CDI's 2008 Responsible Parliamentary Governance Course
The Responsible Parliamentary Governance (RPG) course is one of CDI's major annual activities in the area of parliamentary strengthening. It is an intensive two-week program that examines the fundamental principles and doctrines underlying the practice of responsible parliamentary governance, and is designed for middle-level parliamentary officials from CDI target countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
The seventh annual RPG course took place at the Australian National University (ANU), in Canberra, from 8 to 19 September 2008. Using the Australian Federal Parliament as the principal example, the course covered issues including constitutional foundations, the main activities of parliament, and related structures for accountability and scrutiny of administration.
As in 2007, the World Bank Institute (WBI) sponsored the participation of a number of parliamentary officials from countries outside the usual scope of CDI activities, namely Thailand and Cambodia. They joined participants from Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu at the course this year. In addition, CDI continued its support for the suspended Parliament of Fiji by bringing two members of the Fijian parliamentary staff to this year's course.
As in previous years, the Course was convened by CDI Associate Dr Stephen Sherlock.
In its seven years of existence, the RPG course has now been undertaken by over 100 senior and middle-level parliamentary officials from the Asia-Pacific region. The course serves to strengthen parliamentary governance in the region by improving the skills, knowledge and capacity of parliamentary officials. As one of CDI's flagship products, the RPG program attracts keen interest from parliaments both in the region and farther afield, and has become a core element of CDI's training programs.
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