National Parliament completes civic education and public engagement in Lata

By Taromane Martin

The Parliament Public Engagement and Civic Education Unit on Wednesday successfully delivered a three-day training workshop at Luluelta Resort in Lata, Temotu Province.

With almost 70 to 75 percent of the population still lacking a clear understanding about the roles and functions, the parliamentary Civic Education has designed a Parliamentary Resource Book as a key educational tool to help civic education in classrooms.

The three days capacity building workshop aimed to enhance: particularly Social Science and English teachers in Temotu Province; to learn and understand the structure and functions of the national parliament, the principle of separation of powers, and the role of parliamentary committees.

“I really learned a lot from this training. One thing I like about this training is I get to see how they form the political parties and how they engage and try to form a government within the government setting,” of the teacher participants, May Boime from Monene Community High School said.

“I also get to learn more about the different political parties and how they continue to manifest their policies. 

“The knowledge I gain from here I really believe will help me a lot in my teaching career and daily presentations for our Year 8s about the national government,” she added.

Ataban Sau another teacher participant from Tetoli Community High School in Duff Islands said he is happy to be part of this historic workshop despite the long journey to Lata.

“It is very helpful for me as a social science teacher. Most times I find it hard in the classroom, trying to figure out the best way I can, to teach my students about the processes inside parliament.

“But thank you to the parliament team for coming down and sharing their resources books which will help my career teaching social science and explaining our system of government for our students.

“I hope to go back and share the knowledge I learned here not only with my students but my fellow social science teachers at our school so they too can also help the government in teaching the process of forming and what a government is,” Mr Sau said.

Delivered by a seven-man team from the Parliament Units led by Wilson Orisi, Director of Committees, the workshop provided a detailed exploration of the separation of powers, clarifying the distinct roles of the Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary, offering participants a comprehensive understanding of their interrelationships.

Boniface Supa, Director of Information and Research explained the Functions of Parliament and carried out a mock exercise to help the participants gain valuable insights into Parliament’s oversight role in checking the executive government

Session 4 was delivered by Mr. Orisi which focused on the crucial role of Parliamentary Committees and Standing Select Committees in holding the government accountable with participants applying their new knowledge, presenting their findings, and offering thoughtful analysis.

The final day of the workshop on Wednesday saw the 17 teacher participants engaging with all three Parliamentary Resource Books to help them, help their students.

Acting Director of the Parliamentary Civic Education meanwhile thanked the participants for taking time out from their busy schedule to travel to Lata for the training and also thanked the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through its Strengthen Legislatures’ capacity in Pacific Islands Countries Project, for their continuous support.

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