The European Union has supported this pioneering initiative in Latin America, focused on locating all the parliamentary information that contributes to the goals of the 2030 Agenda
On the 17th, 18th and 24th June the Paraguayan Senate will present a legislative mechanism for controlling and monitoring compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) called Congress2030py.
Congreso2030py is an innovative tool that tracks, gathers and offers all the information on the activity of the Paraguayan Congress related to the SDGs. It is designed to overcome the challenges posed by the transversal nature of the 2030 Agenda.
This innovative initiative has been headed up by the Paraguayan Senate as part of the Open Parliament Action Plan 2018-2020, signed within the framework of the Open Government Association (AGA), a multilateral project launched in 2011 by the governmental and civil society leaders from 77 countries with the aim of promoting responsible and inclusive governance.
It is situated within the context of a new world model that seeks to build a relationship between citizens and legislators based on a different approach. An Open Parliament implies greater transparency, better access to information and appropriate accountability. It also incorporates other components, such as effective citizen participation and the use of technologies that pave the way for this new relationship, with the aim being to obtain receptive, innovative and effective legislation that works in favour of the people.
The tool has been developed by the European Union via its EUROsociAL+ Programme, with the coordination of its Democratic Governance Policies Department at Spain’s International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), an institution that will also manage a new EU project to promote the implementation of the SDGs in Paraguay, with an emphasis on gender equality and the environment.
Congreso2030py is inspired by the Spanish tool Parliament2030 and has been adapted to meet the needs of Paraguay by Ciecode. It will interact with the Paraguayan Congress’ Legislative Information System -SILpy (http://silpy.congreso.gov.py/) -, and will make it easier for citizens and the organised civil society to monitor the legislative work being undertaken in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
How Congress2030 works
The tool classifies all the information related to the SDGs thanks to an advanced mass labelling system. This innovative technology allows users to browse parliamentary activity linked to the SDGs through a free and open on-line search engine. The information offered is essential for monitoring and accountability in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at a national level.
Congress2030py helps find the least obvious answers to complicated questions at a glance: Which SDGs are affected by certain parliamentary initiatives? What objectives or goals receive more attention from the members of parliament? Who are the most active members of parliament in implementing the 2030 Agenda? In addition, it offers a highly efficient method for analysing political activity by detecting parliamentary activity related to a specific SDG or an objective being proposed and debated simultaneously by different Congress committees.
