Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 16th, 2017 – Deputy Clerk of the St. Christopher and Nevis National Assembly, Mrs. Sonia Boddie –Thompson, is currently in Tobago representing the Federal Parliament at the 18th Biennial Conference of Presiding Officers and Clerks of the Caribbean, the Americas and the Atlantic Region of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association(CPA). The Conference, which is hosted by the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, runs from August 13th to 17th, 2017, at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort in Tobago. The St. Christopher and Nevis National Assembly is one of 15 legislatures that is represented at this informative biennial parliamentary conference.
The theme for this year’s Conference is “Parliamentary Accountability- Comparing Institutional Designs”. The Conference is intended to forge greater linkages between parliamentary colleagues through the exchange of best practices, challenges and solutions, related to matters that affect the business of Parliaments and Legislative Assemblies across the Regional CPA branch. Topics being discussed at the Conference include Recent Procedural Developments; The Committee System in Small Parliaments-Meeting the Challenges; Parliamentary Leadership: Strengthening Accountability; Improving Relations between Parliament and Society; The Adequacy of Administrative Support for the Management of the Legislative Branch in Small Island States and Strategic Planning-A Starting Point for Building Effective Parliaments. Conference delegates will also participate in a lecture, which will discuss “Geopolitical Response to Climate Change”, presented by Kishan Kumarsingh, Climate Change Expert from Trinidad and Tobago.
Deputy Clerk, Mrs. Boddie-Thompson, served as the Conference Coordinator of the 42nd Regional Conference of the Caribbean, the Americas and the Atlantic Region CPA branch that was held in St. Kitts in June 2017 and was recently lauded by the Regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Secretariat, for her exceptional stewardship of the Conference.