• The Global Centre for Information and Communication Technologies in Parliament acts as a hub for information, research and technical assistance to parliaments in the area of ICT and offers a platform for exchanging information and expertise among parliaments, centres of excellence, international organizations, the civil society, the private sector and the donor community.

Upcoming Events

Global Survey of ICT in Parliaments

In preparation for the release of the third issue of the World e-Parliament Report, the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament has launched the Global Survey of ICT in Parliaments 2012. The questionnaire was distributed among parliaments worldwide to assess globally the use of technology in Parliament.

Regional Workshop "The Impact of New Technologies in the Transformation of the Legislative Branch"

The United Nations, through its Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD), will hold a Regional Workshop entitled “The Impact of New Technologies in the Transformation of the Legislative Branch: From Awareness, to Planning, to Action” from May 30th ‐ June 1st, 2012, in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Second Workshop “ICT Strategic Planning in the SADC Parliaments”

The "Second Workshop ICT Strategic Planning in the SADC Parliaments" concluded with the official launch of the SADC PF community of practice on ICT strategic planning, discussions concerning the benefits of inter-parliamentary cooperation, how to address the challenge of resource constraints, and closing remarks from SADC PF and UNDESA's Global Centre for ICT in Parliament.

First Technical Assistance Mission to the Senate of Haiti

Between 21 and 25 May a technical assistance mission team will visit the Senate of Haiti in Port-Au-Prince. The team consisting of a UN representative, and two experts kindly provided by the House of Commons of Canada, and the Swiss Federal Parliament, will over five days conduct an assessment of the state of ICT, and make a mapping of future ICT needs. This first mission will be followed by a second mission in June that will focus on the development of an ICT strategic plan for the Senate of Haiti.

 Second assessment mission to the National Assembly and Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Following the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament's first technical assistance missions to the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in March 2012 and the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in April 2012, respectively, where the ICT capabilities of both chambers were assessed, a second technical assistance mission is scheduled to take place from 21 to 25 May 2012. The follow-up joint-mission, which falls within the framework of the European Commission funded project “Support to ICT Strategic Planning in the SADC Parliaments,” will finalise the assessment reports from both first missions while also submitting individual draft ICT strategic plans to the National Assembly and Senate for their respective consideration.

El Congreso para Niños

El Congreso de la República de Guatemala con apoyo del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) lanzó el sitio web www.infantil.congreso.gob.gt, el que contien un diseño y un contenido orientado a que los niños y jovenes se involucren e interesen en como funciona el Congreso de la República, cuáles son sus órganos, interactuar con sus diputados y un espacio para cargar documentos que contengan noticias relacionadas con niñez y juventud así como un espacio de biblioteca. Este es un avance más dado en busqueda de fortalecer las institucinalidad y al mismo tiempo involucrar a nuestra juventud que es de un 35% aproximadamente en los temas de ciudadanía, Estado de Derecho, Transparencia y Democracia Participativa.

Regional Workshop “Connected Parliaments - Introduction to Legislative XML"

The Regional Workshop “Connected Parliaments - Introduction to Legislative XML", is being organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in collaboration with the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, and in coordination with the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, a joint initiative of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). The workshop, which will be held in the framework of the Exchange Network of Parliaments of Latin America and the Caribbean (ENPLAC), will be held from June 4th to 6th, 2012 in Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia, Brazil.

Monitoring Groups Agree to Work Together to Advance Parliamentary Transparency

At the Conference "PMO Leaders Conference on Parliamentary Transparency and Networking" concluded on 2 May 2012, parliamentary monitoring organizations (PMOs) from all regions of the world shared their experiences and good practices on a host of topics, from monitoring political finance to advocating for greater transparency of parliamentary information. The PMOs at the conference agreed to continue to work together in a number of concrete areas, including a shared declaration of principles on parliamentary transparency.

 International workshop: Identifying benefits deriving from the adoption of XML-based chains for drafting legislation

The meeting was organized by the European Parliament’s Office for Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy  (OPPD) and Directorate General for Innovation and Technological Support, in association with the UN/IPU’s Global Centre for ICT in Parliament. The overall goal of the workshop was to promote the adoption and implementation of XML-based technologies by Parliaments around the world. It focused on the current implementations of XML-based tools within parliamentary administrations.
Speakers of EU Parliaments acknowledged the importance of open document standards for transparency

The Presidency Conclusions of the Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments, held in Warsaw on 20-21 April 2012, recognized the role of open standards in providing better access to parliamentary information and activities, and at the same time called for the adoption of internationally agreed standards to favour the re-use of published data.

PARLIAMENTS ON THE NET X - Mobility, Transparency and open parliament: best practices in Parliamentary web sites

The Global Centre for ICT in Parliament will participate in the meeting, promoted by ECPRD entitled "Parli@ments on the Net", which purpose is to exchange experiences and good practice on the publishing of contents related to parliamentary activities. The annual meeting will be hosted by the Spanish Parliament, namely the Congress of Deputies and the Senate, on 31 May and 1 June 2012.