- in Westminster the Petitions Committee is drawing in new audiences to watch what their parliament is doing and to get involved in debates;
- in Brazil and Chile legislation is shared online with the public, who can comment, amend and vote on those changes before they are referred back to members;
- legislatures as diverse as Georgia, Paraguay and France are implementing strategies to increase public involvement in what they do and to ensure that is transparent and accessible;
- Scotland, Italy and the Czech Republic are examples of parliaments who are providing real-time, open access to their data, whilst the Dutch and New Zealand parliaments provide online, fully searchable archives of their parliamentary record; and
- Serbia and Peru are amongst the legislatures around the world actively partnering with civil society organisations, finding new ways to open up, reach out, listen and to share.
Guest Blog - Opening up committees is a step forward for stronger democracy in Wales
Published 06/10/2016   |   Last Updated 06/10/2016
Dr Andy Williamson, October 2016
It’s great to see the fifth National Assembly starting off with a strong intention to increase public participation. The Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee has already started, committee chair Bethan Jenkins asking the public to help shape what they talk about through a range of innovative and original channels.
This is the stamp of a modern legislature, one that is invested in strong democracy and the best interests of the people that it serves.
Open, transparent and accessible legislatures are the way of the future and we can see this happening around the world: