On April 30th, Parliament of Georgia and the Non-Governmental and International Organizations participating in the Open Parliament Georgia Working Group, signed the Memorandum on Parliamentary Openness.
With singing the Memorandum, Georgia became the first country in the region starting to implement the Principles of Open Parliament. The official ceremony of signing the Memorandum took place in the building of the Parliament in Kutaisi. The Memorandum was signed by the Chairman of the Parliament, Mr. Davit Usupashvili and by the Non-Governmental and International Organizations which are members of the Open Parliament Georgia Working Group.
The chairman of the Parliament addressed the parties presented on the ceremony.
“As usual, insignificant news never happens in the everyday life of the Parliament of Georgia but there are days and moments when we make decisions that put the foundations for the new developments and new standards of our life. Today is one of these days – Parliament says openly, especially before the citizens of Georgia and at the same time before the civil organizations and international partners that Parliament is ready to establish totally new and different standards of transparency and openness. With signing the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness and with participating in the process of Open Government Partnership, which is one of the most important processes of the world, we join this completely new challenge of the 21 century,” – said Davit Usupashvili.
The attendants were also addressed by the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Georgia, Shombi Sharp, and by the Director of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), Giorgi Kldiashvili. Mr. Shombi Sharp spoke about the role of donor community in the development of the process of the Parliamentary Openness and expressed the will to continue the cooperation between parties. The Director of IDFI, Giorgi Kldiashvili, underlined the meaning of the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness and the Memorandum and highlighted that the Initiative on Parliamentary Openness is a new perspective Georgia is facing today.
After the welcome remarks the ceremony on signing the Memorandum was held that was followed by MPs’ singing the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness. With singing the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness Parliament of Georgia took the commitment to implement the principles of Open Parliament and support the involvement of the citizens in the legislative process.
In order to implement the principles of Open Government the Open Parliament Georgia Working Group was founded in February, 2015, chaired by, the Head of the Committee on European Integration, Tinatin Khidasheli. The Working Group also comprises 12 MPs with Inter-Factional composition and Georgia based Non-Governmental and International Organizations.
The Ceremony of signing the declaration on Parliamentary Openness and Memorandum was held within the project “Supporting Parliament of Georgia Involvement in Open Government Partnership” that is implemented by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) with the partnership of the Parliament of Georgia within the joint project “Strengthening the System of Parliamentary Democracy in Georgia” of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The Open Parliament Georgia Working Group was originated within the project of “Supporting Parliament of Georgia Involvement in Open Government Partnership”. The aim of the Working Group is to implement the principles of Open Parliament and to take an active part in drawing out of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan.
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