The 73rd Westminster Seminar welcomed over 50 delegates from 27 legislatures

The Westminster Seminar was a week-long schedule of workshops, panel discussions, and informative sessions on a range of topics on how parliaments work. 

The Seminar officially began with Commonwealth Day celebrations in the UK Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The following day, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, the Co-President of CPA UK and Speaker of the House of Commons, delivered a warm welcome address to the delegates in which he described the Commonwealth as a “family”, reflecting this year’s Commonwealth Day theme, #TogetherWeThrive. 

• Video: Hon. Melvin Turnbull from the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands shares what he found most useful from the Seminar

The Westminster Seminar took place in both the UK Parliament and a local non-for-profit community space, the Abbey Centre. Delegates participated in a full day of informative sessions on the roles of parliamentarians and parliamentary officials and had the opportunity to experience the work of the Abbey Centre.  

• Video: Asia Naz Tanoli from the National Assembly of Pakistan shares her thoughts on the Seminar

Analysing Parliamentary Systems 

Delegates took part in an interactive exercise on different parliamentary systems. The exercise focused on conducting analyses to find strengths and weaknesses in the way different parliaments work. 

• Video: Dawn Kinnish MLC from Tynwald, Isle of Man, shares how she will use her key learnings from the Seminar

Chaired by Lord Foulkes, the former Chair of the UK Overseas Territories Project, a panel discussion on different parliamentary systems informed the exercise. The panel featured a Raphael Kapalamula, Table Clerk of the Parliament of Malawi, and Sophie Daud, Associate Director of the Institute for Government. 

Committee Work 

The third day of the Seminar was held at the UK Parliament and focused on the way in which committees scrutinise legislation, draft reports and recommendations for the executive, and methods of following up recommendations. 

The highlight of the day was the Committee Hearing exercises, where delegates took part in a simulation of a Committee Hearing. The exercise invited delegates to improve their understanding of techniques used in real hearings, by including subject experts as witnesses. 

• Video: Hon. Alvina Reynolds from the Parliament of St Lucia shares her experience of the Committee Hearing Exercise

Artificial Intelligence: World Cafe 

The Seminar, like many programmes delivered by CPA UK, would not be complete without addressing current developments that affect the way parliaments function. Artificial intelligence will continue to grow in relevance to parliaments across the globe. The Seminar dedicated an afternoon of interactive discussions facilitated by subject experts from the House of Commons, Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

• Video: Frédéric Beauchemin from the National Assembly of Québec, Canada, shares his thoughts of the  Seminar

Delegates participated in three interactive sessions on Guidelines on how AI tools could be used in parliaments, the practical considerations of implementing AI tools, and the experiences of AI by individual parliamentarians as representatives of their constituents.  

Closing the Seminar, the final day focused on constituency visits for parlaimentarians and visits to the UK Parlaiment Education Centre and the local area for clerks and officials. The final day rounded off the Seminar with a focus on the ways in which parliamentarians connect with their constituents, as well as a more comprehensive understanding of the UK Parliament.