House Speaker Valerie Woods Highlights Challenges Facing Small Commonwealth Jurisdictions

Small island states and other small jurisdictions across the Commonwealth face common challenges, and Belize’s Speaker of the House, Valerie Woods, says the CPA Small Branches Network provides a space to discuss those issues. Woods spoke with South Africa’s Parliament TV during the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Cape Town earlier this month.  Woods chairs the Small Branches Network and delivered the opening remarks at its 42nd conference, held under the theme, “Supporting Independent and Resilient Parliaments in the Commonwealth.” In the interview, recorded earlier this month, she discussed the network’s role and the challenges smaller jurisdictions share.

The Small Branches Conference focused on cooperation and practical partnerships among smaller Commonwealth jurisdictions. It formed part of the wider parliamentary conference, which ran from September thirteenth to nineteenth.  Belize’s delegation also included Senate President Carolyn Trench-Sandiford, Senator Sheena Pitts and National Assembly Clerk Clarita Pech. Their sessions covered climate resilience, women’s participation in parliament, accountability and parliamentary administration. The National Assembly says the gathering allowed Belize’s representatives to share their experiences and learn from practices that could help strengthen parliament at home.