PDP II held a seminar on June 16 on policy analysis for MPs aides. Those present studied the concept, history of development and terminology of analysis of state policy, its goals, tools, stages and participants, regulatory and legal framework of analysis of state policy in Ukraine, etc. Participants received practical tips on how to draft analytical notes.

PDP II held a seminar on June 10 for MPs aides on Questions Hour: parliamentary questions as a form of parliamentary oversight of the Government. During the seminar, participants were informed of issues like the role of parliamentary questions in the oversight function of the Ukrainian Parliament, regulations on Question Hour in Ukraine, preparations for the Question Hour and its specific nature. Those present were also told about the procedure, practice, and features of Question Time in the British Parliament.

PDP II held a seminar on June 3-4 on the organizational and legal aspects of the work of aides of new MPs from the Party of Regions. During the two-day seminar, participants learnt about the following issues: structure and functions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as the legislature, the legal status of an MPs aide, work with NGOs and the media, handling of inquiries from the members of the public and petitions, handling of deputy inquiries, work with information sources, as well as the procedure which exists in the Verkhovna Rada for adoption of bills.

PDP II conducted a presentation called “Use of modern techniques of law drafting and analysis” for MPs aides on May 25. During the training session participants learnt about the institutional theory and methodology of solving social problems as a guide for development of legislative policy and drafting of legislation. This methodology was developed by experts of Boston University and then finalized by the International Consortium for Law and Development (ICLAD). Respective training sessions are held in 50 countries.

PDP II conducted a seminar on May 19 on integration of the principle of equal gender rights and opportunities in the activities of local authorities for representatives of local government agencies and NGOs in Kryvyi Rig.

At the invitation of PDP II, colleagues from the parliaments of Greece, Latvia and the Czech Republic actively participated in a three-day series of meetings in Ukraine devoted to discussing E-governance and E-Democracy at the National Academy for Public Administration, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Participants of these meetings discussed the principles of E-Parliament and E-Government and E-Democracy in Ukraine and in Europe. The Head of the Global Centre for ICT for Parliaments Gherado Casini shared the summary report of the World E-Parliament Conference held in Washington DC in November 2009 as well as the preliminary findings of a survey of 188 legislatures throughout the world. The Latvian Saeima’s Head of IT Anita Dudina noted that there are two faces of IT in parliaments and shared the Latvian experience in meeting the needs of both the public and the organization in creating, storing and disseminating information on the work of parliament. Eleni Droulia of the Greek Parliament, noted that in Greece the Parliament is referred to as the Voulia (The Will of the People), emphasized the importance of the preservation of parliamentary documentation for the current work of parliament as well as a historical record of a democratic nation. She noted that it is important to consider long-term preservation of documentation born digital as current electronic records are extremely fragile and potentially unstable in terms of preservation. Karel Sosna, the Director of the Czech Parliamentary Library, noted that special projects in developing digital parliamentary records can serve to emphasize the role of parliament in society and can serve to help the nation understand the role that parliament plays, in law-making, but also in ensuring both a national heritage and a contemporary dialog. Merab Gostridze, a guest of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy from the Georgian Parliament, explained what steps had been taken and challenges met in his parliament in recent years as it moves closer to an establishing an e-parliament.