Women parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIMR) met at the Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast for the 12th CWP BIM Regional conference recently.
MHKs Ann Corlett and Dr Michelle Haywood joined parliamentarians from the UK, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Malta, Guernsey, Jersey and Sark for the conference held under the theme: ‘Power and Peace: Protecting Our Mental Health in Public Life.’
The event served as a forum for delegates to explore the unique mental health challenges faced by women in politics and featured sessions on a wide range of topics.
Michelle McIlveen, a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly CPA branch executive committee and CWP BIM regional steering committee, said: ‘These conferences bring together women with deep experience of public life, but they also create a space for openness, honesty and mutual support.’
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Reflecting on the conference Mrs Corlett said: ‘It was a privilege to join colleagues at the CWP conference in Belfast, sharing valuable insights and strengthening our commitment to effective, inclusive representation.
‘It also provided me with an opportunity to organise meetings outside the conference schedule to discuss mental health, progress on suicide prevention strategies and disability sport.
‘The conference provided inspiring discussions and meaningful collaboration that will help strengthen our work at home.’
Dr Haywood added: ‘The most valuable part of any CPA trip is always the opportunity to interact with our peers from other jurisdictions about the challenges they face in public life and I am grateful for the many full and frank discussions that we had.
‘We could broadly split the conference into two themes: one supporting our personal experience in public service and the other examining the role of the institutions that we work in.
‘I have returned from the conference with several ideas to pursue, especially around the need to protect all parliamentarians from abuse to enable them to function more effectively in our parliament.’