The Inter-Parliamentary Union is the largest international union of parliaments of sovereign states in the world. It is “the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy.”

 

This year's theme will be “Parliaments and people: Bridging the gap”, a highly relevant theme to African parliaments in this digital era. The program developed will facilitate and promote appreciation of regional and continental synergies toward information sharing of “best practices”.

 

African parliaments have come a long way and very much feel the need to reach out to their citizens both reviving traditional community based practices as well as effectively utilizing the new social media technologies. The IPU Assembly will provide a unique opportunity for the African parliaments to showcase their achievements and challenges as well as learn from world-wide best practices and the successful approaches of other parliaments.

 

In this sense, the Assembly will be a fundamental opportunity to promote the realization of open, transparent, accountable and, consequently, strong democratic parliaments across Africa.

 

The Agenda, schedule and relevant documents for the Assembly can be accessed on:

http://www.ipu.org/conf-e/126agnd.htm#agenda