MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Legislative Assembly Speaker at Turks and Caicos Conference

Speakers at the COTSC conference at the Turks and Caicos Islands; Keith Biles, JP, Speaker of Falklands Legislative Assembly fourth from the left

The third Commons and Overseas Territories Speakers’ Conference (COTSC) was held in the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos Islands during the first week of April with the participation among others of Keith Biles, JP, Speaker of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly.

 The Speakers, alongside Parliamentary Clerks and technical experts, examined different aspects of building strong Legislatures and effective parliamentary democracy focusing on AI, Cyber and Physical Security of Parliaments and on Parliamentary Education and Outreach.

The Conference was hosted by the Speaker of the Turks and Caicos House of Assembly, Hon. Gordon Burton, MHA in Providenciales and Grand Turk. Speakers and Clerks attended from Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Island, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, St Helena and Turks and Caicos  as well as the United Kingdom.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA, Headquarters’ Head of Programs, Matthew Salik provided expertise on protocol and precedent as it relates to Commonwealth Speakers as well as using the Conference as valuable opportunity to promote the CPA’s recent publication ‘Parliamentary Handbook on Disinformation, AI and Synthetic Media’.

The Secretariat for the COTSC Conference is provided by the UK House of Commons Speaker’s Office and the CPA Headquarters and CPA UK Branch are official partners.
All of the Legislatures attending were Branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association across two of the CPA’s Regions - the CPA British Islands and Mediterranean Region and the CPA Caribbean, Americas and the Atlantic Region.

A communiqué issued at the conclusion of the conference highlighted the importance of continuing to work together to create a unique and modern partnership to strengthen parliamentary democracy. 

The next Commons and Overseas Territories Speakers Conference will be held in London in 2025.