Under the auspices of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt hon Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, a high powered parliamentary delegation is participating in the ongoing 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (68th CPC) hosted by the Parliament of Barbados and the CPA Barbados Branch in Bridegetown, Barbados.

The 68th CPC, which commenced on Sunday, 5th October, will deliberate on a wide range of workshop topics including, strengthening Parliaments to support democracy, leveraging technology and AI to transform Parliaments, examining the impact of climate change on global health and building trust in Legislatures. It is under the theme: The Commonwealth: A Global Partner'.

The conference is being attended by over 500 Speakers, Presiding Officers Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and decision makers from across the Commonwealth. It is being hosted by the CPA President (2024-2025), Senator Hon Reginald Farley, JP, President of the Senate of Barbados; Hon Arthur Holder, MHA, SC, Speaker of the House of Assembly of Barbados and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon Mia Mottley, SC, MP.

Emphasizing the importance of the CPA, the association’s secretary general made the point that “This CPA Conference offers the opportunity to bring together MPs and key stakeholders to share and exchange ideas and best practices, re-enforcing the fact that we live in an inter-connected world and have a shared responsibility to address our common challenges.

The CPA’s annual Conference in Barbados this week offers an important opportunity for Parliamentarians to benefit from mutual learning and the sharing of best practices with colleagues from across the Commonwealth to become more effective Members.”

With the ever-increasing focus on greater scrutiny of Parliamentarians and Parliaments, the CPA’s annual conference offers the opportunity for Members to benefit from professional development, supportive learning and the sharing of best practice with colleagues from Commonwealth Parliaments together with the participation of leading international organisations.

Additional conferences and meetings at the CPC include:
o 41st CPA Small Branches Conference;
o 9th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference;
o meetings of the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) network;
o 2025 CPA General Assembly and meetings of the CPA Executive Committee;
o and the 59th Society of Clerks-at-the-Table (SOCATT) meetings.

Elections will also be conducted for the positions for chairpersons of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) and the Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) networks, the CPA Treasurer and the CPA Vice-Chairperson. The 3rd Lifaka Lecture will also take place, as well as the presentations for the 2025 Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year Awards.

Speaker Bagbin led the Ghanaian Parliament to host a successful 66th CPC in Accra two years ago. The 68th CPC is the second time that the CPA Barbados Branch has hosted the event – the previous time was the 35th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in 1989.