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© 2025 Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
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Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, a podcast by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), gives a voice to Parliamentarians, civil society experts and activists across the Commonwealth to discuss common democratic challenges and share their ideas on what can be done to solve them. The CPA promotes knowledge of the constitutional, legislative, economic, social and cultural aspects of parliamentary democracy. Our work enables Commonwealth Parliamentarians and officials to uphold and strengthen parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, sustainable development and human rights.
22 Episodes
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Is Artificial Intelligence a threat to democracy? As AI is adopted across the globe, we're already seeing some of the negative effects that this is having on democracy, from deepfakes to climate issues to the concentration of corporate power. In this episode, we spoke with Supheakmungkol Sarin, co-founder of AI Safety Asia and Michael Bąk, Head of Policy at AI Safety Asia. They discussed how capacity building in AI differs from other forms of technology, how Parliamentarians should always mak...
This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, was made in association with ‘Human Coined’, a Podcast series hosted by Geoff Dubrow, Founder and Principal Consultant at Nexus PFM Consulting Inc., a consulting firm specialising in horizontal approaches to policy issues, bringing together Parliaments, Ministries of finance, civil society organisations and others. (https://nexuspfm.com/podcast/) How can governments ensure that their public proj...
In this episode, we’re joined by Hon. Mmabatho Tembe, Deputy Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature and one of the youngest to ever hold the role. Her story charts a compelling rise – from community organising and council chambers to presiding over legislative proceedings in one of South Africa’s most dynamic provinces. As a young woman navigating political power, public service and institutional change, Hon. Tembe shares insights on leadership that’s grounded, forward-looking and inclusive...
This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Hon. Donna Skelly, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in Canada – the first woman in Ontario to hold this prestigious position. We speak about her role as a Presiding Officer and Member of Parliament; the barriers facing women in politics and how to overcome them; the role of ‘modern’ Commonwealth; and how her previous career as a journalist has helped in political life. Hon. Donna Sk...
This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, was made in association with ‘Human Coined’, a Podcast series hosted by Geoff Dubrow, Founder and Principal Consultant at Nexus PFM Consulting Inc., a consulting firm specialising in horizontal approaches to policy issues, bringing together Parliaments, Ministries of finance, civil society organisations and others. (https://nexuspfm.com/podcast/) How can governments ensure that their public projects ar...
In this episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA spoke with three young people shaping the future of politics. Hon. Eve Borg Bonello MP became one of the world’s youngest elected Legislators in 2022, when she was elected to the Parliament of Malta at the age of 18. Zaria Ingham and Kemuel Pascall represented Turks and Caicos and Trinidad and Tobago respectively at the 12th Commonwealth Youth Parliament, hosted by the CPA and the Parliament of New Zealand i...
Democracy is in retreat across the globe. To try to understand why, we talked to His Excellency Danny Faure, former President of the Seychelles and Professor Maya Tudor, Professor of Politics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. Danny Faure discusses his role as the head of several Commonwealth Election Observation Missions stretching from Antigua and Barbuda to Gabon. He outlines some of the key day-to-day threats to democratic tra...
In this episode, we sit down with Hon. Shrimati Nayana Motamma, the youngest woman in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, legal professional and trailblazing Dalit woman redefining Indian politics. She discusses her route from corporate lawyer to grassroots political campaigns, and how her political career has been defined by courage, identity and generational legacy. We explore how she navigates complex intersections of caste, gender and power, and how she has consistently challenged expecta...
This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, features Rt Hon. Dame Emily Thornberry, UK MP continually since 2005, in conversation with Natasa Pantelic, who has been working in and around the UK Parliament for over 20 years. The conversation explores the global challenges we face in 2025 and their impact on multilateralism, the role that the ‘modern’ Commonwealth can take in geo-politics, the many barriers facing women in entering political life and ...
This special episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’ speaks to Hon. Khurram Ijaz Chattha, a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Pakistan. In 2024 Hon. Chattha was selected as the winner of the Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the Year because of his "dedicated promotion of good governance, placing strong emphasis on the rule of law, transparency and accountability throughout his political career. His proactive approach in Assembly debates has contributed to the cr...
In this episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, South African MP, Hon. Steve Letsike discusses the enduring impact of colonial laws on LGBT+ rights in South Africa and across the Commonwealth. Drawing from her roles as Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and Founder of Access Chapter 2, Hon. Steve Letsike speaks to the paradox of legal progress and lived realities, the pre-colonial history of gender diversity in Africa and what meaningful chang...
This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Nusrat Ghani, MP, UK Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Recorded at the 1st joint CPA Asia South-East Asia Regional Conference in Lahore, Pakistan February 2025, Nusrat Ghani speaks about her path into politics, how best to support MPs and get the right type of people interested in public service, what the stakes are in regulating Artificial Intelligence, and how the Spea...
This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Hon. Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Pakistan. We speak about his path in politics towards becoming Speaker, how to encourage sustainable and inclusive growth across the Commonwealth, the historic occasion of the first CPA Asia South-East Asia joint Regional Conference and the governance of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence. Hon. Malik Muh...
This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Senator Crystal Drakes, a Member of the Senate of Barbados. Recorded at the 67th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in New South Wales in November 2024, Senator Crystal Drakes speaks about the recent transition from a monarchy to a republic in Barbados and what it means for democracy and national identity; her background in economic and international development and how it led to her parl...
This episode of ‘Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth’, the CPA’s Podcast, speaks to Hon. Kate Doust, a Member of the Legislative Council from the Parliament of Western Australia. We speak about her role as a Presiding Officer and Member of Parliament; how her trade union background has helped in her career; the barriers facing women in politics and how to overcome them; the role of ‘modern’ Commonwealth; and being the first recipient of the CPA Commonwealth Parliamentarian of the...
In The Juggle: How Politicians Prioritise, a special World Parliament Day mini-series of Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, we peel back the layers of what Parliaments do and consider a simple concept that lies at the heart of parliamentary democracy – representation. As an elected representative, the job of a politician is to collect the views of the people they represent, and use them to dictate their actions and decisions in Parliament. It sounds simple in theory, but the r...
In The Juggle: How Politicians Prioritise, a special World Parliament Day mini-series of Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, we peel back the layers of what Parliaments do and consider a simple concept that lies at the heart of parliamentary democracy – representation. As an elected representative, the job of a politician is to collect the views of the people they represent, and use them to dictate their actions and decisions in Parliament. It sounds simple in theory, but the re...
On a special episode of Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, the former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, sits down with CPA Secretary-General and former UK MP, Stephen Twigg, for a wide-ranging conversation. Gillard, who served as Prime Minister from 2010 to 2013: praises affirmative action as a proven solution to increase the representation of women in Parliament (07:16)warns that 'we could be back to ground zero' unless world leaders urgently address vaccine ineq...
On this episode of Parliamentary Conversations in the Commonwealth, we ask: how can Commonwealth democracies be more representative of indigenous peoples? To discuss this question we are joined by: Hon. Lenox R Shuman MP, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Guyana and Member of the Arawak Nation;Sheila North, former Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and campaigner for indigenous women in Canada;Josiah Tualamali'i, youth indigenous activist in New Zealand and former partici...
On World Refugee Day, we ask: How can we give refugees a voice in our democracies? To discuss this question, we are joined by Hon. Ayor Makur Chuot, a newly elected Member of the Parliament of Western Australia and former South Sudanese refugee; Sally Gandar, Head of Parliamentary Advocacy & Legal Advisor at the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town; and Louise Donovan, Communications Officer for UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) in Cox's Bazar district, Bangladesh, where nearly 890,000 Rohingya r...
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