Date

Event

Country

Request / Action / State of Play / Comments

Duration (Days)

04.03.04

Education Cttee from the North Rhine-Westphalia

North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany

Programme (pdf)

The Committee of School and Further Education of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will visit the Scottish Parliament to discuss educational matters.

1

04 to 08.03.04

Ceann Comhairle

Ireland

Programme (pdf)
Report

Ceann Comhairle plus cross-party delegation from the Dail will visit the Scottish Parliament to look at devolution, Scotland and the Scottish Parliament in more detail.

5

09.03.04

Phil Gallie MSP

CLRAE

Phil Gallie MSP participated in the Culture and Education Committee of the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) in Strasbourg, France.

2

10.03.04

Commonwealth Day 2004

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Scotland Branch's annual celebration of Commonwealth Day.   The day included a Members' debate on the Commonwealth followed by a reception hosted by the Presiding Officer for Commonwealth students studying at Scottish universities, Commonwealth High Commissioners and Consul Generals and representatives from academia, business and civic society with links to the Commonwealth.   The Hon Don McKinnon, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth addressed guests.

1

10.03.04

Rt Hon Don McKinnon

Commonwealth

Visit by the Rt Hon Don McKinnon, Secretary General of Commonwealth in connection with the Scotland Branch's Commonwealth Day celebrations. He met with parliamentary officials to discuss the working of the Scottish Parliament; addressed the Commonwealth Day reception; and attended a dinner hosted by the Presiding Officer for Commonwealth High Commissioners.

1

10.03.04

FC Barcelona

Catalonia

President, Vice President and the Board of Directors of FC Barcelona met with the Presiding Officer on the Holyrood Site.   The delegation were given a short tour of the new building.

1

16.03.04

Norwegian Parliament Education Committee

Norway

A delegation of 16 Norwegian MPs visited the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 16 March to meet with the Education Committee.   The delegation were Members of the Standing Committee on Education, Research and Church Affairs of the Norwegian Parliament and the aim of their visit was to gain insight into the work and experiences in Scotland in the field of "quality development and assessment" in basic education.

1

16.03.04

Delegation of Lawyers and Solicitors

United Kingdom

Programme (pdf)

A delegation of Lawyers and Solicitors who are participating in a Government Study Programme in Edinburgh and will visit the Scottish Parliament to discuss legal services in the Parliament.

17.03.04

Mr Azmi Bishara MP

Israel

Azmi Bishara MP, leader of the Balad Party in Knesset will visit Scotland to attend a conference organised by the Scottish Palestinian Forum & Churches House at Dunblane.   He is hoping to address the Cross Party Group on Palestine and visit the Parliament to discuss areas of mutual interest and parliamentary experiences.

1

18.03.04

Marshall Scholars

United States

Students from the United States under the banner of the Marshall Scholars will be visiting the United Kingdom. Part of the visit will include a 2-day programme to Scotland. During their visit to Scotland they will visit the Scottish Parliament to observe Ministerial Question Time and meet with a cross section of MSPs.

1

18.03.04

Senator Mary O'Rourke

Ireland

Senator Mary O'Rourke, Leader of the Seanad Eireann in the Irish Parliament, visited the Scottish Parliament.   The programme included attendance at First Minister's Questions and a tour of the Holyrood site.

1

18 & 19.03.04

Delegation from the States of Jersey

Jersey

A delegation from the States of Jersey visited the Parliament to allow their scrutiny panel to examine the Committee system within the Scottish Parliament.

2

22.03.04

Kazaks MPs

Kazakhstan

A delegation of MPs from the Kazakhstan Parliament visited the Scottish Parliament.   As the main purpose of their visit to the Parliament was to attend the opening of a photographic exhibition on "Semipalatinsk", the External Liaison Unit's programme for their visit included a meeting with MSPs to discuss the current situation in Semipalatinsk, as well as a briefing on the Scottish Parliament and Devolution and a presentation on the new building.

1

25.03.04

French Journalists

France

A group of French journalists visited the Scottish Parliament to attend Plenary and to meet with Members of the European and External Relations Committee over lunch.   The journalists' visit to Scotland had been arranged by the London Correspondent Service (LCS), a section within the FCO specialising in services for UK-based correspondents for foreign media.   The LCS had asked that their visit to Scotland be built around Devolution and the Entente Cordiale and the Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament programmes were prepared accordingly.

1

26.03.04

Norwegian Social Scientists

Norway

External Liaison Officers, Alison Dickie and Margaret Neal, met with a delegation of Norwegian Social Scientists in the George InterContinental Hotel in Edinburgh on Friday 26 March 2004 to give presentations on "The Scottish Parliament and Devolution" and "The Scottish Parliament and External Liaison" The delegation, who were from the national committee of the union "Samfunnsviterne" and who mainly work in local and national administration, were participating in an annual study visit abroad for educational and awarding purposes.

1

26 to 28.03.04

Helen Eadie MSP

United Kingdom

Helen Eadie MSP attended a conference in Oxford, organised by Encounter, entitled 'Reviving Democracy-from indifference to Involvement'. The conference focussed on the theme of the perceived remoteness of decision-making in both Britain and <a href="../countries/ireland.htm">Ireland</a> and involved parliamentarians, senior civil servants, academics, and other key opinion formers.

3

29.03.04

Iain Smith MSP

BIIPB

Iain Smith MSP visited Brussels to continue the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body's (BIIPB) inquiry into waste management.

1