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Global Centre for Information and Communication Technologies in Parliament
The Global Centre for ICT in Parliament acts as a clearing house for information, research, innovation, technology and technical assistance, and promotes a structured dialogue among parliaments, centres of excellence, international organizations, the civil society, the private sector and the donor community, with the purpose to enhance the sharing of experiences, the identification of best practices and the implementation of appropriate solutions.
History
In 2005, consultations undertaken by the President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy and the Speaker of the People's Assembly of Egypt on behalf of the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations led to the launch of the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament.
The Global Centre was inaugurated by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), together with a core group of parliaments - the Chamber of Deputies of Italy, the People's Assembly of Egypt, the National Assembly of South Africa, the European Parliament and the Pan-African Parliament - that since its inception have accompanied its developments. The launch took place on 16 November 2005 at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis.
Since its launch, DESA worked closely with the IPU and the partnering parliaments to lay the ground for the establishment of the Global Centre and to start implementing its mandate. The collaboration between DESA and the IPU resulted in the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding for mutual cooperation around this initiative and to the preparation of the Terms of Reference of the Board, which now guides the work of the Global Centre. On 17 November 2006, the office of the Global Centre was officially inaugurated in Rome.
In 2006, the Global Centre put in place an extensive net of collaborative links and working relationships with parliaments, international organizations, institutions, associations and experts around the world to advance its initial activities. It carried out a number of initiatives on the basis of the agreed programme document shared with partners and facilitated contacts, partnerships and networks among various stakeholders working in the area of ICT and parliaments.
On 3 March 2007, the Board of the Global Centre held its first high-level meeting in Rome hosted by the Chamber of Deputies of Italy. At the meeting, the Board confirmed the overall mission of the Global Centre and reiterated its two main areas of work:
1. to strengthen the role of Parliaments in the promotion of the Information Society, through fostering ICT-related legislation, in light of the outcome of the World Summit on the Information Society;
2. to promote the use of ICT as a means to modernize parliamentary processes, increase transparency, accountability and participation, and improve inter-parliamentary cooperation.
In the course of 2007, the Global Centre successfully consolidated the start up phase in its two interrelated areas of work by creating the space for dialogue (conferences and workshops), promoting information and experience sharing (website, networks), analyzing issues and trends (reports and studies) and building capacities (training and study visits).
Very good progress were made in the policy and technical areas relating to "e-parliament", particularly due to the set up of the Global Network of ICT Experts in Parliament, the organization of the World e-Parliament Conference 2007 and related meetings, the launch of the Global Survey on ICT in Parliament and the preparation of the World e-Parliament Report 2008.
In addition to partnering with national and regional parliaments, the Global Centre was also able to extend its network of collaborators and build working relationships with key partners, such as the European University Institute (EUI), the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD) Working Group on ICT, the National Association of Legislative Information Technology (NALIT), the Library and Research Services for Parliaments Section of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Objectives
- Foster the introduction of ICT in parliaments to increase transparency and effectiveness and strengthen their central role as promoters of good governance and democracy
- Reinforce the role of parliaments in establishing the legislative frameworks required for the development of sustainable ICT policies and an inclusive Information Society
- Increase citizens' access to parliaments activities and documentation, thereby improving openness and accountability in legislatures
- Find new modalities of coordination between the international community and parliaments in supporting ICT-related initiatives, both in their research and operational aspects
References
- Global Centre for ICT in Parliament www.ictparliament.org
- Inter-Parliamentary Union www.ipu.org
- World Summit on the Information Society www.itu.int/wsis