Virgin Islands (VI) speaker Ms Corine N. George-Massicote and the Clerk of House of Assembly (HoA), are currently attending the Commons and Overseas Territories Speakers Conference (COTSS) 2024 conference in the Turks and Caicos islands. Photo: HoA/File

The conference held annually, brings together Speakers and Clerks from Anguilla, Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Monserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands and the UK House of Commons. Photo: HoA/Facebook

Speaker George-Massicote and Clerk Bethsaida V. Smith-Hanley of the House of Assembly is also being joined by Ms Tracy Bradshaw of the BVI London Office as a UK representative of the [British] Virgin Islands.

The conference, held annually, brings together Speakers and Clerks from Anguilla, Bermuda, VI, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Monserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands and the UK House of Commons.

The COTSC is made to foster contacts, coordination and the exchange of experiences among Speakers of the UK House of Commons and Overseas Territories; consider questions of interest and express non-party-political views on such issues; promotion of knowledge and understanding of parliamentary democracy in its various forms and the development of parliamentary institutions.

The programme also falls under the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association known to connect, develop, promote and support Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of the enduring values of the Commonwealth.

The CPA is an international community of around 180 Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.