Phnom Penh, 20 May 2024: The aim of the PCAsia Programme on Parliamentary Diplomacy (PCAsia-PPD) is to strengthen capacity of parliamentary staff to better support the diplomacy work of their respective Parliaments. This training, now in its sixth year as a regional programme unique for the Southeast Asia region, was officially started on 20 May 2024 from the PCAsia Representative Office inside the Cambodian Senate compound. The orientation session was introduced by Professor Michel FOUCHER, former French Ambassador and Director of the Parliamentary Diplomacy Training Programme, and Mr Mario Pandu DEWONO, Deputy Director of PCAsia.
They joined together with the 16 parliamentary staff participating in this year’s training, including four from the Parliament of Cambodia, 2 from Indonesia, 2 from Lao PDR, 2 from the Philippines, two from Thailand, 2 from the Legislative Council of Brunei and one from the Secretariat of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). They constitute the sixth intake of the PCAsia-PPD, which is part of PCAsia’s Knowledge Sharing Programme, a needs-oriented regional initiative which aims to contribute to strengthening parliamentary institutions in ASEAN upon request, with an emphasis on capacity and knowledge building of staff from AIPA Member Parliaments.
The 2024 training is composed of three modules. Module 1 includes two weeks of face-to-face training for the Cambodian trainee in Phnom Penh while the regional trainees attend online. All Module 1 sessions are being led by regional and international experts who will provide experiences sharing on parliamentary diplomacy, guidance on the content of diplomatic documents such as country position papers, draft resolutions, memos and the steps involved in producing these documents. Participants receive readings and course materials on an online learning platform accessible through the PCAsia website.
Module 2 consists of one week of online (distance) practical training aimed at equipping trainees with the technical skills needed to draft effective national position papers for parliamentary delegations attending inter-parliamentary meetings and events.
In the final module which is the simulation week all 16 trainees will work onsite, facilitated by the Programme Director, Professor Michel FOUCHER in Phnom Penh from 9 to 11 July to work on consensus building and applying the knowledge and skills they acquire during the training.
