SPEAKER of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland and Clerk Sherlock Isaacs are among the delegates who will attend the 17th Biennial Conference of Presiding Officers and Clerks of the Caribbean, the Americas and the North Atlantic Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) .
The conference is being hosted at the Coco Reef Resort in Paget, Bermuda from October 25 – 29, 2015, the Parliament Office said in a release.
Other delegates are from Anguilla, Antigua-Barbuda,The Bahamas, Bermuda, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, Dominica, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nevis Island, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Turks and Caicos Islands.
This year’s theme is “The Relevance of Parliament in Today’s Society” and includes plenary discussions on whether adversarial politics is sustainable in small islands, the implementation of successful strategies in managing contentious House debates and the importance of fostering relationships and cooperation with each other. Additionally, delegates will discuss whether social media has a place both inside and outside the Chamber.
Bermuda’s Speaker of the House of Assembly and the CPA Bermuda Branch Joint Chairman Randolph Horton, is expected to welcome the delegates at the opening ceremony which will be held at Bermuda’s Parliament Chamber on Monday morning at 10:00 hrs.
Other esteemed speakers are the Premier Michael Dunkley, JP, M.P.; Opposition Leader Marc Bean, JP, M.P. and Governor George Fergusson. At the conference, Dr. Scotland will present a paper on “Building the Professional Capacity of Parliamentarians: Strengthening and Enhancing the Basic Fundamentals of Parliamentary Procedure.”