This section contains information on past Parliament learning events that have been conducted by the WBI. If you are looking for presentations or materials from past courses, you can either search the Learning Materials section of this website or by accessing the corresponding archived event websites - where available.
Parliaments, Governance and Poverty Reduction The curricula for "Parliaments, Governance and Poverty Reduction" seminars has been developed in response to the growing awareness that parliaments have a critical role to play in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) process, but that, to date, their role has been limited, at best. Officials from the Utstein Group of donors (Germany, Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom) noted the "need to handle governance issues sensitively in the light of individual country conditions [and]to ensure that the PRSP process reinforce[s] the representative and electoral processes in the country." Similarly, ODI, reporting to the Strategic Partnership for Africa stated that "the tendency for PRSPs not to involve parliaments, as institutions, in a major way has been further confirmed….We think that in most cases it would be unwise for parliaments to be as uninvolved as they have been until now." Hence, the aim of these seminars is to enhance the capacity of Parliament to play a meaningful role in the PRSP process. The goal of the workshops is to have senior parliamentarians develop a strategic plan regarding their parliament's role in the PRSP process. Seminar on Parliamentary Oversight for Poverty Reduction in Francophone Africa
28-30 September 2004 in Helsinki, Finland
Archived event website Seminar on Parliament, Governance and Poverty Reduction in CIS-7 countries
23-25 March 2004 in Istanbul, Turkey
Archived event website Seminar on Parliament, Governance and Poverty Reduction in Central and South America
15-18 September 2003 in Helsinki, Finland
Archived event website PRSP Implementation and Monitoring in Niger
15 January - 30 April 2003 in Niger A series of activities proposed in order to lay the foundation for cooperation between the National Assembly and the local councils ('pre-communes') on PRSP implementation and monitoring. The following activities are envisaged: i) a series of discussions and planning meetings between the PRSP Steering Committee members and pre-commune councilors on involvement of pre-communes in PRSP implementation and monitoring, and on relations between the National Assembly and pre-communes; ii) a planning seminar between PRSP Steering Committee members and donor representatives to explore opportunities for engagement by the National Assembly in promoting local involvement in PRSP implementation and monitoring; and iii) supplemental briefings for deputies and pre-commune councilors to prepare them for greater joint public outreach to constituents in poorer regions of Niger. Organized by WBI and NDI.
Regional Dialogue on Improved Parliamentary Performance in Central Africa
4-7 March 2003 in Libreville, Gabon The conference will provide Members of Parliament from Central Africa information they lack on a number of key areas of economic policy (e.g. NEPAD, PRSP process, debt, HIV/AIDS); it will enable them to develop skills for effective oversight of government action; and it will develop joint regional parliamentary action plans to attack corruption and promote good governance. Organized by WBI, AWEPA and UNDP.
Role of Parliament in PRSP for Commonwealth Countries
10-12 September 2002 in Windhoek, Namibia The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association holds an annual conference, hosted by one of its member parliaments. The 2002 conference was hosted by the Parliament of Namibia. Given the growing interest about the role of governance in general and parliament in particular in the PRSP process, WBI was asked to organize a session within the CPA conference on Parliaments, Governance and the PRSP. Organized by WBI and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Seminar on Parliament, Governance and Poverty Reduction in Cambodia
27-29 October 2002 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia back to top
Parliamentary Involvement in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is the most prominent initiative to tackle Africa's multiple crises of poverty, indebtedness, poor governance and conflict. At the very core of this initiative is the recognition that a countries' ability to establish its own policies and manage its own resources is fundamental to economic and social growth. Read more about NEPAD and its objectives. The World Bank Institute, with support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), developed set of activities which target national parliaments in the SADC region (in Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Mauritius) including committees and individual MPs focusing on a variety of learning events to help parliamentarians in the region play a role in realizing the goals of NEPAD. Parliamentary Involvement in NEPAD Implementation
3-4 June 2004 in Lusaka, Zambia
Archived event website Linkages between Parliaments, NEPAD, the African Union and the Pan African Parliament
6-7 May 2004 in Dar Es Salaam and Cape Town
Archived event website Enhancing Parliamentary Oversight in the NEPAD Context
16-17 March 2004 in Dar Es Salaam and Cape Town
Archived event website Linkages between Parliaments, NEPAD, the African Union and the Pan African Parliament
28-29 January 2004 in Dar Es Salaam, Cape Town and Maputo
Archived event website SADC Regional Workshop on NEPAD Implementation: Linkages Between Parliamentary Oversight and the African Peer Review Mechanism
11-13 November 2003 in Lusaka, Zambia
Archived event website back to top
Strengthening PACS—SADC (Focus on PRSP) Seminar
25-28 March 2003
Maseru, Lesotho This seminar is the fourth in a series of seminars for parliaments which aim to strengthen parliaments' capacity to more effectively participate and contribute to the poverty reduction process, with a specific focus on the budget cycle. The overall objective of the seminar is to contribute to a better functioning of parliaments in the SADC region (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe), so that these parliaments can in turn participate more effectively in the improvement of good governance as the foundations for development. Specifically, the seminar will enhance understanding of the Poverty Reduction process: understanding poverty, comparing regional and international approaches to poverty reduction, pro-poor budgeting, budget consultations, and budget monitoring. Organized by WBI, Parliamentary Centre, SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), UNDP and DFID (Lesotho). Event website back to top
Strengthening PACS—East Africa Seminar
28-30 May 2003
Nairobi, Kenya This seminar is the fifth in a series of seminars for parliaments which aim to strengthen parliaments' capacity to more effectively participate and contribute to the poverty reduction process, with a specific focus on the budget cycle. The overall objective of the seminar is to contribute to a better functioning of parliament in Kenya so that it can in turn participate more effectively in the improvement of good governance as the foundations for development. Specifically, the seminar will enhance understanding of the Poverty Reduction process: understanding poverty, comparing regional and international approaches to poverty reduction, pro-poor budgeting, budget consultations, and budget monitoring. Organized by WBI, the State University of New York (SUNY), the Parliamentary Centre. back to top
Parliament and the Budget Process, including from a Gender Perspective The handbook "Parliament, the Budget, and Gender" (Also available in French) has been produced by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank Institute (WBI) and the Untied Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Intended as a reference tool, this handbook sets out practical examples of parliament's active engagement in the budgetary process. It seeks to advance parliaments own institutional capacity to make positive impact on the budget, and to equip parliament, its members and parliamentary staff with the necessary tools to examine the budget from a gender perspective. The seminars will provide an opportunity for members of parliament and for parliamentary staff to exchange views and experiences, among themselves and competent authorities and experts, to better understand the national budget and how to ensure effective parliamentary oversight of the budget: how it is prepared, how it operates, how to secure proper parliamentary reading and analysis, how the national audit functions, and what relevant technical terms are used. Organized by Inter-Parliamentary Union, UNDP and WBI. South Asia
26–28 May 2003 in Colombo, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
24–25 May 2003 in Colombo, Sri Lanka East Asia
23–25 July 2002 in Manila, The Philippines Philippines
26–27 August 2002 in Manila, The Philippines back to top
Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) Conference
13-16 October 2002
Ottawa, Canada The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) is an international network of Parliamentarians organized by region to build integrity and promote effective parliamentary oversight. GOPAC serves as the global point of contact while regional networks will work to strengthen the capacity of parliamentarians to address issues of corruption. With the Parliamentary Centre acting as Secretariat, GOPAC supports the establishment and maintenance of these regional and national chapters through information sharing, providing research on best practices and liaising with other international organizations. The inaugural GOPAC Global Conference, hosted by the Parliament of Canada, brought together over 150 Parliamentarians and over 70 observers from all parts of the world. The conference allowed parliamentarians to network and develop friendly relations as well as further their goal of creating regional and international networks. It developed a better understanding among participants of the degree and significance of corruption throughout the world and established GOPAC as a truly international voice for Parliamentarians. Organized by WBI and Parliamentary Centre. Read "Toward Accountability and Oversight", a World Bank article on WBI's participation in the inaugural GOPAC conference. Event website back to top
Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) Conference
9-10 March 2003
Athens, Greece The purpose of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) is to increase parliamentary involvement and effectiveness in the field of international development. The core mission of the PNoWB is fivefold: Accountability: To facilitate and encourage direct policy dialogue between Parliamentarians and multilateral development institutions to provide greater transparency of World Bank policies and practices and increase collective accountability. Advocacy: To provide the members of the Network with a platform for coordinated parliamentary advocacy on international development issues. Networking: To encourage concerted action, early debate and exchange of information among Parliamentarians on major issues of international development, finance and poverty eradication. Partnerships: To take initiatives to further cooperation and encourage partnerships between parliamentarians and policy makers, the academic community, the business sector and non-governmental organizations on development issues; and Progress Review: To promote the development of parliamentary mechanisms and practices for the effective democratic control of development assistance in all its phases.
Once a year a conference is organized by the Network. This year’s (4th) Annual PNoWB Conference will be hosted by the Greek Parliament on the occasion of the Greek EU presidency. Click here to take a look at the program. WBI is organizing a panel on “Parliaments, Governance and the PRSP,” in collaboration with PRMPR. Organized by the World Bank and the Parliament of Greece. Event website back to top |
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