Bungeni-Akoma Ntoso Workshop (Feb 2007)

The workshop also provided the opportunity to discuss potential need for localisation of AKOMA NTOSO schemas (e.g. Bill/Act, Hansard, etc. to the specific requirement of each country).

The workshop was organised in “mornings”, where both Clerks of Legislation/ Hansard and the IT Managers of the participating parliaments jointly participated in the activities and “afternoons” dedicated to more in depth analysis of issues related to the mark-up of “acts” for the Clerks of Legislation/Hansard and to the architecture and technical functionalities of Bungeni for the IT Managers. The days were to be closed by a joint session to discuss the workflow of specific different parliamentary documents.

The presentations done during the workshop provided the participants with an update on the status of affairs in AKOMA NTOSO and Bungeni and at the same time provided the basis for meaningful and focused interactions aimed at aligning the needs/requirements of parliaments with the architecture and functionalities of the solutions proposed.

• establish the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network;
• provide strong political endorsement for the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network;
• acknowledge the strong linkages between the goals and objectives of the Africa i- Parliaments Action Plan and those of the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network;
• preparing data conversion procedures to be applied during migration.

Moreover, the International Workshop recommended that:

• the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network be an integral part of the Africa i-Parliaments Action Plan in order to ensure proper coordination and avoid duplication of efforts;
• the more than twenty countries in attendance endorse a common resolution that states, among other issues that participating parliaments:
• Urge African Parliaments, universities and stakeholders in the legislative process to work together and seize the opportunity offered by information and communication technologies to improve access to and management of information.

A Charter of the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network, outlining membership, governance, secretariat services and funding, will be prepared under the auspices of the Abuja Conference co-organizers, in consultation with representatives of parliaments from the Africa regions to ensure an inclusive and balanced approach to it.