The Honourable Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House of Representatives attended the 2021 Open Parliament Forum held under the theme Open Parliament in a Post-Covid Context: Global Examples of Resilience and Planning for 2022 and Beyond. It comes after Taiwan’s first declaration earlier this year of its Open Parliament Action Plan 2021-2024. The forum is a two-day event held from 2nd December to 3rd December 2021, in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan).
Today, Speaker Woods gave a keynote speech on “Open Parliament-then and now”. In her speech she stated, “I particularly want to express gratitude, on behalf of the Belize Parliament, to President Tsai Ing-Wen who is not only the first female president to be elected in the Republic of China (Taiwan) but has been twice elected! Her management of the Covid 19 pandemic is an outstanding example of the transformative leadership of women. It won her global recognition with the recent statement of support from the Group of Seven for the “Taiwan Can Help Campaign” to share scientific and technical expertise and with their call for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Assembly. So, I echo the sentiments “no one is safe from the COVID 19 pandemic until everyone is safe” and Taiwan has much to teach and share with the world.”
Following Speaker Woods presentation, there was a session on Parliamentary transparency, trust, and inclusiveness; a panel discussion on COVID-19 response and parliamentary openness; a session on recommendations for parliamentary action on disinformation; and, a session on the front lines of democracy — all of which can help to adopt a robust open parliament process.
The forum continues tomorrow, 3rd December 2021, with more presentations and discussions.
