GET INVOLVED, GURIRAB TELLS YOUNG PEOPLE
Do parliaments do a good job? Are MPs answerable to the electorate? How accountable is parliament? These sorts of questions often figure in public debate, and rightly so. The International Day of Democracy is an appropriate moment to raise them again. On 15 September 2010, the IPU celebrated the Third International Day of Democracy under the theme of accountability.
The IPU President published an article in which he called for less despondency and more engagement, especially from young people. Dr. Gurirab conceded that there was much disenchantment with democracy and with politics. But he cautioned against expecting too much from politicians. “Politics is a rough game” he said. “It’s a competitive arena where mistakes are seldom forgiven. Advancement in the political sphere always comes from knowing how to make compromises. Politicians invariably disappoint, because they always achieve less than they promise. Politics is not a panacea for a nation’s problems, but it is a necessary ingredient to promote public debate and carry out oversight”.
His message to young people was clear: For politics to work well, people have to take an interest in it, especially the young, women and men. They have to roll up their sleeves in the engine-room of democracy and - why not - run for a seat in parliament.
Parliaments themselves celebrated the Day in a variety of ways. Most parliamentary events took place on or around 15 September, while some parliaments that were in recess announced that they would mark the occasion when parliament resumed its session. A brief description of all activities celebrating this occasion can be viewed on the IPU website.
The IPU organized a range of activities around this year's theme. There was a panel discussion entitled "Strengthening trust between parliament and the people" during the 3rd World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in July, moderated by BBC anchor Edward Stourton. It discussed the importance and the difficulties for parliaments of being representative of the social diversity of the population. The MPs exchanged views on transparency and standards of integrity in political life, issues that have come to the fore recently in parliaments old and new, before looking at the potential for communication technologies to shuffle the cards in the links between parliaments and citizens.
In other events, the IPU and the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments held a meeting on "Strengthening links between parliaments and citizens" on 7 October 2010. Finally, the IPU co-organized the World e-Parliament Conference 2010 to study how MPs are using information and communication technologies to communicate better with the people to whom they owe their seats in parliament.
 |
OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE |
 |
|
