Seminars

7 February 2024

This IPEN seminar will showcase a budget scrutiny case study, presented by two speakers from the Scottish Parliament.

Speakers: Ailsa Burn-Murdoch (Senior Researcher at the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, SPICe); Leoncha Leavy (Community Participation Specialist, Participation and Communities Team, Scottish Parliament)

Chair: Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds and Chair of IPEN)

The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee at the Scottish Parliament recently worked with a lived experience deliberative panel to explore the role of participation in the budget scrutiny process.

As part of this, a panel of 12 people worked together to come up with six questions for the Committee to ask the Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees as part of the Committee’s pre-budget scrutiny 2024-25. This work was also an opportunity to develop the Parliament’s practice approach, as part of a wider journey towards institutionalising deliberative democracy.

This proof-of-concept exercise aimed to help the Parliament understand the following:

• Does the Budget lend itself to participatory and deliberative approaches, and can we use a lived experience deliberative panel to support budget scrutiny?
• Does using this approach support cross-committee scrutiny?
• What was the impact on participants, members and staff?
• Did the approach lead to stronger commitments from the Scottish Government?
• Did the approach strengthen scrutiny?
• How significant is the role of research support in using deliberative methods to strengthen scrutiny?

Ailsa Burn-Murdoch provides research support on both financial scrutiny and citizen participation as a member of SPICe, the Scottish Parliament’s impartial research service. Leoncha Leavy is one of the Parliament’s Community Participation Specialists.

In this seminar, Ailsa and Leoncha will give a recap of the context and process, before discussing how the work progressed their understanding of the issues above, and what comes next in this aspect of the Scottish Parliament’s deliberative journey.

This online event is open to all members of the International Parliament Engagement Network.

Find out more about the network.

Image: Citizens panel giving formal evidence to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. © Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament.

29 January 2024

This Public Engagement Hub seminar will focus on public engagement with regard to climate change.

Speakers: Tyhileka Madubela (National Assembly, Parliament of South Africa); Temitayo Odeyemi (School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds); Omomayowa Abati (Stellenbosch University, South Africa); Pablo García Baccino (Directorio Legilativo)

Chair:  Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds and Chair of IPEN)

With the profound impact of climate change on people’s lives, there is a growing expectation for parliaments and elected representatives to proactively address this issue. Given the complexity of combating climate change, public engagement is both necessary and challenging. This seminar explores two approaches that demonstrate how parliaments can effectively involve the public in their initiatives on climate change:

Community engagement on the Climate Change Bill in South Africa – This case study showcases how parliaments can consult widely on proposed legislation to combat climate change, taking into account a range of voices from the community..

Escazù Agreement: citizen participation in environmental matters in Latin America – This case study explores the role of parliaments in the Escazú Agreement, which mandates public engagement on environmental issues in Latin America.

The seminar will also hear an update following the Parliamentary Meeting at COP28 in December 2023. Join us for insightful discussions into ways to engage the public in parliamentary efforts in addressing climate change.

This event will take place on Zoom and is open to anyone with an interest in public engagement with parliaments.

It will be presented in English. Translation will be available from/to French and Spanish.

Find out more and register here.

About the Public Engagement Hub seminar series

This seminar is jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN). The event is part of a series of webinars hosted by the Public Engagement Hub.

Image: Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash

13 December 2023

This IPEN seminar will showcase how the Irish Sign Language (ISL) Interpreting Team at the Houses of the Oireachtas are working towards integrating Irish Sign Language into aspects of the Irish parliament.

Caroline O’Leary and Ciara Grant from the ISL Team will give an overview of their roles and responsibilities, with a particular focus on the recent development of a new ISL glossary of parliamentary terminology.

Parliamentary interpreting brings with it many challenges, one of which being the use of English parliamentary terminology where an ISL equivalent has not yet been established. The ISL team collaborated with twelve Deaf Interpreting students from the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College Dublin, to co-create over eighty signs for parliamentary terms where previously an ISL equivalent was not formally established or known to the ISL team.

This online event is open to all members of the International Parliament Engagement Network. Find out more about the network.

Image: Ciara Grant, Junior Irish Sign language (ISL) Interpreter at the Houses of the Oireachtas recording an ISL interpretation of an address given by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.

8 November 2023

Speakers: Lumina Mentari (Expert Staff, The House of Representatives, Republic of Indonesia); Nanuka Kruashvili (representative of the Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association, Georgia)

Chair: Dr Sarah Moulds, University of South Australia and member of the IPEN Executive Team

This Public Engagement Hub seminar, jointly organised by the IPU and IPEN, will explore the crucial role of legal frameworks for public participation in the work of parliament and delve into the concept of “meaningful engagement”. 

There is great diversity among political parliaments, laws, and practices concerning public participation. Some countries rely on established practices, while others have enshrined public participation in the legal framework.

The existence of legal safeguards for public engagement, among other things, enables courts to define the essence of “meaningful engagement,” setting a standard that makes public participation a substantive reality.

The webinar will draw upon a comparative analysis of legal provisions from 30 countries about the role of laws in fostering effective public engagement in parliamentary proceedings. 

Two national examples will go further into the issue. A distinguished member of parliament from Georgia will discuss the role of constitutional and legal provisions in securing public engagement, while a representative from the parliament of Indonesia will share insights into a landmark constitutional court judgement that concerns the meaningful public engagement in the legislative process.

The seminar will take place on Zoom and is open to anyone with an interest in public engagement with parliaments.

It will will be presented in English. Translation will be available from/to French and Spanish.

This seminar is jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN). The event is part of a series of webinars hosted by the Public Engagement Hub.

Find out more and register here.

25 October 2023

A Special Issue of the Journal of Legislative Studies on the theme of Public Engagement in the Work of Parliaments: Global Practitioner Perspectives — featuring a range of papers by IPEN members — has recently been published.

Co-edited by IPEN members Alex Prior and Maya Kornberg, the Special Edition is based on research conducted for the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s latest Global Parliamentary Report on Public Engagement in the Work of Parliament (co-published with the UNDP).

This IPEN roundtable event will bring together some of the contributors to the Special Edition, who will share their research and engage in discussion around some of the key themes and issues featured in their journal papers. They will be joined by a representative from the IPU.

Speakers include: Tamar Chugoshvili (Inter-Parliamentary Union); Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds); Temitayo Odeyemi (University of Leeds); Christine Sheldon (University of Oxford); Sven T. Siefken (Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences, Germany)

Co-Chairs: Alex Prior (London South Bank University) and Maya Kornberg (New York University).

This online event is open to all members of the International Parliament Engagement Network. Find out more about the network.

4 October 2023

Speakers: Hon Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (Chair, Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, 2015–2019); Oke Epia (Founder and Executive Director of OrderPaper, Nigeria)

Chair: Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds and Chair of IPEN)

This Public Engagement Hub seminar, jointly organised by the IPU and IPEN, will focus on public petitions. Through an in-conversation format, it will address the processes and challenges arising from petitions submitted to the lower chamber of Nigeria’s national legislature.

We will hear from Hon Nkem-Abonta, a four-term member of the House of Representatives (2007–2019), and chair of the House Standing Committee on Public Petitions (2015–2019) about efforts made by his team to enhance and institutionalise public petitions in the context of Nigeria’s emerging legislature. Hon Nkem-Abonta will highlight the challenges in the process and how they worked with civil society, in particular, towards strengthening the process.

From a civil society perspective, we will also hear from an important voice in Nigeria’s civic space, Oke Epia, about initiatives to promote public engagement with parliament through the instrumentality of the petitions process.

The seminar will take place on Zoom and is open to anyone with an interest in public engagement with parliaments.

It will will be presented in English. Translation will be available from/to French and Spanish.

This seminar is jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN). The event is part of a series of webinars hosted by the Public Engagement Hub.

Find out more and register here.

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Image: Nigeria’s National Assembly. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

6 September 2023

Speakers: Corina Castro e Silva Braga de Oliveira and Maria Alice Gomes de Oliveira (Coordination of Education for Democracy, Chamber of Deputies, Brazil); David Carr (Senior Teacher Training Specialist, Education and Engagement, UK Parliament)

Chair: Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds and Chair of IPEN)

This Public Engagement Hub seminar will focus on teacher training by parliaments. It will showcase how two parliaments have tried to amplify their education provision by investing in teacher training programmes.

We will hear about how the Chamber of Deputies in the Brazilian Congress and the UK Parliament have approached teacher training – including the Pedagogic Mission programme in Brazil and the Teacher Ambassador programme in the UK.

The seminar will address the provision they offer specifically aimed at teachers, what works particularly well, and where challenges remain.

The seminar will take place on Zoom and is open to anyone with an interest in public engagement with parliaments.

It will will be presented in English. Translation will be available from/to French and Spanish.

This seminar is jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN). The event is part of a series of webinars hosted by the Public Engagement Hub.

Find out more and register here.

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Presentation slides for Pedagogic Mission at the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies and the UK Parliament Teacher Training Programme.

11 July 2023

Speakers: Honourable Emma Theofelus (Parliament of Namibia); Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds, Chair of IPEN); staff from the IPU

Chair: Derek Dignam (Head of Communications, Houses of the Oireachtas, Ireland and IPEN Executive Team)

This Public Engagement Hub seminar will focus on Youth Parliaments.

Youth Parliaments are one of the main public engagement tools used by parliaments across the world. Their formats and models vary considerably. Whilst they introduce parliamentary politics to many young people, it is also not always clear whether they enhance youth engagement with parliament and politics.

The seminar will hear from specific practices and explore different models of Youth Parliaments, to reflect on their effectiveness.

Speakers will include staff from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU),  Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds & Chair of IPEN) and a third contributor to be confirmed (who will present a Youth Parliament specific case study). The seminar will be chaired by Derek Dignam (Head of Communications, Houses of the Oireachtas & IPEN Executive Team).

The seminar will take place on Zoom and is open to anyone with an interest in public engagement with parliaments. Further details including how to register will be announced soon.

It will will be presented in English. Translation will be available from/to French and Spanish.

This seminar is jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN). The event is part of a series of webinars hosted by the Public Engagement Hub.

Find out more and register here.

27 June 2023

Speakers: Emily Jenke and Emma Fletcher (Co CEOs, democracyCo, Australia); Sonia Randhawa (Sortition Foundation, Australia); Juliane Baruck (Project Lead Hallo Bundestag, Germany); Paul Naudascher (Team Member and Head of Science & Evaluation, Hallo Bundestag, Germany)

This Public Engagement Hub seminar will focus on deliberative democracy methods to engage citizens with the policy making process. Citizens’ Assemblies / Mini Publics have become incredibly popular in recent times with parliaments. In this seminar, we discuss two recent initiatives and reflect on the implications of their different approaches.

The People’s House in Australia is an initiative of DemocracyCo, which brings together local community members with their MP, enabling community members to actively participate in democracy between elections. DemocracyCo have two trials of this method underway – with two Federal MPs – one from each of the two major parties in Australia. The speakers will share details of the method used and reflect on whether these trials are improving and strengthening democracy.

This will be supplemented by insights from Hallo Bundestag, a project in Germany which explores ways in which diverse groups of people can have their voices heard in politics. Eighteen Constituency Days (Wahlkreistage) are to be held across six electoral districts in Germany in 2023/4. These will lead to proposals for the German parliament (the Bundestag) on how the political system can be strengthened through discussion formats with randomly drawn participants at the constituency level. The speakers will provide insights into the experiences from the ongoing project and present the preliminary findings about those elements that show high potential for institutionalization.

This seminar is jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN). The event is part of a series of webinars hosted by the Public Engagement Hub.

This seminar takes place on Zoom and is open to anyone with an interest in public engagement with parliaments.

Please register here.

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Credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

16 May 2023

Speakers: Alisson Bruno, Coordinator of the e-Citizenship Program, Senate of Brazil; Rodolfo Vaz (Coordinator of Digital Solutions for Citizens, Brazil)

As parliaments develop more channels for citizens to submit their views, many are then faced with the challenge of having to process large volumes of comments and submissions within what often are tight political timings and unhelpful processes. This is clearly a challenge faced by many parliaments so we have put together two Public Engagement Hub seminars on the topic to discuss different types of approaches.

In this second seminar on processing mass data, we will consider tools used by the Brazilian Parliament to aid public participation and manage mass input from citizens. An outline will be given of the ePoll, which is the most used participation tool at the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. The seminar will look at how the information obtained through using such tools is handled by Parliamentarians, what works well / could be better, and what plans are being made for the future.

The seminar will also provide an overview of similar tools used in the Brazilian Senate such as its e-Citizenship platform. Specifically, the seminar will address how citizens can propose new ideas for legislation, participate in public hearings, and how this information is then processed for Senators to consider. The presentation will also highlight some of the challenges faced and the strategies employed to overcome them.

This seminar is jointly organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN). The event is part of a series of webinars hosted by the Public Engagement Hub.

This seminar takes place on Zoom and is open to anyone with an interest in public engagement with parliaments.

Please register here.