Pioneering Global Map on Public Engagement launched by IPEN

A new online map showing public engagement activities delivered by parliaments around the world was revealed at a launch event in Westminster, London, on 25 September.

Over the last two years, the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN) has developed a project to put together a pioneering map of the services that parliaments offer across the world on public engagement. To date this information had not been available, with the map providing vital insights into how parliaments are trying to strengthen engagement with citizens at a time of acute decline of trust in politics and democracy.

This project was facilitated thanks to a UK Parliament POST Fellowship, led by Dr Elise Uberoi (from the UK Parliament and Deputy Chair of IPEN) in collaboration with Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira (University of Leeds, POLIS and Chair of IPEN). The project was implemented by Dr Laura Sudulich from the University of Essex and involved the participation of countless IPEN members, which includes parliamentary officials and academics from across the world,. 

Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira commented:

As you can imagine, it’s a challenge to get a profile of what public engagement services parliaments offer all across the world. It’s great to see that, through this project, we’ve managed to collate data from 65 parliaments.

Professor Leston-Bandeira was one of the speakers at an event in Westminster on the 25 September 2025 to launch the global map. The event was very well received and was followed up by an online launch for IPEN members on the 21st October. 

The pioneering map can be accessed on the IPEN’s website.  

Find out more about ‘Mapping public engagement in parliaments across the world’ project here.