Cooperation in Action: Four Lessons from the First Inter-Parliamentary Strategic Planning Workshop in Zambia (October 2025)
For the first time, senior parliamentary staff from 11 countries across Africa, Europe, and North America gathered in Lusaka, Zambia for a groundbreaking Inter-Parliamentary Strategic Planning Workshop. Hosted by the National Assembly of Zambia (NAZ) and Inter Pares, with EU support, the event offered an unprecedented space for open, peer-to-peer dialogue on how parliaments can plan more strategically and strengthen democratic governance.
Participants explored four key lessons: the value of honest dialogue through innovative formats, the importance of fully integrated strategic plans, the role of monitoring and evaluation in democratic accountability, and the exemplary leadership of NAZ as both host and case study. The event laid the foundation for a new Global Handbook on Parliamentary Strategic Planning, designed to help parliaments worldwide build resilience, align with democratic values, and deliver on citizen expectations.
Partners in Progress: How Inter Pares Collaborates with Parliaments Around the World (June 2025)
Since 2019, Inter Pares has worked to strengthen democratic institutions through peer-to-peer collaboration between parliaments around the world. Funded by the EU and implemented by International IDEA, the program connects parliaments from Europe with counterparts in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to exchange knowledge and co-develop tools for better lawmaking, oversight, and citizen engagement.
Marking the International Day of Parliamentarism, this blog highlights powerful examples of impact - from advancing evidence-based policy evaluation in Côte d’Ivoire, to empowering young citizens in Zambia through the Youth Parliamentary Academy, to supporting institutional reform in The Gambia. These stories show how peer learning and global cooperation are driving more inclusive, accountable, and resilient parliaments worldwide.
The New Playbook: Eight Ways Parliaments Can Rebuild Trust Through Citizen Engagement (November 2025)
Trust in democracy is declining worldwide, and parliaments — the essential link between citizens and state decision-making — are no exception. While citizen engagement is more critical than ever, practical, actionable guidance for how parliaments can effectively involve the public has been hard to find.
To meet this urgent challenge, International IDEA’s Inter Pares — Parliaments in Partnership project and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN), with support from the European Union, co-created a series of eight interactive Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments.
These guides are more than a resource; they are toolkits built on extensive global research, with the aim of shifting the focus from “citizens as spectators” to “citizens as active participants.” Recognizing that citizen engagement is core to democratic resilience, these guides offer a wide range of actionable, evidence-based frameworks for meaningful interaction, deliberation, and co-creation.
For members of parliament, parliamentary staff, civil-society and international development partners, and scholars, this suite provides a holistic roadmap for innovation, helping parliaments worldwide redefine their role in this challenging era. Read on to learn more about the guide series.