United Nations
Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Inter-Parliamentary Union
World
e-Parliament
Conference 2012
Agenda
13-15 September // Chamber of Deputies of Italy // Rome
SUMMARY
08:00 am – 09:15 am Registration of delegates
Aula dei Gruppi
09:15 am – 10:00 am
Official opening of the World e‐Parliament Conference 2012
10:00 am – 10:30 am
The State of ICT in Parliaments today: the World e‐Parliament Report 2012
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Session A1 ‐ The impact of technology on parliamentary
Session B1 – Bungeni Parliamentary and Legislative Information
openness and accountability
System: features, architecture and localization
12:00 pm – 01:30 pm
Session A2 ‐ The challenges of today’s participatory media for
Session B2 ‐ Bungeni Parliamentary and Legislative Information
ber
parliaments and legislators
System: the way forward
em
pt
01:30 pm – 03:00 pm Lunch break
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
13 Se
03:00 pm – 04:30 pm
Session A3 ‐ Innovations in parliamentary communications
Session B3 ‐ Technology options for recording and reporting
parliamentary proceedings
04:30 pm – 05:00 pm Coffee break
05:00 pm – 06:30 pm
Session A4 ‐ Benefits and values of open data for fostering
Session B4 ‐ The added value of libraries to parliamentary
greater transparency in legislatures
information: making content more powerful
Aula dei Gruppi
06:30 pm
Report on the outcome of the meeting of the high‐level Board of the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament
07:00 pm – 08:30 pm Welcoming reception for all delegates
2
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
09:30 am – 11:00 am
Session A5 ‐ ICT Strategic Planning in Parliament: doing
Session B5 ‐ XML applications and services in Parliament
more with less
11:00 am – 11:30 am Coffee break
11:30 am – 01:00 pm
Session A6 ‐ Tools and technologies for meeting mobility
Session B6 ‐ Inter‐parliamentary cooperation to achieve an
ber
requirements
international parliamentary and legislative XML standard
em
pt
01:00 pm – 02:30 pm Lunch break
02:30 pm – 04:00 pm
Session A7 ‐ Delivering information and documents through Session B7 ‐ Joint open source projects to deliver quality
tablets and mobile devices
information
14 Se
04:00 pm – 04:30 pm Coffee break
04:30 pm – 06:00 pm
Session A8 ‐ Protecting the IT environment and minimizing
Session B8 ‐ Options for electronic voting systems in plenary and
external threats
committee rooms
06:00 pm – 08:00 pm Tours of the Chamber of Deputies
Aula dei Gruppi
r 09:00 am – 10:15 am
Session A9 – e‐Parliament, transparency laws and freedom of access to information
10:15 am – 11:15 am
Session A10 – Being open to citizens’ voices, participation and dialogue: the formal launch of the Parliamentary Monitoring
ptembe
Organisations’ Declaration on Parliamentary Openness
Se
15 11:15 am – 01:00 pm
Celebrations of the International Day of Democracy – Promoting Tolerance and Peace
3
AGENDA
13 September
08:00 am – 09:15 am Registration of delegates
Aula dei Gruppi
09:15 am – 10:00 am
Official opening of the World e‐Parliament Conference 2012
Gianfranco Fini, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Anders Johnsson, Secretary General of the Inter‐Parliamentary Union
Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary‐General for Policy Coordination and Inter‐Agency Affairs
of the United Nations (video)
Abel Martínez Durán, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic and
Co‐Chair of the Board of the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament
Rainer Wieland, Vice President of the European Parliament and Co‐Chair of the Board of the
Global Centre for ICT in Parliament (video)
Maurizio Lupi, Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy and member of the Board
of the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament
Benedetto Adragna, Senator and Questor of the Senate of Italy
Greetings on behalf of the Presidency of the Senate
10:00 am – 10:30 am
The State of ICT in Parliaments today: the World e‐Parliament Report 2012
Key note address:
Jeffrey Griffith, Senior Advisor, Global Centre for ICT in Parliament
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Session A1 ‐ The impact of technology on
Session B1 – Bungeni Parliamentary and
parliamentary openness and
Legislative Information System: features,
accountability
architecture and localization
Chair: Jennifer Simons, Speaker of the National
Chair: João Viegas Abreu, Senior Programme
Assembly of Suriname
Expert, Global Centre for ICT in Parliament,
Antonio Palmieri, Member of the Chamber
Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
of Deputies of Italy
United Nations
Juan José Lucas Giménez, 1st Vice
Flavio Zeni, Chief Technical Adviser, Africa
President of the Senate of Spain
i‐Parliaments Action Plan, Department of
Chifumu Banda, Deputy Chairperson of
Economic and Social Affairs, United
Committees of the National Assembly of
Nations
Zambia
Fabio Vitali, Co‐Chair of the OASIS
Benedetto Adragna, Senator and Questor
LegalDocumentML Committee Professor of
of the Senate of Italy
Computer Science, University of Bologna
Open debate
Open debate
12:00 pm – 01:30 pm
Session A2 ‐ The challenges of today’s
Session B2 ‐ Bungeni Parliamentary and
participatory media for parliaments and
Legislative Information System: the way
legislators
forward
Chair: Abdelouahed El Ansari, Vice President of Chair: Miriam Ngoka, Programme Officer,
the House of Representatives of Morocco
Africa i‐Parliaments Action Plan, Department
Cedrick Frolick, House Chairperson of the
of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations
National Assembly of South Africa
Shirley‐Ann Fiagome, Deputy Director ICT,
Archy Kirkwood, Chairman of the
Parliament of Ghana
Information Committee of the House of
Owino Harrison, Head of ICT Services,
Lords of the United Kingdom
National Assembly of Kenya
Eriko Yamatani, Member of the House of
Saseeta Ramsahye‐Rakha, Ag.
Councillors of Japan
Parliamentary ICT Manager, National
Ramón Farías Ponce, Member of the
Assembly of Mauritius
Chamber of Deputies of Chile
Cheryl Pinas, Head of the ICT department,
Open debate
National Assembly of Suriname
Wabwire Julius, Senior Systems Analyst,
Parliament of Uganda
Michael Mukuka, Principal Clerk ICT,
National Assembly of Zambia
Open debate
4
01:30 pm – 03:00 pm Lunch break
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
03:00 pm – 04:30 pm
Session A3 ‐ Innovations in parliamentary
Session B3 ‐ Technology options for
communications
recording and reporting parliamentary
Chair: Audrey O’Brien, Clerk, House of
proceedings
Commons of Canada
Chair: Damir Davidovic, Secretary General,
Hayono Isman, Vice‐Chairman of the
Parliament of Montenegro
Committee for Inter‐Parliamentary
Saseeta Ramsahye‐Rakha, Ag.
Cooperation of the House of
Parliamentary ICT Manager, National
Representatives of Indonesia
Assembly of Mauritius
Stephen Clark, Head of Web
Andreas Sidler, Chief Information Officer,
Communications, European Parliament
Federal Parliament of Switzerland
Andy Wiliamson, Consultant, Inter‐
Miano Njoka, Software Developer Officer,
Parliamentary Union
Africa i‐Parliaments Action Plan,
Open debate
Department of Economic and Social
Affairs, United Nations
Open debate
04:30 pm – 05:00 pm Coffee break
05:00 pm – 06:30 pm
Session A4 ‐ Benefits and values of
Session B4 ‐ The added value of libraries to
open data for fostering greater
parliamentary information: making content
transparency in legislatures
more powerful
Chair: Jani Makraduli, Vice President of the
Chair: Sonia L'Heureux, Librarian, Parliament of
Assembly of The former Yugoslav Republic of Canada
Macedonia
Raissa Teodori, Secretary of the IFLA Section
Paolo Gentiloni, Member of the
on Library and Research Services for
Chamber of Deputies of Italy and
Elena
Parliaments and Head of Office, Joint
Flavia Candia, IT Department Officer,
Parliamentary Library of Italy
Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Alim Garga, Director of the Library, National
Rogério Ventura Teixeira, Director
Assembly of Cameroon
General, Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
John McDonough, Head of Collections,
Robert Reeves, Deputy Clerk, House of
Library and Research Services, Parliament of
Representatives of the United States of
Ireland
America
Open debate
Open debate
Aula dei Gruppi
06:30 pm
Report on the outcome of the meeting of the high‐level Board of the Global Centre for
ICT in Parliament
Rainer Wieland, Vice President of the European Parliament and Co‐Chair of the Board of the
Global Centre for ICT in Parliament
07:00 pm – 08:30 pm Welcoming reception for all delegates
5
14 September
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
09:30 am – 11:00 am
Session A5 ‐ ICT Strategic Planning
Session B5 ‐ XML applications and
in Parliament: doing more with less
services in Parliament
Chair: Dick Toornstra, Director of the
Chair: Ravi Poliah, acting Division
Office for Promotion of Parliamentary
Manager, Parliament of South Africa
Democracy, European Parliament
João Holanda, Director of SSALEP,
Antonieta Teixeira, Director of the
Prodasen, Senate of Brazil
IT Department, Assembly of the
Kirsten Gullickson, Senior Systems
Republic of Portugal
Analyst, House of Representatives of the
Thomas Taimu, Director of the IT
United States of America
Department, National Assembly of
Ashok Hariharan, Software Developer
Malawi
Coordinator, Africa i‐Parliaments Action
Shmulik Hizkiya, Head of the
Plan, Department of Economic and Social
Information Division, and
Oz Cohen,
Affairs, United Nations
Deputy Chief Information Officer,
Open debate
Parliament of Israel
Open debate
11:00 am – 11:30 am
Coffee break
11:30 am – 01:00 pm
Session A6 ‐ Tools and technologies Session B6 ‐ Inter‐parliamentary
for meeting mobility requirements
cooperation to achieve an international
Chair: Carol Mills, Secretary,
parliamentary and legislative XML
Department of Parliamentary Services,
standard
Parliament of Australia
Chair: Gherardo Casini, Head, Office of the
Koo Heekwon, Vice Secretary
Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
General, National Assembly of the
United Nations
Republic of Korea
Enrico Seta, Senior Officer, Research
Joan Miller, Director of
Department, Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Parliamentary ICT, Parliament of
Carlo Simonelli, Coordinator of the ECPRD
the United Kingdom
Area of Interest ICT in Parliaments and
Fakhreddine Aouadi, IT
Head of Office, Central Systems, Chamber
Applications Specialist, European
of Deputies of Italy
Parliament
Monica Palmirani, Co‐Chair of the OASIS
Open debate
LegalDocumentML Committee and
Professor of Legal Informatics, School of
Law ‐ CIRSFID, University of Bologna
Open debate
01:00 pm – 02:30 pm
Lunch break
6
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
02:30 pm – 04:00 pm
Session A7 ‐ Delivering
Session B7 ‐ Joint open source projects
information and documents
to deliver quality information
through tablets and mobile
Chair: Bassel Dohaini, Chairman of the ICT
devices
Department, Parliament of Lebanon
Chair: James Rege, Chairman of the
Mauro Fioroni, acting Head of the IT
Energy, Information and
Department, and
Carlo Marchetti, Head
Communication Committee of the
of the Information Systems Development
National Assembly of Kenya
Office, Senate of Italy
Geert Jan Hamilton, Secretary
Claudio Fabiani, Project Manager,
General, Senate of the Netherlands
Directorate General for Innovation and
Mukul Pande, Joint Secretary, and
Technological Support, European
Pradeep Chaturvedi, Director,
Parliament
Council of States of India
Mario Ruggier, Software Developer
Simon Nicholls, Director of
Officer, Africa i‐Parliaments Action Plan,
Programmes and Development,
Department of Economic and Social
Parliamentary ICT, Parliament of
Affairs, United Nations
the United Kingdom
Open debate
Open debate
04:00 pm – 04:30 pm
Coffee break
04:30 pm – 06:00 pm
Session A8 ‐ Protecting the IT
Session B8 ‐ Options for electronic voting
environment and minimizing
systems in plenary and committee
external threats
rooms
Chair: Jesus Alfonso Rodriguez
Chair: Garreth Ferguson, Information Systems
Camargo, Secretary General, House of
Manager, Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
Representatives of Colombia
Patricio Alvarez, Director of the IT
Hernán Figueroa, Director of
Department, Senate of Chile
Information Technology, Chamber
Marian Botocan, IT Director, Chamber of
of Deputies of Chile
Deputies of Romania
Stéphan Aubé, Chief Information
Umberto Biagi, Senior Advisor, IT
Officer, House of Commons of
Department, Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Canada
Reynaldo Gaibor, Responsible of
Open debate
Information Systems, General
Coordination of Technology Services,
National Assembly of Ecuador
Open debate
06:00 pm – 08:00 pm
Tours of the Chamber of Deputies
7
15 September
Aula dei Gruppi
09:00 am – 10:15 am
Session A9 – e‐Parliament, transparency laws and freedom of access to information
C
hair: Timothy Hamel‐Smith, President of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
Javier Barrero, 2nd Vice President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain
Päivi Lipponen, Chair of the Committee for the Future of the Parliament of Finland
Julio César Valentín Jiminián, Chair of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights of
the Senate of the Dominican Republic
Sérgio Sampaio Contreiras de Almeida, Secretary General of the Chamber of Deputies
of Brazil
Open debate
10:15 am – 11:15 am
Session A10 – Being open to citizens’ voices, participation and dialogue: the formal
launch of the Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations’ Declaration on Parliamentary
Openness
Chair: Andrew Mandelbaum, Senior Governance Officer, National Democratic Institute
María Baron, co‐Coordinator, Latin American Network for Legislative Transparency,
and Executive Director, Directorio Legislativo Foundation
John Wonderlich, Policy Director, Sunlight Foundation
Marwa Abou Dayya, Executive Board Member, Nahwa Al‐Muwatiniya (Towards
Citizenship)
Gregor Hackmack, co‐Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ParliamentWatch.org
Aline Pennisi, Vice President, OpenPolis Association
Anna Scislowska, Project Coordinator, Association 61
Open debate
11:15 am – 01:00 pm
Celebrations of the International Day of Democracy – Promoting Tolerance and Peace
co‐Chairs:
Maurizio Lupi, Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary‐General for Policy Coordination and Inter‐Agency Affairs of
the United Nations
Key note addresses:
Giulio Terzi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy
Abdelwahad Radi, President of the Inter‐Parliamentary Union
Chukwuemeka Nkem Ihedioha, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of
Nigeria
Vannino Chiti, Vice President of the Senate of Italy
Statements by Presidents and Speakers of Parliament
Conclusions
Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary‐General for Policy Coordination and Inter‐Agency
Affairs of the United Nations
Abdelwahad Radi, President of the Inter‐Parliamentary Union
Renzo Lusetti, Member of the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
8
ANNOTATED AGENDA
13 September
08:00 am – 09:15 am Registration of delegates
Aula dei Gruppi
09:15 am – 10:00 am
Official opening of the World e‐Parliament Conference 2012
The World e‐Parliament Conference 2012 will be officially opened by the representatives of the
United Nations, the Inter‐Parliamentary Union, the Chamber of Deputies of Italy, and the Co‐
Chairs of the Board of the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament.
10:00 am – 10:30 am
The state of ICT in Parliaments today: the World e‐Parliament Report 2012
In early 2012, the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament launched the third Global Survey of ICT in
Parliaments in preparation for the release of the third issue of the World e‐Parliament Report.
The survey was conducted between February and May 2012. 156 parliamentary ICT
organizations coordinated the completion of the questionnaire (corresponding to 177
chambers), marking a significant increase from the 134 responses received in 2009. The
World
e‐Parliament Report 2012, prepared by the Global Centre for ICT in Parliament, will be
presented to parliaments, as well as to the community of international experts, in this session.
The presentation of the findings of the Report will highlight best practices and improvements
that have occurred since the last edition in 2010, as well as areas that need further
development.
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Session A1 ‐ The impact of technology
Session B1 – Bungeni Parliamentary and
on parliamentary openness and
Legislative Information System: features,
accountability
architecture and localization
Information
and
communication Systems for managing documentation work flows
technologies offer unprecedented means in digital formats make parliamentary operations
for citizens to hold legislatures accountable, more efficient and help support transparency.
to access information regarding the activity These systems need to encompass the entire
of legislators and of institutions in a variety lifecycle of documents, from creation to
of formats, and to be engaged in the publishing, in a seamless way. The experiences of
decision‐making process. Expectations of many parliaments show that the resource
citizens in this regard have been growing in needed to build and sustain effective systems for
recent years, and the pace of technological creating, managing and preserving parliamentary
change makes it difficult to predict what records can be considerable and should not be
new capabilities may be possible and what underestimated. The long term benefits and
new societal developments may emerge in efficiency gains, however, can be substantial.
the future.
In parliaments experiencing financial constraints
While
the
impact
of
the
newest or budget reductions, the open source
technologies on the political sphere is still in development model is becoming increasingly
progress, their potential can already be appealing,
since
collaborative
software
glimpsed through changes in the modalities developments among partnering legislatures
of communication of citizens and civil offer a unique opportunity to leverage a wider
societies with their legislatures. This network of expertise and experience and to
presents both opportunities and challenges make best use of limited funds for deploying new
for parliaments as they seek to affirm their systems. It also ensures high and more
role as vital democratic institutions of the sustainable quality results as applications are
21st
century
and
the
primary available to all parliaments. One example is
representative of the people.
provided by the open source Bungeni
The panel will consider what impact Parliamentary
and
Legislative
Information
technology has had on the institution and System, developed by the United Nations in the
on society and how it is possible to use it as framework of the
Africa i‐Parliaments Action
a means to encourage the effective
Plan initiative.
engagement of citizens and increase their The session will present the features,
participation in the political debate, as well architecture and localization opportunity of the
as to support the commitment of Bungeni system, as well as its support of the
parliaments
to
greater
openness,
Akoma Ntoso XML standard.
transparency
and
accountability
for
fostering democratic values.
9
12:00 pm – 01:30 pm
Session A2 ‐ The challenges of today’s
Session B2 ‐ Bungeni Parliamentary and
participatory media for parliaments and Legislative Information System: the way
legislators
forward
Today’s participatory media have a great This year a number of parliaments in Africa have
potential
to
support
the
goals
of begun the process of deployment of the
transparency and citizen’s participation, and
Bungeni
Parliamentary
Information
and
to facilitate the dialogue between citizens, Legislative System, and a growing number
their
elected
representatives
and outside this continent have considered it and/or
legislatures. Social media enable faster and evaluated it to assess its capacity of meeting
more frequent interactive communication, their information management needs.
providing new mechanisms for public During this session several parliaments will
engagement and participation. By offering report on the state of their implementation of
new channels for two‐way communication
Bungeni and will share their experiences and
among individuals, they are having a challenges concerning the adoption of the
powerful impact on the ability of citizens to system.
build politically engaged communities able to The discussion that follows will examine some
put pressure on legislators and political of these common challenges to identify the
groups. These developments are forcing solutions that may address them, as well as
representative institutions and members of ways
to
improve
inter‐parliamentary
parliament
to
embrace
these
new cooperation in the domain of collaborative
technologies and to understand the complex software development.
network of information and communication
channels used by citizens.
This session will address both the
opportunities and the challenges that the
phenomenal development of social media in
recent years is offering to legislatures and
members of parliaments to gain public trust
and support their representative functions.
01:30 pm – 03:00 pm Lunch break
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
03:00 pm – 04:30 pm
Session A3 ‐ Innovations in
Session B3 ‐ Technology options for
parliamentary communications
recording and reporting parliamentary
Parliaments
have
identified
improving
proceedings
communication with the public as a high With the advent of the Internet, the demands
priority and a promising area for the for accessing the records of parliamentary
application of a variety of information and proceedings have increased significantly in both
communications technologies. ICT offers an text and audio and video formats. Today,
opportunity to open up the parliament to making proceedings available in a timely and
public view, to disseminate information accurate way has become an important
about the parliament and to engage citizens benchmark for measuring the openness and
more directly in policy discussions. It holds transparency of a parliament.
the promise of countering the disaffection of As the technology options available to
the public with political institutions and legislatures have expanded considerably,
bringing in a new generation of voters to the meeting these expectations and demands is no
political process. Almost all legislative bodies longer an ICT issue.
now have websites that they use to This session will focus on how parliaments make
communicate
information
about
their use of technologies to provide recordings of
activities to the public. Increasingly, proceedings, in which types of format, at what
legislatures are exploring new media for speeds, and with what methods of access. It will
reaching constituents, especially younger address the common obstacles faced by
people. Use of social networks, text parliamentary administrations in releasing draft
messaging tools and web platforms are a few versions of records on their websites and
examples of how parliaments are introducing indicate possible solutions.
innovative tools to make their activities more
transparent and promote engagement of
people in the democratic process. These
technology evolutions have also affected the
10
relations between parliaments and the press.
This session will focus on current innovations
in parliamentary communications, providing
an overview of best practices and successful
applications, challenges and policy and
management options.
04:30 pm – 05:00 pm
Coffee break
05:00 pm – 06:30 pm
Session A4 ‐ Benefits and values of open Session B4 ‐ The added value of libraries to
data for fostering greater transparency
parliamentary information: making
in legislatures
content more powerful
Adopting open data policies means making Like all major institutions parliaments are
information freely available in a format that information
intensive
and
information
can be examined and reused, assembled in a demanding
organizations.
They
create
variety of ways and republished on different information
themselves
through
their
platforms.
documents and their actions, and require access
The use of open data can help institutions to many external sources, including from the
become more transparent, accountable and government, the judiciary, civil society, experts,
efficient, and can facilitate the presentation the
media,
academics,
international
of parliamentary information in innovative organizations, and other legislative bodies.
and more attractive ways. Open data Acquiring,
organizing
and
integrating
publishing can promote the creation of new parliamentary and external information sources
way for citizens to interact with members of in a way that enables the creation of a
parliament and participate in parliamentary parliamentary knowledge base has major value
monitoring and policy analysis. However, the for legislative institutions and the public.
availability of parliamentary data in open Parliamentary libraries, although different in
data formats remains a challenge at a time of size, history, mission and staff, embody the
growing requests from the public.
knowledge and the skills to carry out this
This session will present means of challenging task.
implementing open data in legislatures, This session will consider how parliamentary
focusing not only on technical options but libraries can take advantage of ICT to make
also on business and knowledge issues, as parliamentary information more accessible,
well as on associated management and more useful, more relevant and more engaging
policy frameworks
.
both for the parliament and for citizens. It will
describe experiences and practices of how
individual
parliamentary
libraries
have
accomplished this and explore opportunities for
cooperation,
networking
and
knowledge
sharing.
Aula dei Gruppi
06:30 pm
Report on the outcome of the meeting of the high‐level Board of the Global Centre
for ICT in Parliament
The Board meets annually and when possible on the occasion of World e‐Parliament
Conferences. Delegates will be informed by the co‐Chair of the high‐level Board about the
meeting outcome and the Board views.
07:00 pm – 08:30 pm
Welcoming reception for all delegates
11
Aula dei Gruppi
Sala del Mappamondo
09:30 am – 11:00 am
Session A5 ‐ ICT Strategic Planning in
Session B5 ‐ XML applications and services
Parliament: doing more with less
in Parliament
When resources are constrained, as they For a parliament to fully reap the benefits of
have been for many parliaments during the technical advances information needs to be
last years, strategic planning and the managed making use of open sematic standards,
management of ICT takes on a special such as XML. XML allows the different parts of
importance in the complex legislature parliamentary records to be tagged in machine‐
environment.
readable format so that they can be used
One of the most valuable contributions of properly by various computers and mobile
the
planning
process
under
these devices for editing, displaying, searching and
circumstances is that it forces decision exchanging. XML has become a critical element
makers to focus not just on the “what” of in meeting the growing requirements for
ICT but also on the “why”. It requires transparency, accountability, and openness, and
parliaments to identify the benefits they will for the management, dissemination and long‐
to gain as a result of implementing new term preservation of official documents.
systems or acquiring devices and to weigh However, implementing XML is a complex
those benefits against the cost implications. process and needs specific tools. Yet, there are a
This leads to the establishment of a vision, number of examples where success has been
the identification of strategic priorities and achieved through the right mix of planning,
an improved ability to assess how projects stakeholders’ engagement and understanding,
can be phased in when, as increasingly and the application of good practices and
happens, funds have to be allocated over methodologies.
several years.
This session will focus on the current
This session will focus on how sound implementation of XML in parliaments, the
frameworks for ICT strategic planning, services that can be delivered making use of XML,
management, and oversight can be and the tools that can be used to create and
developed, and the particular role senior manage XML documents. It will do so through the
management and IT staff plays in this presentation of concrete examples and by
domain.
highlighting resources required, technical options
and concrete applications and services.
11:00 am – 11:30 am Coffee break
11:30 am – 01:00 pm
Session A6 ‐ Tools and technologies for
Session B6 ‐ Inter‐parliamentary
meeting mobility requirements
cooperation to achieve an international
The
rapid
growth
and
increased
parliamentary and legislative XML standard
sophistication of mobile devices, coupled Achieving an international parliamentary and
with developments in connectivity, are legislative XML standard is crucial for supporting
placing new demands on parliaments to the exchange of documents and data across
meet the mobility demands of users by legislative branch organizations and for creating
providing services wherever needed and synergies and economies of scale that will greatly
whenever wanted.
lower the adoption barriers for parliaments that
To respond to this challenge, many are planning the deployment of XML.
parliaments
are
experimenting
with The adoption of the
Akoma Ntoso schema in
applications
that
can
enhance
the several parliaments and the establishment of the
productivity of members and staff when OASIS LegalDocumentML Technical Committee
outside their offices. In this context, cloud that has begun its formal standardization process
computing is also offering institutions indicate that there could be promising
greater capabilities in this area, and developments on this front in the near future.
legislatures are evaluating how to benefit This session will address the opportunities for the
from this solution while still meeting wider adoption of
Akoma Ntoso among
requirements for data ownership and parliaments through a collaborative approach
security.
that
would
facilitate
convergence
and
This session will address the recent interoperability. The session will also take into
developments and trends in the delivery of account the Conclusions of the EU Speakers
mobile services and in cloud computing Conference on standardization and a proposal to
from
the
perspectives
of
strategic establish a Working Group on Open Document
management and technical architecture.
Standards in Parliament.
12
01:00 pm – 02:30 pm Lunch break
02:30 pm – 04:00 pm
Session A7 ‐ Delivering information and Session B7 ‐ Joint open source projects to
documents through tablets and mobile
deliver quality information
devices
The fast pace of innovation and the
Legislatures are facing a growing demand characteristics of open source ICT systems –
from members to receive information collaborative
development,
low
cost
of
wherever they are located and to be able to duplication, sharing of resources, etc. ‐‐ present
carry out their work in a paperless and parliaments with new opportunities to exchange
mobile environment. At the same time experiences and engage in joint development of
publishing information in formats readable applications. Collaborative development in the
on different mobile platforms expands the open source software arena is a path that
capacity of legislatures to disseminate parliaments may take to develop advanced and
information and make it more easily sustainable solutions. The open source nature of
accessible
to
citizens.
However, tools developed through such collaborative
implementing ICT for mobile devices, such approaches
makes
them
more
easily
as smart phones and tablets, can present customizable for the specific needs of each
significant challenges and require new staff parliament.
skills.
The session will present specific open source
This session will focus on current
projects that have been developed by different
implementation practices that have allowed
parliaments to deliver high quality services, and
parliaments to provide solutions for the
that can be made available to peer institutions
delivery of information on mobile devices
for adoption and improvement.
and achieve savings and efficiency gains.
04:00 pm – 04:30 pm Coffee break
04:30 pm – 06:00 pm
Session A8 ‐ Protecting the IT
Session B8 ‐ Options for electronic voting
environment and minimizing external
systems in plenary and committee rooms
threats
Different technological options exist for the
Improving security to ensure continuity of deployment of electronic voting systems in
service, protect members confidentiality, plenary and committee rooms. These systems
and provide adequate defenses against can
improve
efficiency
in
conducting
hacking and cybercrime is a critical priority parliamentary business and increase the volume,
for parliaments that are increasingly the timeliness, and the internal and external
receiving external threats from within and availability of information regarding actions
outside the national borders. While some taken during the law‐making process.
parliaments have long recognized the vital This session will present various technology
nature of this requirement, others have solutions that have been adopted for electronic
been slower to take appropriate measures. voting systems, including user authentication,
This is a challenge that parliaments acting on and discuss how these systems are improving
their own can solve only in part. It calls for citizens’ access to information concerning the
coordinated and collaborative efforts with attendance and voting decisions of their
other public institutions within the country representatives.
and with other organizations on a world‐
wide basis. Nevertheless, recognition of the
problem followed by the establishment of
good policies and sound practices must
begin at home with the parliament itself.
This session will focus on internal and
external vulnerabilities and on practices that
could be adopted to minimize risk and
ensure greater confidence and trust.
06:00 pm – 08:00 pm
Tours of the Chamber of Deputies
13
Aula dei Gruppi
09:00 am – 10:15 am
Session A9 – e‐Parliament, transparency laws and access to information
With the changes brought about by the extraordinary growth of ICT in this digital era,
transparency laws and/or laws on freedom of access to information have incorporated principles
and norms that take into account the expanding use of the Internet, digital documents, and
technology by public institutions and by society. In many cases, they call for governing institutions
to disclose acts, documents and data through the Internet and website platforms, and to respond
to public requests in digital or electronic formats.
Most parliaments are also required to provide information either upon citizens’ request or by
rules that mandate the disclosure of documentation relating to members and staff, the
parliamentary administration and its relation with contractors. In these instances, e‐parliament
has played an important role in helping the legislature to meet these demands efficiently and
effectively and to comply with the transparency standards enshrined in the laws.
This session will highlight country cases and review the benefits for legislatures of making
technology a means to respond to the increasing demands of laws and norms for access to
information and greater parliamentary transparency.
10:15 am – 11:15am
Session A10 – Being open to citizens’ voices, participation and dialogue: the formal
launch of the Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations’ Declaration on Parliamentary
Openness
Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations (PMOs) are growing in number and are increasingly
focusing public attention on parliamentary bodies. The majority of these PMOs are using
technologies in a sophisticated way to provide citizens with additional instruments to scrutinize,
but also understand and appreciate, the law‐making process. They are also attracting the public’s
interest by presenting and retrieving information on user‐friendly platforms with social
networking layers that support civic engagement.
In the last two years Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations have improved coordination
through exchanges at the international level. One result of this effort is an internationally agreed
Declaration on Parliamentary Openness, which among others goals addresses issues related to the
use of technology in legislatures to increase transparency. In this session, representatives of the
network of PMOs will formally launch the Declaration and discuss with members its key elements,
in addition to presenting some aspects of the work done individually.
11:15 am – 01:00 pm
Celebrations of the International Day of Democracy – Promoting Tolerance and Peace
The International Day of Democracy provides an opportunity to celebrate democracy around the
world. The overall theme chosen to conclude the meeting ‐ “Promoting Tolerance and Peace” ‐
will be addressed by high level members of international organizations and representative
institutions as well as by speakers and presidents of Parliament.
14
