Turks and Caicos Islands delegation led by His Honour the Speaker, Hon. Dwayne S. Taylor, Hon. Douglas F. Parnell, Elected Member for Chesire Hall and Richmond Hill, Hon. George A. Lightbourne, Elected Member for Grand Turk North and Mrs. Tracey I. Parker, Hon. Secretary TCI CPA Branch, were in the midst of over forty Parliamentarians from more than thirteen Commonwealth countries and territories in Guernsey to discuss the impact of ‘fake news’ and the media challenges for Parliamentarians and democracy.
The 48th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) British Islands and Mediterranean Regional Conference, was hosted by the States of Guernsey and CPA Guernsey Branch from 19 to 22 May 2019 in St Peter Port.
Parliamentarians discussed the impact ‘fake news’ and digital disinformation on media freedoms in the Commonwealth and the importance of quality journalism in the reporting of Parliamentary proceedings and elections.
The regional conference was opened by the Bailiff of Guernsey and President of the CPA Guernsey Branch, Sir Richard Collas, Presiding Officer of the States Assembly and Parliamentarians were welcomed to the regional conference by Deputy Lyndon Trott, Chair of the CPA Guernsey Branch. Deputy Trott said: “We are very excited to have so many high-quality speakers with us in Guernsey and we are also pleased that as well as delegates from the CPA BIM Region, we have a large number of observers from other parts of the Commonwealth. It’s a very relevant topic and I think our Guernsey meeting will showcase what is best about the CPA.”
Guest speakers at the regional conference included Dr Victoria Nash, Senior Policy Fellow and Deputy Director of the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University; Rita Payne, Journalist and President Emeritus, Commonwealth Journalists Association; Professor Dr Horst Risse, Secretary-General of the German Bundestag; Victoria Schofield, Historian and Contributor to The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs; and Doug Wills, Managing Editor of The Evening Standard and The Independent. Other topics discussed included ‘No-platforming’ which is the practice of preventing someone from discussing their ideas by refusing them a platform either physically at an event or online via a website or social media.
His Honour the Speaker said “This was a rather timely and informative forum when the impact of ‘fake news and digital disinformation is impacting social media in a negative way. It’s not so much the machine, but the man behind the machine utilizing it to negatively impact the political atmosphere and society at large. Technology is here to stay and it is the new communication apparatus that make us a global village and it’s one animal which is most difficult to tame, but it must begin with being accountable. Politicians and Parliamentarians alike should strive in their deportment to be more responsible by being on the side of truth and be honest when conveying information to the public in general because of the many bloggers and fake account holders whose quest is to mislead and obscure the truth. In essence, it begins with us the Parliamentarians and Politicians.”
Delegates also heard presentations on the CPA Headquarters Secretariat’s roll-out to CPA Branches of self-assessment against the updated CPA Recommended Benchmarks for Democratic Legislatures and the CPA UK Branch’s work on Commonwealth Election Observations. They were also briefed by the CPA Headquarters Secretariat on preparations for the upcoming 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) due to take place in Uganda in September 2019. The CPA Small Branches Chairperson, Hon. Angelo Farrugia, MP, Speaker of the Parliament of Malta also attended the regional conference.
The regional conference also incorporated the CPA BIM Region’s Annual General Meeting and a reception at Government House, Guernsey.
