Under the distinguished patronage of the Rt Hon Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Parliament of Ghana will host the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference which will be held from 30th September to 6th October 2023 at the Accra International Conference under the theme: “The Commonwealth Charter 10 years on: Values and Principles for Parliaments to Uphold.”
The Rt. Hon. Speaker who also doubles as the President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the President of the Ghana Branch of the Association will preside over the General Assembly on Thursday, 5th October, 2023, and also chair the Elections Committee of the Association. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Association and will participate in the deliberations at the Meeting of the Executive Committee.
The 7-day Conference aimed at fostering dialogue and cooperation among member countries to address pressing global challenges within the context of Commonwealth Values will be attended by Speakers and Presiding Officers, Parliamentarians, Clerks-to-Parliaments, Parliamentary Staff, and key Stakeholders in the parliamentary governance sector.
Addressing a Press Conference in Parliament on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, to announce the upcoming international event to be hosted by the Parliament of Ghana on behalf of the Rt. Hon. Speaker, the Clerk to Ghana’s Parliament, Mr. Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah, who doubles as the Ghana Branch Secretary of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, said the conference will emphasize the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in addressing identified challenges and highlight the role of parliaments in shaping policies that benefit their citizens.
According to him, the Parliament of Ghana expects to host about six hundred (600) delegates, observers, and accompanying officials from 56 National Branches (National Legislatures) and 111 Sub-National Branches (State/Provincial Legislatures) across the nine (9) geographic regions of the Commonwealth.
He also noted that the 66th CPC will be held alongside other Conferences, Meetings, and Workshops at the Accra International Conference Centre, including the 66th CPA General Assembly; Meetings of the CPA Executive Committee; 39th CPA Small Branches Conference; Meetings of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP); Meeting of Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) networks; 57th Meeting of the Society of Clerks at the Table (SoCATT); and Presentation of the 2023 Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year awards.
This year’s conference will commence officially with an opening ceremony on Wednesday, 4th October, 2023 under the distinguished patronage of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana and Vice-Patron of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the Keynote Speaker.
The opening ceremony will be followed by workshops to discuss various topics relating to security, human rights, environment, economy, gender, and other cross-cutting issues. The Hon. Minister of National Security is expected to lead discussions at the Host nation’s workshop which will be organized by Ghana to deliberate on the topic: Combating the threat of terrorism to Statehood: the Role of Parliament.
Prior to the official opening of the Conference, there will be an Inaugural Lecture in memory of Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka on Monday, 2nd October, 2023 from 19:00 to 20:00 GMT at the Accra International Conference Centre, Ghana.
Hon. Monjowa Lifaka is a former Deputy Speaker of Cameroon who was a passionate champion of the CPA and served as CPA Chairperson from November, 2017 until her demise in April, 2021. The Lecture which is to pay tribute to her is opened to the general public. A paper will be presented by Ms. Betty Abeng, Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Education Trust, with Dr. Leslie Casely-Hayford, a Ghana-based international education development expert as the discussant.
Background Information
In September 2019, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), at its 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) held in Kampala, Uganda adopted a request from Ghana among those from other commonwealth nations to host the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), was founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association, which metamorphosed into the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in 1948.
The Association, which had five (5) branches at its inception, currently has one hundred and eighty-one (180) national and sub-branches across the nine (9) regions of the Commonwealth. The Association has a number of organs including Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, the CPA Small Branches Network, the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities, and the Commonwealth Youth Parliament.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC), an annual conference of CPA, was first held in the United Kingdom in 1948. The Conference was held bi-annually until 1961 when it became an annual event, organized on a rotational basis in all regions of the Commonwealth across the world.
The CPA Africa Region has hosted the highest number of Conferences. The 66th CPC which will be held in Accra, Ghana will be the 17th time the CPA Africa Region is hosting the Conference.
Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com
