With the support from UNDP, IDFI Director Giorgi Kldiashvili took the part in the World e-Parliament Conference 2016 held in Valparaiso, at the Parliament of Chile (28-30 June).

The World e-Parliament Conference is the biennial forum of the parliamentary community on the 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 World e-Parliament Conference 2016 was co-organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, in partnership with UNDP and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and with support from partner organizations.

The conference featured the following components:

• Presentation of the World e-Parliament Report 2016 and discussion of key findings;

• Half-day thematic blocks (broadly aligned with the main chapters of the World e-Parliament Report) to enable in-depth discussions of policy and technical issues;

• Daily “Innovation in Parliaments” segments in plenary to promote the sharing of innovations;

• Two workshops on (a) how parliaments engage with citizens via social media, and (b) how parliaments with lesser resources can deploy effective and sustainable ICT solutions;

• An “Unconference” providing a space for informal small-group discussions between participants on topics of mutual interest e.g. XML document standards, parliamentarians´ use of social media, etc;

• A “Hackathon” intending to demonstrate how parliaments can effectively develop innovative ICT solutions by engaging and collaborating with civil society. The Hackathon delivered applications (Apps) developed over three days.

Delegations included members of parliament, secretary generals and parliamentary ICT staff. Other participants in the conference included experts from civil society, academia, the private sector and international organizations.

The Conference started on 28 June with the Opening Ceremony, followed by the launch of the World e-Parliament Report 2016. It continued in parallel sessions until the afternoon of 30 June, when participants reconvened in plenary for the conclusions of the conference. A guided tour of the Parliament was organized during the Conference. All panels and sessions were interactive, with ample time for debate. During the Conference, online interaction, information sharing and participation was promoted through the use of social media and collaboration tools. Online engagement was also facilitated by using Twitter and online collaboration boards where delegates could share comments, facts and ideas in parallel to the proceedings.

On June 30, Giorgi Kldiashvili made a presentation about the progress made by the Parliament of Georgia in terms of parliamentary openness. He highlighted the fact that the achievements of the Georgian Parliament are the result of its active collaboration with civil society. According to Giorgi, in the beginning of 2015, civil society organizations and the Inter-Factional Group of the Georgian Parliament signed a memorandum agreeing to work towards the Parliament’s involvement in the Open Government Partnership. The Georgian Parliament also signed the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness.

After active collaboration of the civil society working group and the Inter-Factional Group of the Parliament, the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan 2015-2016 was elaborated and adopted by Parliament on July 17. The success of the Georgian Parliament and civil society organizations was illustrated by the OGP Champions’ Award being granted to the Georgian Parliament on the 2015 OGP Summit in Mexico.

Giorgi Kldiashvili mentioned that the Parliament of Georgia has already started the implementation of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan 2015-2016. The first commitment executed by the Parliament was the creation of the Permanent Parliamentary Council on Open and Transparent Governance. The Council will be responsible for the elaboration and execution of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan. The Parliamentary Council is composed of MPs from all factions of the Parliament. Civil society organizations will support the Council through the Consultative Group that will work together with the Council. Necessary amendments to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure are already implemented, the Charter of the Council is already adopted and the Chair of the Council is appointed. IDFI was selected as the Chair of the Consultative Group by its member civil society organizations.

Currently, the Parliamentary Council is working to implement other commitments as well. For example, the concepts of several commitments (Allowing Comment on Draft Legislation, Submitting Legislative Proposals and Initiatives Electronically, Easing Access to the Parliamentary Information for Persons with Disabilities, etc.) were adopted by the Council. Amendments to the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure, which will create the legal bases for further implementation of the commitments, have already been elaborated and sent to the Parliament for further proceedings.

All of the above mentioned work was made possible within the framework of the project titled Supporting Involvement of the Parliament of Georgia in Open Government Partnership (OGP). This initiative is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in cooperation with the IDFI.