The World e-Parliament Conference 2012 was held at the Chamber of Deputies of Italy, in Rome, on 13, 14 and 15 September. The Conference concluded on the International Day of Democracy, established in 2008 by the UN General Assembly.

The Library of the Finnish Parliament hosted the 28th IFLA Pre Conference of Library and Research Services for Parliaments, held in Helsinki from Wednesday 8 August to Friday 10 August 2012 on the theme Parliamentary libraries – empowering parliaments and citizens.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations Development Programme released the Global Parliamentary Report on the evolving relationship between citizens and parliaments. The Report analyzes parliamentary strategies to engage with citizens and argues that parliaments need to be in a constant process of evolution.

The Reports, prepared by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, intend to help legislatures to harness the potential benefits of ICT for their work and establish key goals and priorities for exploiting this valuable resource. While providing evidence of the complexities of e-parliament, the Reports suggest ways to overcome some of the obstacles to the effective use of technology in parliamentary settings.

The preservation of the parliamentary records in multiple formats poses important concerns, especially because of the need for effective policies, sound management practices, and the capacity to accommodate constantly evolving technologies. Different organizations within a parliament may have overlapping responsibilities for managing, distributing, and preserving its records, and it can sometimes be difficult to reconcile competing mandates. Potential conflicts may need to be resolved by the Secretary General or occasionally by higher authorities.

Parliamentary documents such as committee reports and texts of debates and hearings are fundamental records of the legislature. These documents must be prepared quickly, efficiently and accurately. They must be distributed easily and then amended, revised and redistributed just as easily. And they must be archived effectively to ensure availability and long-term preservation.

1. Governing at a time of technological changes
2. An overview of the findings of the World e-Parliament Report 2010

Statements and Presentations - World e-Parliament Conference 2009

Agenda of the World e-Parliament Conference 2009

The World e-Parliament Conference 2009, took place on 3, 4 and 5 November 2009 at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., was built on the results of two previous conferences held respectively in Geneva (2007) and Brussels (2008), as well as on the findings of the World e-Parliament Report 2008. The 2009 event was co-organized by the United Nations, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament.

The 2009 edition of the World e-Parliament Conference took place from 3 to 5 November 2009 at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. It was built on the results of two previous conferences held respectively in Geneva (2007) and Brussels (2008), as well as on the findings of the World e-Parliament Report 2008.

Presentations at the World e-Parlement Conference 2008

• Download PDF version: English, French, Spanish

The Report of the World e-Parliament Conference 2008 is now available.

The World e-Parliament Conference 2008 took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 25 and 26 November 2008. The Conference was co-organized by the European Parliament and 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) and a core group of partners, established in 2006 to promote the role of parliaments in advancing the Information Society goals as well as the effective use of ICT for the modernization of parliamentary processes.