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IFLA Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments will be holding in Paris its 30th annual pre-conference from 12 to 14 August 2014

csdm — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 09:28:22 +0000

The IFLA Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments will be holding in Paris its 30th annual pre-conference from 12 to 14 August 2014, hosted by and co-organized with the French Assemblée Nationale.Information regarding the pre-conference will be accessible through http://www.ifla.org/services-for-parliaments/conferences and on the pre-conference website www.preifla2014.assemblee-nationale.fr

UN General Assembly adopts consensus text backing right to Privacy in Digital Age

ludovica — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 10:18:43 +0000

Deeply concerned that electronic surveillance, interception of digital communications and collection of personal data may negatively impact human rights, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a consensus resolution strongly backing the right to privacy, calling on all countries take measures to end activities that violate this fundamental “tenet of a democratic society.”

First Legislative Data Challenge Winner Announced

ludovica — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 09:48:47 +0000

The Library of Congress of the U.S. announced the winner of the first legislative data challenge, Markup of US Legislation in Akoma Ntoso. The challenge, which was open from July 16 to October 31, invited participants to create XML versions of US bill text using the Akoma Ntoso standard. The Library also asked for feedback about the Akoma Ntoso standard itself to help ensure US legislation can be incorporated properly into this international framework.

Report on "Communication of Parliamentary Democracy in a Digital World"

ludovica — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 15:37:53 +0000

The landscape of print, broadcasting and social media is changing rapidly and how it alters affects Parliament’s ability to communicate and engage with the public it serves. A new report from the Hansard Society – #futurenews The Communication of Parliamentary Democracy in a Digital World – explores these strategic communication trends and how Parliament needs to respond in order to keep pace and ensure it has a voice in the political debate commensurate with its role at the apex of our democracy. #futurenews examines changing patterns of news consumption, the public’s attitude to news about politics in general, and Parliament in particular, and how and where they access such news.

Technological Options for Capturing and Reporting Parliamentary Proceedings

ludovica — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 12:18:08 +0000

This practical handbook draws on the experiences and practices of several legislatures. It is intended to help parliaments to take informed decisions when developing their capacity to publish records of plenary and committee proceedings. It will be of particular interest to parliaments that do not yet publish their proceedings regularly or on a timely basis. It should also serve those that are looking to identify best practices and deliver better services.

Commission on Digital Democracy announced by the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom

ludovica — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 10:39:10 +0000

The Speaker of the House of Commons will explore further modernisation of the House of Commons and British democracy to meet the demands of the digital era and modern citizens, and announce a new Speaker’s Commission on Digital Democracy.

WSIS+10 High- Level Event Open Consultation Process

ludovica — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 14:58:56 +0000

Date:

Mon, 07/10/2013 - Tue, 08/10/2013

The first physical meeting of the WSIS+10 High- Level Event Open Consultation Process took place in Geneva at the ITU Headquarters, Geneva. It was an open and inclusive consultation among WSIS Stakeholders (governments, private sector, civil society, international organizations and relevant regional organizations) focused on developing multistakeholder consensus on two draft Outcome Documents, to be developed by 1 March 2014 and submitted for consideration by the WSIS+10 High-Level Event: the Draft WSIS+10 Statement on the Implementation of WSIS Outcomes; and the Draft WSIS+10 Vision

Technical Assistance Mission to the Parliament of Montenegro

ludovica — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 14:47:18 +0000

Between 02 and 20 September 2013, the Parliament of Montenegro received a technical assistance mission supported by the EU Delegation to Montenegro, with the aim to consider and develop terms of references for the implementation of a parliamentary legislative information system - supported by the EU/EC. With the system the Parliament envisages to become more open and transparent in providing access to information, documentation, and events as they occur in the legislative process.

World Forum for Democracy

ludovica — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 14:17:31 +0000

Date:

Sat, 23/11/2013 - Fri, 29/11/2013

Social networks, blogs, and online media offer citizens access to public life in an unprecedentedly direct way. Is the internet revolutionising democratic practice? This topical question will be raised this year during the World Forum for Democracy, organised by the Council of Europe with the support of the French government, the Alsace Region and the City of Strasbourg.

World e-Parliament Conference 2014 - NEWS

ludovica — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:56:51 +0000

The World e-Parliament Conference 2014 will be held in Seoul on 8, 9 and 10 May 2014 at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. The World e-Parliament Conference is the biennial forum of the community of parliaments on their use of information and communication technologies (ICT). It addresses, from both the policy and technical perspectives, how ICT can help improve representation, law-making and oversight and increase parliament’s openness, accessibility, accountability and effectiveness. The overarching theme of the Word e-Parliament Conference 2014 is “Lessons learned and future horizons”. By focusing on this theme, the sixth World e-Parliament Conference intends to take stock of the progress made by the parliamentary community in responding to citizens’ calls for greater institutional openness and dialogue. At the same time, it will look at the emerging and future challenges that parliaments will need to address to keep pace with technological change in society.
The preliminary agenda, a document outlining the goals, expectations and structure of the World e-Parliament Conference 2014, a practical information note and the registration form are available on the web site http://www.ipu.org/splz-e/eparl14.htm

The Spanish Version of the World e-Parliament Report 2012 is now available

ludovica — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:47:43 +0000

The World e-Parliament Report 2012 documents the efforts of legislatures to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to support their constitutional functions. The Report is based on the Global Survey of ICT in Parliaments 2012 conducted by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament between February and May 2012, which is the third in a series of surveys that began in 2007.

The Spanish Version of the World e-Parliament Report 2012 is now available

ludovica — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 09:54:04 +0000

Taller Regional para Parlamentos de América Latina "Planificación estratégica de las TIC y uso de los medios sociales en los Parlamentos"

ludovica — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 15:14:13 +0000

Date:

Wed, 23/10/2013 - Fri, 25/10/2013

Organizer

Organization:

co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Parliament of Uruguay, through the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament

English version

Regional Workshop for Parliaments of Latin America “ICT strategic planning and use of social media in parliaments”

ludovica — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 14:26:20 +0000

Date:

Wed, 23/10/2013 - Fri, 25/10/2013

Organizer

Organization:

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Parliament of Uruguay, organized a three-day Regional Workshop for Latin American parliaments on “ICT Strategic Planning and Use of Social Media in Parliaments”, hosted by the Parliament of Uruguay in Montevideo on 23, 24 and 25 October 2013.

The workshop was organized within the framework of the Exchange Network of Parliaments of Latin America and the Caribbean (ENPLAC) and built on previous activities carried out by UN/DESA in Latin America through the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament and the project funded through the United Nations Development Account Supporting the Establishment of a Latin American Parliamentary Knowledge Network.

Time for parliaments to commit to openness

ludovica — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 11:35:55 +0000

"Parliaments are, after all, the governing institution closest to the citizens, meant to provide citizens with a direct link to the policymaking process and a method of accountability and oversight of other branches of government" says Mr. Ranko Krivokapic, President of the Parliament of Montenegro, and newly elected President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, in this article. He underlines the importance of "transparency and openness as key to reinforcing the trust between parliaments and voters".

Internet Governance Forum 2013

ludovica — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 07:46:26 +0000

Date:

Tue, 22/10/2013 - Fri, 25/10/2013

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder forum for policy dialogue on issues of Internet governance. It brings together all stakeholders in the Internet governance debate, whether they represent governments, the private sector or civil society, including the technical and academic community, on an equal basis and through an open and inclusive process. The establishment of the IGF was formally announced by the United Nations Secretary-General in July 2006. It was first convened in October-November 2006 and has held an annual meeting since then.

Second Legislative Data Challenge Launched

ludovica — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 09:22:56 +0000

The Library of Congress of the U.S. launched its second legislative data challenge, Legislative XML Data Mapping.

Like the first data challenge, this challenge incorporates the Akoma Ntoso legislative schema, but instead of asking competitors to apply the schema to bill text, participants should map existing elements from US and UK bill XML to the most recent Akoma Ntoso schema.

Interview with Cristiano Ferri Faria of e-Democracia

ludovica — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 14:23:27 +0000

The e-Democracia platform offers simple web 2.0 tools to allow citizens to interact with lawmakers on specific issues, helping to connect Brazilian citizens to national lawmakers across thousands of miles of geography. Citizens can use the portal and social media platforms to engage Congressmen, mark-up legislation, and propose and debate solutions to policy problems. The platform has facilitated cross-country dialogue among disparate groups and has thousands of active users. It has also improved legislative transparency.

International Day of Democracy

ludovica — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 13:07:49 +0000

Date:

Sun, 15/09/2013

The International Day of Democracy on 15 September was established by the United Nations in 2007 as an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world. Democracy is as much a process as a goal, and only with the full participation of and support by the international community, national governing bodies, civil society and individuals, can the ideal of democracy be made into a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere.

Spanish version of the Guidelines for Legislative Libraries now available

ludovica — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 16:16:37 +0000

The second, revised and enlarged edition of the Guidelines for Legislative Libraries is now available in Spanish for free download on the IFLA website.

Visualizing politics: Network analysis of bill sponsors

ludovica — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:57:29 +0000

With open parliamentary data at their disposal, parliamentary monitoring organizations, data journalists and scholars can gain significant insight into how new legislation is shaped and how parliaments work as social groups. Apart from multidimensional scaling of voting patterns, an often used technique of reducing and visualizing complex parliamentary information is social network analysis. This post introduces it using an example of sponsoring bills in the lower chamber of the Czech Parliament.

Webinar to introduce the Legislative Openness Working Group

ludovica — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:50:36 +0000

Date:

Tue, 10/09/2013

Organizer

Organization:

Open Government Partnership, National Democratic Institute, and the Congress of Chile

The Open Government Partnership, National Democratic Institute, and the Congress of Chile will hold a webinar to introduce the Legislative Openness Working Group (LOWG) on 10 September 2013. The LOWG is intended to deepen the exchange of knowledge across governments, parliaments, civil society and international institutions on the opportunities and challenges associated with legislative openness.

JURIX 2013: 26th International Conference on Legal Knowledge and Information Systems

ludovica — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 08:52:14 +0000

Date:

Wed, 11/12/2013 - Fri, 13/12/2013

Entering a second quarter century of supporting and enhancing cutting edge research in the interface between law and computer technology, the 2013 JURIX conference will take place at the University of Bologna from 11 to 13 December 2013.

U.S. House of Representatives makes U.S. Code available in bulk XML

ludovica — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 13:10:50 +0000

As part of the U.S. House of Representatives’ commitment to improving transparency and accountability, the House announced the creation of the new online XML version of the United States Code that is available for bulk downloading. The XML version of the United States Code, which resides on the website of the House’s Office of the Law Revision Counsel, is open and available to all, free of charge at: http://uscodebeta.house.gov/download/download.shtml

Technical Missions - Support to ICT Strategic Planning in the SADC Parliaments

ludovica — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 15:48:45 +0000

Two technical assistance missions of one week took place in each parliament of the SADC region. Each mission was conducted by a team of two/three experts, preferably IT staff of more technologically-advanced parliaments, who worked with the staff of the beneficiary parliament. The first mission aimed to carry out an assessment of the state of ICT of the parliament and outline gaps and opportunities for future strategic recommendations for its improvement. The second mission focused on the preparation of the strategic plan.