Going Digital: Launching a Playbook for Legislatures

Democracy is backsliding around the world. Autocrats are consolidating power, censorship and surveillance is increasing, and malign foreign authoritarian influence is undermining open societies. Meanwhile, legislatures – key pillars for pushing back against those trends – are struggling to stay operational as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the world and the Internet changes citizens' expectations of elected officials. Core to addressing those issues is ensuring that legislatures can securely and effectively embrace digital technology to advance their work and democratic principles. Given the threat future pandemics and other events pose to normal parliamentary operations, what are best practices in how legislatures can harness and build upon the adaptations they made to adequately function when in-person conduct is impossible? Further, given the efficiencies and other benefits derived from digitizing operations, how can the global community build a new model for future parliamentary activity that can extend beyond crises and provide a sustainable model in diverse contexts?

Please join the German Marshall Fund (GMF) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) on Friday, July 16 at 10:00 a.m. ET for the launch of IRI’s Going Digital: A Playbook for Legislatures. Informed by best practices and experiences around the world over the last year, the playbook is designed to help legislatures, elected representatives, and their staff securely use technology to increase their capacity to respond to citizens and hold governments accountable – particularly in instances where they are unable to operate in person.

Speakers

• The Hon. Nathalie Arias, Member of the National Assembly of Ecuador
• The Hon. Sos Avetisyan, Former Member of the National Assembly of Armenia
• The Hon. Jose Daniel Lopez, Member of the Colombian House of Representatives
• The Hon. Jeehan Mahmood, Member of the People's Majlis of Maldives
• The Hon. Bisera K. Stojchevska, Member of the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia
• Scott Mastic, Vice President for Programs, International Republican Institute
• Jonathan Katz, Senior Fellow and Director of Democracy Initiatives, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
• Brittany Beaulieu, Visiting Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
• Amanda Zink, Senior Program Associate, International Republican Institute

If you have any questions, please contact Catharine Carstens at [email protected].