PRESS RELEASE BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Maltese parliamentary delegation participates in the opening sessions of the 40th Small Branches Conference and the 8th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference

On 4 November, the Maltese delegation led by Deputy Speaker David Agius, and comprised of Government Deputy Whip Davina Sammut Hili and Opposition Whip Robert Cutajar, attended the opening sessions of the 40^th Small Branches Conference and the 8^th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference which took place in Sydney, Australia.

During the first workshop of the Small Branches Conference which discussed twinning between parliaments, Robert Cutajar spoke of the Parliamentary Friendship Groups between the Maltese Parliament and the Parliaments of other countries. He also asked the panellists to share best practices for twinning and other forms of friendship groups, both for members of parliament and for parliamentary staff.

The second workshop, titled 'Accelerating Digital Innovation for Resilience and Growth in Small Jurisdictions' was chaired by Deputy Speaker David Agius. In his opening remarks, he spoke of the need to leverage technology through innovation and how this is essential for small jurisdictions like Malta, that face unique and compounding challenges like limited resources, reliance on imports and amplified impact of climate change. He also spoke of the need for resilience and of how parliaments play a key role in fostering an environment that encourages innovation and supports economic development.

During the first workshop of the 8^th Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference, which debated the political participation of young women and girls, Davina Sammut Hili emphasised the need for more education, more role-models that young girls can look up to, as well a safe space to encourage young women to enter politics. She also mentioned the need to support youth-led initiatives.

The delegation also participated in the election of the new chairperson of the CPA Small Branches. Valerie Woods, Speaker of the Parliament of Belize, was elected.