As part of the IPU series called 'A conversation with...', we interview parliamentarians from all over the world to find out who they represent and what motivates them. In this edition, we discover Samuel Cogolati, MP from Belgium.

“Get Government Back”! That was the message from the IPU’s Parliamentary Forum coinciding with the United Nations High-level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF), held in New York from 6-15 July.

In preparation for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November 2021 in Glasgow, the IPU hosted a virtual inter-parliamentary meeting on COP26 on 24 June, in collaboration with the British Group of the IPU and the Italian Chamber of Deputies. COP26 will bring together parties from around the world to advance action on climate change to meet the goals and objectives of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

What would a truly equal generation look like? Convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of France and Mexico, this is the question panellists debated at last week’s Generation Equality Forum in Paris.

The IPU will receive an additional two million Canadian dollars in funding to support its gender equality work in parliament. The three-year project, Gender Equality in Politics, is designed to support the IPU’s work in increasing women’s political empowerment. The funding will also help strengthen the capacity of parliaments to support gender equality at a national level.

The IPU and the Shura Council of Qatar reinforced their cooperation this week with the signature of a new Memorandum of Understanding between Mr. Ahmed Bin Abdulla Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud, Speaker of the Shura Council, and Mr. Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General.