Over 200 Commonwealth Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and international experts from a wide range of organisations have examined some of the most pressing, universal challenges faced by democracies worldwide in a series of virtual workshops.

The ‘Virtual CPC Workshop’ series, hosted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), brought together elected representatives, parliamentary officials, international organisations and leading academics for five workshops, held over the course of two weeks. Topics examined included: climate change; International Humanitarian Law; democracy and social media; disability representation; and youth activism.

Every day across the Commonwealth, Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff grapple with legislation, debates and constituency issues related to these cross-cutting themes. The workshops offered participants an opportunity to consider the issues at hand in greater depth, informed by presentations from world-leading experts, and discuss concrete actions that legislators can take to lead international, national and local action on these issues.

Representatives from the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Accountability Lab and the UK think tank Demos were amongst a host of expert panellists speaking at the workshops. By facilitating knowledge sharing between Parliamentarians and international organisations, the CPA is working to bolster connections between Parliaments and civil society and ensure that the actions of those in public office are informed by the latest data and research.

The CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg said,

“At the CPA, we recognise that many issues are universal to Parliamentarians in every corner of the Commonwealth. We are committed to facilitating ongoing dialogue between legislators, parliamentary officials and international experts to find solutions to these common democratic challenges. This series of workshops showed that the specialist knowledge of academics and NGOs will always be an invaluable resource for our elected representatives, particularly on complex topics such as International Humanitarian Law and climate change.”

The final workshop, focussing on youth activism, was held on Commonwealth Day, in recognition of the central role that young people will play in the collective effort to ‘deliver a common future’. Click here to find out more about the CPA’s Commonwealth Day activities.

All of the Virtual CPC Workshops are now available to watch on the CPA YouTube channel:

In October and November 2021, the Virtual CPC Workshop series will continue with another four workshops for Commonwealth Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff. 

The themes for the workshops are:

• Parliamentary Responses to Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism
• Strengthening Representation and Diversity in Democracy
• Political inclusion: People with disabilities - side-lined or mainstreamed?
• Building effective relationships between State and sub-State Parliaments in the Commonwealth

Further information about these workshops will be announced in due course. If you have any questions about the Virtual CPC Workshop series, please contact Matthew Salik, Head of Parliamentary Development.