Events
The full advance programme of meetings being convened globally by the Inter-Parliamentary Union can be accessed here and BGIPU will call for nominations of interested MPs/Peers to form UK delegations for such events through the All Party Whip Notice and regular all member e-mails. UK participation in IPU activities without formal approval and selection by the BGIPU Executive Committee is not permitted.
In addition, the BGIPU regularly hosts lectures and meetings within the Palace of Westminster when Parliament is sitting on current topical issues in international affairs. Details of upcoming BGIPU events will be listed below and members’ nominations for participating in delegations will be sought through the All Party Notice circulated by the Government Whips Office during sitting times.
As a fully-funded parliamentary body, we can only reply to queries on how to participate in official BGIPU activities from MPs and Peers or parliamentary staff using internal parliamentary e-mail addresses. More general enquiries about our work can be directed to bgipu@parliament.uk
VISIT BY JOHN SMITH TRUST EXILED BELARUSIAN FELLOWS | 15 JANUARY 2025
BGIPU will be hosting a visit by Fellows on the John Smith Trust’s Leaders in Exile: ‘Future of Belarus’ Programme on 15 January. Members wishing to meet with the Fellows are asked to contact Henry Collison at collisonh@parliament.uk.
MEETING WITH ALBANIAN SPEAKER | 15 JANUARY 2025 10:15-11:15 | ROOM TBC
BGIPU will be hosting a joint meeting with the APPG on Kosovo and Albania with the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament on Wednesday 15 January at 10:15-11:15. The location is currently TBC. Those wishing to attend this meeting are asked to contact Joe Perry at joe.perry@parliament.uk
PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION FROM EGYPT | W/C 20 JANUARY 2025
BGIPU plans to host a delegation of Egyptian Parliamentarians during the week commencing 20 January. Members wishing to meet this delegation are asked to contact Mathilde Ollivo at ollivom@parliament.uk
BBC WORLD SERVICE/BGIPU EVENT ON PRESS FREEDOM | 12 FEBRUARY | IPU ROOM
BGIPU together with the BBC World Service, is hosting an event addressing the situation regarding press freedom in the world. Full details and speakers are still to be confirmed but Members wishing to attend are asked to contact Henry Collison at collisonh@parliament.uk.
CALLING ALL MEMBERS AND STAFF WITH FOREIGN LANGUAGES – AND THOSE KEEN TO LEARN!
To help us welcome our visiting delegations it would be incredibly useful to know if Members and staff have any foreign languages – please contact Dominique Rees at reesd@parliament.uk to register any language skills.
For those who are keen to practice their language skills we also offer informal lunchtime foreign language conversation sessions. We invite Members and staff to meet in the IPU room and divide into groups depending on level of fluency for a very non-intimidating, relaxed and fun language practice!
We are currently holding French sessions. If you wish to join these, please contact Mathilde Ollivo at ollivom@parliament.uk.
IPU PARLIAMENTARY HEARING AT THE UNITED NATIONS | 13-14 FEBRUARY 2025 | NEW YORK
The IPU Parliamentary Hearing will be held at UN Headquarters in New York on 13-14 February 2025 and the title of the meeting will be “Scaling up action for the Sustainable Development Goals: Finance, Institutions, and Politics”. Further to the adoption of the Pact for the Future at the United Nations in September 2024, the Hearing will take an in-depth look at ways to reboot the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs contained therein as the most important global plan to fight poverty, reduce inequality, and reset the planet on a sustainable course. Members wishing to apply for this delegation are asked to email Rhiannon Edwards at edwardsrl@parliament.uk
CSW69 | NEW YORK | W/C 10 MARCH 2025
The 69th Conference on the Commission on the Status of Women IPU meeting will take place during the week of the 10th March 2025 at the UN in New York. It is the 30th Anniversary of Beijing Platform for Action. Members wishing to apply should contact Rhiannon Edwards at edwardsrl@parliament.uk
