The Global Centre for Information and Communication Technologies in Parliament 14 June 2006 V Legislative XML Workshop Towards European Standards for Legislative Documents and Knowledge

Background  Consultations undertaken by the President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy and the Speaker of the People’s Assembly of Egypt on behalf of the United Nations  Launch of the Global Centre at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis on 16 November 2005  Preparatory work by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA) and the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) for the establishment of the Global Centre

Mission  Strengthen Parliaments’ role as institutions that promote good governance and democratic accountability through the effective use and integration of ICT in parliamentary processes  Strengthen parliaments’ role in contributing to the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the attainment of the internationally agreed development goals

The Global Centre intends to promote a structured approach both to technology adoption by Parliaments and to the elaboration of legislation on ICT for development by:  Serving as a clearing house for disseminating information, sharing experiences and identifying good practices  Facilitating dialogue and collaboration and fostering partnerships  Raising awareness on the use of ICT in parliamentary processes  Facilitating project development and technical assistance Objectives

How the Global Centre operates  Set up as a technical cooperation initiative of the UN/DESA and administered according to the United Nations financial and administrative rules and regulations  Its work is guided by a Board composed of Speakers/ Presidents of Parliament  The Executive Director of the Global Centre is the Secretary of the Board  Alliance of national and regional assemblies, together with bilateral and multilateral agencies, academia and research centres, the media, the private sector and civil society

Areas of work  Information  Analysis and Research  Networking and Coordination  Technical Assistance

Global Network of IT experts in Parliaments  A knowledge platform to promote a structured dialogue and exchange of information on the use of ICT to strengthen parliamentary institutional and organizational capabilities  A responsive mechanism aimed to help Parliaments to modernize their information management capabilities and to become more open, participatory and knowledge-based

Global Network of IT experts in Parliaments Objectives:  Promoting the sharing of experiences and best practices and enhancing cooperation among parliamentary administrations at the global level  Providing expert advice on available software, applications and information management systems  Facilitating the adoption of common standards and interoperability frameworks  Facilitating the identification of technological solutions to address specific issues and needs

Conferences  2006: Conference on ICT-related legislation (initiative led by the Chamber of Deputies of Italy)  2007: World Conference on ICT applications in Parliament

Contributing to the Centre’s work  Propose initiatives and activities  Contribute information to be disseminated  Help identify needs and priorities