COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION ST HELENA BRANCH TO HOST 53rd BRITISH ISLANDS AND MEDITERRANEAN REGION CONFERENCE

The St Helena Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) will be hosting the annual British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIMR) Conference this year. The conference, the first of its kind to be held in St Helena, will take place with the delegates arriving on Saturday 18 May and departing on Saturday 25 May 2024.

Delegates from 10 parliaments and legislatures across the British Islands and Mediterranean Region will gather on St Helena to join the St Helena Branch for the 53rd BIMR conference. The theme of the conference is ‘Addressing Challenges to Sustainable Development in Times of Global Uncertainty’. A range of topics will be covered, developing attendees’ understanding of the challenges many parliaments face.

Topics will include:
 Digital reforms and artificial intelligence
 Decentralized finance
 Climate emergency
 Tourism development
 Green energy solutions
 Improving agriculture productivity
 Benefits of a youth parliament

The programme will also include the BIMR’s Annual General Meeting and a Commonwealth Women’s Parliamentarians (CWP) session to which a small group of St Helena women are invited to attend. In addition delegates will be able to participate in the St Helena Day celebrations and enjoy excursions of their choice.

On the conference, Deputy President of the CPA St Helena Branch Catherine Cranfield said:

“It is a great honour for our island to be hosting the CPA BIMR conference for the first time ever! It’s a valuable opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions with other BIMR delegates, sharing their valuable insights and knowledge in their respective fields.
“This is also a great opportunity to showcase to the BIMR delegates this remarkable island and its community.”

Announcing the visit, Minister Scipio said:

“We are honoured to welcome to St Helena delegates from the legislatures of Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Northern Ireland, Scotland, UK and Wales. This will be the first time a CPA British Islands and Mediterranean Region conference is hosted in St Helena.”

“Regional conferences such as this, is an ideal opportunity for parliamentarians and staff alike, to join together to network, to learn and to share similar issues in what is often challenging in a fast-moving global context. It is hoped that the attendees who began as delegates, will become colleagues and by the finale, will be friends which illustrates the true spirit of a regional conference.”

The British Islands and Mediterranean Regional Secretary, Sarah Dickson OBE, welcomed the conference and said:

"This is a historic moment. I know all the parliamentary delegates are looking forward to coming to St Helena and meeting our hosts for the 2024 annual general meeting for the region. We are hugely grateful to the people of St Helena for what we know will be a warm welcome and to the organisers for all their work preparing for this meeting and the week of discussions and activities."

#StHelena #CPA #BIMR

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