APKN Charter

Strategic Approach

The APKN strategic approach is to promote the exchange of experiences and information, develop continental level training and capacity initiatives, and encourage cooperation between parliaments. All these objectives utilize the unprecedented opportunities of Information and Communication Technology.

ICT makes it possible to create synergies and to provide high value training and information services, including e-learning modules, for parliaments in a cost-effective way while creating a critical mass necessary to build and sustain quality services.

More specifically the APKN will focus on:

• Capacity Building. Building capacity is an important goal of the network. Parliaments that neglect their learning and training needs severely affect their ability to fulfil their constitutional mandate. Developing a capacity building strategy requires both the commitment of financial resources and up-to-date knowledge and a key understanding of the importance of ongoing training and education.
  Parliaments have to be able to make the transition to being a “learning organisation”, that is an organisation whose Members and staff have the opportunity to continually expand their capacity and skills and where new patterns of thinking are nurtured.

• Common information services and software applications. Shared ICT services and applications are more and more necessary both in dealing with the huge amount of information available and in effectively managing information within parliaments.

The APKN will focus the strategic opportunity to cooperate in the development of capacity building activities and shared information services in a way that is currently not done in the parliamentary domain. The role of actually delivering and using these services would be left to national parliaments and local training institutions that are better equipped to provide them in a cost effective fashion.

Areas

APKN will focus its activities in the following thematic areas:

• Legislative Process
• Information and Research
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
• Communication and Public Information

APKN Charter