ICT Strategies for Parliaments, Mr. Garreth Ferguson (Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago)
• Facebook Live, Mr. Gibrán Mena (Social TIC)
• Online hearing, ParlAmericas Facebook
• Road Map Towards Legislative Openness, ParlAmericas

RESOURCES

• World e-Parliament Report, 2016 (IPU)
• Information and Communication Technologies in Parliament, 2010 (OPPD)
• Social Media Guidelines for Parliaments, 2013 (IPU)
• Road Map Towards Legislative Opennes, 2016 (ParlAmericas)

PRESENTATIONS

• Open Congress and the Latin American Network for LEgislative Transparency (Ciudadano Inteligente) (in Spanish)
• History of Lawa and Parliamentary Labour (Library of the National Congress of Chile) (in Spanish)
• Anti-corruption observatory (Ciudadano Inteligente and Espacio Público) (in Spanish)
• Virtual Senator (Library of the National Congress of Chile) (in Spanish)
• Visualization of the National Budget (Library of the National Congress of Chile)

PRESS

• Press release (September 15, 2016)

RESOURCES

• Comisión de ética del Senado de Chile (in Spanish)
• Comisión de ética de la Cámara de diputados de Chile (in Spanish)
• Historia de la Ley orgánica constitucional del Congreso de Chile (in Spanish)
• Modificaciones a la Ley orgánica constitucional del Congreso de Chile (in Spanish)
• Ley de lobby de Chile (in Spanish)
• Plataforma Ley de Lobby (in Spanish)
• Declaración de intereses y patrimonio del Senado de Chile (in Spanish)
• Declaración de intereses y patrimonio de la Cámara de diputados de Chile (in Spanish)
• Visualización del Presupuesto de la Nación de Chile (in Spanish)
• Senador virtual (in Spanish)
• Observatorio anti-corrupción (in Spanish)
• Congreso abierto (in Spanish)
• Observatorio fiscal (in Spanish)
• What is intersectionality?

On Monday, September 12, 2016, legislators participating in the study visit will be part of a regional delegation of parliamentarians that will attend the I Regional Workshop on Open Budget, “Strengthening Legislatures’ Functions in the Budgetary Process”, organized by the Bicameral Group on Transparency of the National Congress of Chile and the World Bank. WORKSHOP AGENDA (in Spanish)  

PRESENTATIONS

• Senator Carlos Filizzola (Paraguay)
• Mr. Juan Pablo Guerrero – Open Budget Survey (Global Iniciative for Fiscal Transparency)
  • Presentation (in Spanish)
  • Open Budget Survey
• Ms. Natalia Albañil (National Democratic Institute)
• Member of the Legislative Assembly, Rafael Ortiz Fábrega (Costa Rica)
• Mr. Yacine Khelladi (The Caribbean Open Institue)
• Mr. Jean-Noé Landry (Open North), video presentation (in Spanish)

OPENING REMARKS

• Senator Marcela Guerra, President of ParlAmericas (in Spanish)
• Senator Blanca Ovelar, Host of the gathering of the Open Parliament Network of ParlAmericas (in Spanish)
• Mr. Hugo Velázquez, President of the Chamber of Deputies (in Spanish)

PANELLISTS BIOGRAPHIES

Open Parliament Newtwork meeting and OGP Summit Mexico 2015 panel: Efforts toward Parliamentary Openness Reform in the Americas

OPEN PARLIAMENT NETWORK – WORKING SESSION

ACTION PLAN 2016-2018 OF THE OPEN PARLIAMENT NETWORK – AREAS OF WORK

PANEL SESSION “LEGISLATIVE TRANSPARENCY REFORM EFFORTS IN THE AMERICAS – OPEN GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP SUMMIT

PAMPHLET: “WHAT IS OPEN PARLIAMENT?”

RESOURCES

Re-visioning Public Accounts Committees in Small Legislatures (discussion paper) Characteristics of Different External Audit Systems (discussion paper) Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Auditing Precepts / Mexico Declaration on SAI Independence (declaration)  PAC and SAI: “Partners” in the Accountability Process (presentation)

Understandin Parliamentary Oversight Committees and Relationships: Attributes of an Effective Public Accounts Committee (discussion paper)

OBJECTIVES

• To build on the discussions about parliamentary budget oversight mechanisms and other key issues of concern to Public Accounts Committees (PACs) that took place during ParlAmericas’ Workshop 5
• To provide a space for parliamentarians and Auditors General from the Caribbean to continue sharing best practices
• To enhance practical skills related to auditing

SESSIONS

Day 1:

Overview of the Budgetary Cycle  (presentation)

Challenges and Practices: Public Accounts Committees in “Small” and “Large” Legislatures (presentation)

Day 2:

Supreme Audit Institution (SAI)-Parliament Cooperation (presentation)

Understanding Key Audit Products: Introductions to Regularity/Financial Statement & Value-for-Money Audit (presentation)

IN THE NEWS (original language)

Julius Espat takes lobby for PAC reform to hemispheric organization, ParlAmericas, 4 February 2014, Amandala, Belize.

Caribische landen willen versterking begrotingsproces, 6 February 2014, Starnieuws, Suriname.

Shaw wants PAC to examine contractor general reports, 6 February 2014, Gleaner, Jamaica.

OBJECTIVES*

• To increase dialogue among parliamentarians, building on the release of the OAS comprehensive report The Drug Problem in the Americas
• To discuss topics such as criminality, democracy, legislative agendas, the role of legislative institutions, and the importance of collaborative dialogue on these issues in the region

*This regional seminar is part of an ongoing project of the OAS: Strengthening the Capacities of Legislators from Central America, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. ParlAmericas is pleased to provide support for the project in the form of facilitating the participation of parliamentarians.

PARLAMERICAS DELEGATION ParlAmericas sponsored the participation of parliamentarians, including members of the Board of Directors. Secretary-Treasurer Germán Blanco spoke on the high-level panel “Drugs and collaborative dialogue between public authorities.”

Who: ParlAmericas representatives from Canada, Mexico, Honduras, and Haiti.

Objectives of the meeting: to participate in an inter-parliamentary dialogue coordinated by the Andean Parliament, with the support of ParlAmericas.

OBJECTIVE

• To formalize a framework to enhance cooperation and interaction in areas of common concern, in particular: democracy, legal systems, and the rule of law

Host: Antigua Theme: Strengthening Parliamentary Budget Oversight Publication: Strengthening Parliamentary Oversight in the Caribbean

Objectives of the meeting: to discuss key issues faced by Public Accounts Committees (PACs), to share best practices from PACs in large and small Caribbean legislatures, to strengthen the relationship between Auditors General and PACs, to develop strategies to strengthen the independence of Auditors General, and to enhance regional knowledge sharing on budgetary oversight.

OBJECTIVES The FIPA delegation met with Secretary General Insulza, where both parties reiterated their desire to work together towards shared goals and discussed the drafting of a Memorandum of Understanding. The delegation also attended the General Assembly as observers.

FIPA DELEGATION:

• Edmonde Supplice Beauzile, Senator, Haiti
• Alberto Grillón Conigliaro, Senator, Paraguay
• Member of the National Assembly, Linda Machuca Moscoso, Ecuador
• Dr. Gina Hill, Director General, FIPA

Host: Costa Rica Theme: Strengthening Parliamentary Budget Oversight

Objectives of the meeting: to provide training to Parliamentarians from oversight committees in Central America, in areas including increased awareness of their roles in the budget process, improving the functioning of parliamentary committees conducting oversight over the spending of government funds, and improving the working relationships of legislatures with state audit institutions.

Objectives of the meeting: to adopt decisions on issues such as peace, hemispheric security and cooperation, democracy, human rights, freedom of expression, legal development, social development, terrorism, corruption, civil society, removal of anti-personnel landmines, combating the manufacturing of and illicit trafficking in arms, cooperation in dealing with criminal gangs, drug abuse control, natural disasters, trade, tourism, scholarships, disability, women, children, and indigenous peoples.

FIPA delegation

• Adriana González Carillo, Senator, Mexico
• Alberto Grillón, Senator, Paraguay
• Rosemary Husbands-Mathurin, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Saint Lucia
• Víctor Juliao, Member of the National Assembly, Panama
• Linda Machuca, Member of the National Assembly, Ecuador
• Emmanuelle Pelletier, Executive Secretary, FIPA

Theme: The Doha Development Round:  Challenges and Opportunities for the Region

Objectives of the meeting: to promote a better understanding of the multilateral trading system and the current state of play in the Doha Development Agenda negotiations, to provide a forum for participants to discuss and share ideas and opinions on the content of the negotiations and their possible impact on countries in the region as well as on other topics of regional interest, and to encourage open discussion on the potential role of parliaments, international organizations and trade in promoting development.

Objectives: to explore the potential for deeper cooperation between parliaments and governments, toward advancing hemispheric goals set forth in the Declaration of Commitment of Port-of-Spain, to ensure that the Summit Process is more transparent and accountable, and that decisions made by Heads of States and Governments at the 5^th Summit are implemented in a way that benefits the citizens of the Americas.

FIPA delegation

• Luiz Hauly, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil
• Céline Hervieux-Payette, Senator, Canada
• Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez Castañeda, President of the Senate, Colombia
• Emmanuelle Pelletier, Executive Secretary, FIPA

Theme: Trade Liberalization: The WTO, the Doha Round and Development Challenges

Objectives: to raise awareness about the multilateral trading system, to stimulate parliamentarians’ interest in these issues, and to inform them of the basic functioning of the WTO, the key items on the multilateral and regional trade agenda and the status of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations. The workshop also aimed to provide a forum for participants to discuss and share ideas and opinions regarding the content of the negotiations and their possible impact on countries in the region, and to encourage discussion of the potential role of parliaments and international organizations in trade and development.

Objectives of the meeting: the FIPA delegation expressed the organization’s desire to pursue discussions towards becoming the legislative partner of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the Americas.

FIPA delegation

• Senator Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez Castañeda, Senate of Colombia
• MP James Bezan, House of Commons of Canada
• MP Mario Silva, House of Commons of Canada
• MP Marcel Lussier, House of Commons of Canada
• Emmanuelle Pelletier, Executive Secretary, FIPA

Theme: Trade Knowledge

Objectives: to provide essential information on trade regulation and politics to parliamentarians in a manner that was relevant to their concerns and those of their constituents, and to provide a framework for dealing with poverty, development, social movements, and gender, among others, within the trade policy context.

Theme: Creating jobs to fight poverty and strengthen democratic governance FIPA delegation

• Stockwell Day, Member of Parliament, Canada
• Don Boudria, Member of Parliament, Canada
• Diane Ablonczy, Member of Parliament, Canada
• Céline Hervieux-Payette, Senator, Canada
• Emmanuelle Pelletier, Executive Secretary, FIPA

Objectives: reaffirm the commitment to fight poverty, inequality, hunger, and social exclusion in order to raise the standard of living of the peoples of the Americas and strengthen democratic governance in the Americas.