It has been a consequential few weeks for parliaments around the world and for parliament watchers like us!

We’re watching the dust settle and coalitions and governments form following elections in the European Parliament, the Netherlands, South Africa, and India and the recent results in the United Kingdom and France. According to the National Democratic Institute’s Global Elections calendar, the second half of July will also see legislative elections in Rwanda, Syria, and Venezuela.

Happy (belated) International Day of Parliamentarism! (The day is celebrated on June 30, the date of the founding of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1889.)

This month we’re highlighting:

The South Korea National Assembly’s policy seminars
A review of “Reimagining Parliament”
And LOTS of discussion about “democratic innovation” around the world

Please forward this to any colleagues you believe would benefit, and feel free to reach out! We are always happy to connect with fellow enthusiasts of legislative institutions around the world.

Beatriz Rey, Ph.D.

Dispatch from South Korea: Policy Seminars

Since 2005, South Korea’s National Assembly has empowered individual assembly members to host “policy seminars” in which they gather expert input and public feedback on policies to inform bill crafting. The program provides approximately $20,000 per year for each MP to facilitate the publishing, purchasing of resources, and gathering of information. Each year approximately 1,500 sessions engage around 7,000 stakeholders. In May 2023, the National Assembly began broadcasting these policy seminars on YouTube to increase transparency and public access. So far, 150 live broadcasts and 204 summary videos have been shared.

“The impact of policy seminars on legislation is immense,” said Jayeoon Lee, a National Assembly official. “They play a crucial role in the initiation and review of legislative bills by determining the topics for important policy issues.”

Lee explained that “at the end of each fiscal year, the National Assembly Standing Committee conducts a review of performance and outcomes of the programs. Also, the National Assembly performs a comprehensive evaluation of all fiscal programs every three years to enhance performance.”

We look forward to the results of these evaluations and will keep you posted!

On Our Radar

Parliamentary Perceptions About the Future

According to an IPU poll conducted between June 14-21, 2024 and released on June 28, then-sitting members of parliament were optimistic about the future, though somewhat more positive about the prospects in their own countries than in the world at large.

Reimagining Parliament(s)

As the UK grapples with the results of its latest legislative elections, we review the recently published Reimagining Parliament collection of essays edited by David Judge and Cristina Leston-Bandeira. The book goes beyond the British context and serves as a first (and much needed) guide for those reimagining legislative institutions across the globe.

Indian Elections and AI

It appears that on balance, use of AI in Indian elections may have been a net positive. While misinformation did occur, campaigns, candidates, and activists used AI to better connect with voters. AI helped political parties promote individualized communication across linguistically, ideologically, and ethnically diverse constituencies.

Thinking about AI

Bússola Tech and Chile’s Chamber of Deputies partnered to hold a three-day event on AI in Parliaments in June. One of the panels discussed the challenges and risks for AI implementation, a topic covered by Bússola Tech’s Luís Kimaid in The Parliamentarian, a journal published by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

Also worth a read:

IPU’s brief on what to expect from generative AI in parliaments
Federico M. Fernandez’s reflections (in Spanish) on how AI can change legislative and administrative processes within parliaments

AI and Systematic Reviews

A new paper highlights how AI tools can optimize efficiency in producing systematic reviews. According to the authors, AI can help with developing and refining search strategies, screening titles and abstracts for inclusion or exclusion criteria, extracting essential data from studies, and summarizing findings.

Guidelines for AI in Parliaments

New guidelines published by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (featuring POPVOX Foundation Cofounder and Executive Director Marci Harris as a contributor) are helping parliaments across the world navigate the evolving AI landscape, including ethical implications, transparency, accountability, and more.

Parliamentary Research Services

British academics Vicky Ward and Mark Monaghan published a report that identifies, maps, and analyzes parliamentary research services around the world. The authors found 180 services in various states of deployment that support parliamentary research in 115 countries.

Democratic Innovation

Two studies on democratic innovation caught our attention this month:

A report from the Apolitical Foundation explores the role of politicians in embracing innovation. According to “Leaders or Latecomers? Exploring the role of politicians in democratic innovation,” politicians respond positively to initiatives that give them ownership of the narrative of democratic innovation. The authors also present a categorization of politicians in terms of the timing of innovation adoption.
“From Waves to Ecosystems: The Next Stage of Democratic Innovation,” by Josh Lerner at the University of Delaware’s Biden School of Public Policy, finds that “rather than seeking one single solution to our ailing democracy, a new generation of democracy reformers is weaving together different democratic practices into balanced democratic ecosystems.”

Latin America

In June, parliamentary representatives from several Latin American countries held the First Regional Conference of Parliamentary Committees of the Future at the Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The event had a two-fold goal: first, increasing capacity for legislative foresight and anticipatory governance. Second, exploring and comparing legislative foresight capacity in the world and in the region.

International Association of Legislation (IAL) Meeting

At the International Association of Legislation’s (IAL) bi-annual meeting in June, participants shared updates about legislative drafting and reforms in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and the UK. Subscribe to their newsletter.

Report from the US: International Exchanges

Members of the US Congress recently participated in three exchange experiences with their international peers. A delegation of Members of Congress traveled to Cape Verde, Tanzania, Kenya, and The Gambia to conduct high-level parliamentary exchanges. The trip was organized by the House Democratic Partnership (HDP). HDP also partnered with the National Democratic Institute (NDI)’s Governance program to gather parliamentary researchers from Albania, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and North Macedonia. Another delegation of legislators from both parties traveled to Norway and Finland to discuss innovative legislative ideas such as Finland’s Committee on the Future and parliamentary cooperation.

As we reported in our May edition, parliamentarians from around the world convened in Washington, DC for the second Global Innovations in Democracy: Parliamentary Exchange (GID). In June, the event’s organizers put together a debriefing session that emphasized Representative Nick Langworthy’s speech about the importance and need for international dialogue amongst leaders. Kenya’s Senate Mashinani program, which relocates senators from Nairobi to legislate to one of the country’s 47 counties, was once again praised.

Upcoming Events

Africa Regional Conference

With the goal of identifying challenges and opportunities that can be harnessed by African parliaments, the first Africa Regional Conference on Parliament and Legislation (Afripal) will take place in Uganda on June 18-20, 2025. The call for panel and session proposals is open. Those interested can also register in the conference.

Public Engagement in Kenya

The IPU will host an online seminar on July 17 to teach participants about Kenya’s constitutional provisions that allow for public engagement experiences. The provisions have allowed the country to implement the Senate Mashinani program mentioned above.

Next ASGP meeting

The Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP) will meet between October 14-16, when there should be a joint ASGP-Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) session to mark the 85th anniversary of the Association. The agenda includes debates about direct democracy and AI.

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association events

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association will hold two events in upcoming months:

the 12th Commonwealth Youth Parliament, which immerses participants aged 18-29 from several regions in the fundamentals behind legislative processes will happen on September 2-5 in New Zealand’s Parliament
its 67th Annual Conference, which will take place in Sydney, Australia, on November 4-8

Wroxton Workshop Papers Announced

The 16th Workshop of Parliamentary Scholars and Parliamentarians, will be held on July 27-28, 2024 at Wroxton College to explore current issues in Legislative-Executive relations and public engagement in governance.

8th International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform

The Eighth International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform will be held on October 24-25, 2024, in Washington, DC. The conference provides an opportunity for a wide range of experts to meet and exchange knowledge and perspectives on the drafting and reform of laws.

World Forum for Democracy

The World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg November 6-8 will focus on elections, disinformation, and citizen engagement for democratic renewal. The theme of the conference is “Democracy and Diversity - Can we transcend the divides?”

Call for Proposals for FWD50

FWD50 has opened a call for proposals for talks focused on policymaking, technology, ethics, and invention. Public servants, technologists, and civic innovators can suggest workshops, skill sessions, case studies, content targeting an executive audience, and ideas for interactive sessions and debates. The event will take place in Ottawa, Canada, and online, on October 10 and November 4-6. Submissions can be sent until July 31. More information can be found on the event’s website.

Tell us your stories!

POPVOX Foundation wants to learn about your experiences in parliaments across the globe. What are examples of progress in your legislative institutions that are happening quietly and would serve as positive examples to staffers from other countries? Don’t hesitate to reach out with your stories: beatriz@popvox.org.

About POPVOX Foundation

POPVOX Foundation is a US-based nonprofit with a mission to inform and empower people and make government work better for everyone. Its dedicated team of former Congressional staffers are united by an enduring commitment to democracy and the legislative process. Through initiatives like the Comparative Legislative Strengthening Project, POPVOX Foundation connects legislative modernizers around the world through a shared passion for public service that knows no borders.

ModParl: July Edition