The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.
Nearly every country in the world has some form of parliament. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 190 national parliaments in the world, 78 are bicameral (156 chambers) and 112 are unicameral, making a total of 268 chambers of parliament with some 44,000 members of parliament. IPU membership is made up of 180 national parliaments
Throughout the year, the IPU and its Members organize many events for parliamentarians to exchange good practices, acquire the latest information and identify avenues for action.
The IPU has been collecting data on parliaments since its inception in 1889, including information on women’s participation in politics since 1945. In this section, discover the IPU's knowledge bank for and about parliaments.
Public engagement: Reaching out to remote communities
Summary
10.00-11.15 CET
This seminar focuses on creative ways parliaments can use to connect with remote communities. It will explore three different examples of practice from Serbia, South Africa and South Australia.
We will hear about how the National Assembly of Serbia shapes their field hearings to local communities, by always including in these visits local CSOs and local media, as well as local government representatives. We will also hear about the education programme in the Parliament of South Australia and how they manage to cover considerable distances to engage with remote communities. From South Africa we will hear about their innovations in reaching rural communities using different media, tools, and structured engagements to enrich the use of constituency offices as satellite parliamentary offices.