The first regional webinar discussed the initial pandemic response of the hub’s parliaments. After that success, the hub held a second regional meeting on 26 October against the background of the pandemic, inter-parliamentary cooperation through the SADC-PF,[1] and the need for parliaments to adopt technologies for hosting virtual meetings.

The Secretary General of the SADC-PF opened the meeting. IT Directors and senior IT staff from SADC-PF member parliaments then gave presentations. The objective of the meeting was to establish a requirements baseline for policies that would give guidance on how to use new technologies after the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting also sought to consolidate the different ways that member parliaments had innovated in the face of the pandemic to enable parliamentarians to perform their duties. Issues surrounding connectivity, infrastructure and meeting management systems, and trends such as emerging 5G and high‑performance cloud computing were considered at length.

The opportunities and challenges of the pandemic and the adoption of new technologies were discussed. Most of the challenges hinged on the state of ICT infrastructure, low bandwidth for running parliamentary meetings via video conferencing, and in-house systems. The meeting concluded by discussing the position of the SADC-PF on embracing these technologies, and how to train parliamentarians effectively (using virtual platforms) on new technologies that affect the way they perform their duties.

Since June, the Hispanophone hub has held four regional webinars. The knowledge shared by different hub members has provided valuable insights into the pandemic response of hispanophone parliaments.

• 19 June. This was the first meeting of the Hispanophone hub. It was organized by CIP and the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, with support from the National Democratic Institute. As host of the hub, the Chamber of Deputies introduced the hub concept. Participants included IT directors and senior information management staff from Spanish‑speaking parliaments in the region. CIP provided a global overview of the pandemic response. Individual parliaments then provided brief updates on the current situation and the technology solutions they were using for increased business continuity.
• 24 August. At the second hub meeting, Claudio Prieto (IT Director, National Assembly of Ecuador) presented a case study on the Assembly’s transition to increased remote working and virtual plenary sessions.
• 21 September. At the third meeting, Mr. Juan Manuel Cheppi (Secretary General, Chamber of Deputies of Argentina) described how his legislature had innovated in response to COVID‑19. He also discussed the pandemic’s impact on the parliamentary administration and longer‑term opportunities that the parliament’s innovative work had made possible. These opportunities were being considered for future strategic planning.
• 2 November. At the fourth meeting, Dr. Andy Williamson (speaking on behalf of CIP) gave the most recent global update on the pandemic response. The meeting focused on the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, its new practices and the significant effects that had been felt on daily parliamentary work and life. It also gave an insight into perspectives and considerations for the future.

On 9 October 2020, the Secretaries General of the European Parliament (Mr. Klaus Welle) and the Inter‑Parliamentary Union (Mr. Martin Chungong) signed a memorandum of understanding about cooperating on the IT Governance hub. 

The hub was established by the European Parliament. It is a global expertise network that covers areas such as IT strategy, planning and efficiency. Every day it mobilizes knowledge wherever it is needed. The hub hosts an online learning platform that is currently used by over 50 organizations or parliaments. The platform helps parliaments to improve their IT governance by enabling them to self-assess their digital maturity and deploy other good practices. In addition to online learning, the hub is planning to start capacity‑development activities in collaboration with CIP regional hubs. 

The CIP secretariat and hub coordination team are currently discussing how to increase synergy with the other thematic and regional CIP hubs in 2021.