INTER PARES Podcast – Episode 2 Are virtual parliaments here to stay?

INTER PARES Parliaments in Partnership – Episode 2 Are virtual parliaments here to stay?

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With the pandemic showing no signs of waning, parliaments around the world are even more pressed to come up with innovative ideas to continue functioning and fulfil their constitutional functions. Today, we explore whether virtual parliaments are here to stay and what can parliaments do to engage with citizens and respond to their needs in real-time. We look at how this process can be shaped to transform into structural change that reinforces democratic governance in a tangible way.

On today’s episode:

  • Dr Andy Williamson, on the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Centre for Innovation in Parliament in supporting parliamentary innovation, as well as more specifically at how the Centre has approached digital innovation since the start of the coronavirus pandemic
  • Mohamed Hussain, People’s Majlis ICT Director and Hassan Ziyau, People’s Majlis Director of Media and Communication, on how the People’s Majlis, the Parliament of the Republic of the Maldives, became one of the first parliaments in the world to hold virtual plenary sessions
  • Georgian Ghervasie, Director of Communications at the Romanian Senate and Carlo Papuc IT Director at the Romanian Senate, on how the Romanian Parliament has proved to be an early innovator with online sessions and electronic voting implemented since March.

Today’s episode is hosted and produced by Ingrid Walker, Programme Officer INTER PARES | Parliaments in Partnership, International IDEA.

INTER PARES | Parliaments in Partnership Podcast – Episode 2 Are virtual parliaments here to stay?

We are looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this episode. Email Ingrid directly at i.walker@idea.int or the team at interpares@idea.int with any thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for future episodes.

For more on virtual parliaments, we recommend following the Centre for Innovation in Parliament dedicated page on the pandemic and the following article: Post-Pandemic Legislatures: Is real democracy possible with virtual parliaments?

Note: The Library audio file is downloadable