BVI Delegation at 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
A House of Assembly delegation from the Virgin Islands attended the 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Bridgetown, Barbados, from October 5 to 12, 2025. During the conference, Speaker Corine George-Masicote led a workshop on technology-facilitated violence titled "Debate Not Hate," calling for stronger protections for women in public life.
A delegation from the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands represented the Territory at the 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC), held in Bridgetown, Barbados, from October 5 to 12, 2025. The group was led by Speaker of the House of Assembly, Honourable Corine George-Masicote, and included Deputy Speaker Honourable Dr.
Karl Dawson, Members Honourable Melvin Turnbull and Honourable Marlon Penn, and Ms. Shakiara Cupid from the office of the House of Assembly serving as an observer. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference brought legislators and parliamentary staff from across the Commonwealth together to discuss shared challenges, promote good governance, and foster collaboration.
For the Virgin Islands, participation provided opportunities for training, capacity-building, and observing legislative approaches that might strengthen local parliamentary procedures, oversight, and constituent engagement. One of the conference highlights for the Virgin Islands delegation was Speaker Corine George-Masicote’s role as a discussion leader in a workshop session themed "Debate Not Hate: Not Accepting Abuse as an Outcome of Free Speech," according to a release from the Government of the Virgin Islands.
In her remarks, the Speaker stressed that technology-facilitated violence has real-world consequences and disproportionately affects women in leadership. "Women often resign from leadership roles out of fear for their safety, and girls who witness online abuse directed at women leaders hesitate to enter public life," she said, noting the broader loss to society when women's voices are silenced.
Honourable George-Masicote outlined a multi-faceted approach to confronting online abuse. She encouraged empowering women with digital literacy, privacy tools, and support networks; updating legal frameworks to reflect the gendered nature of online abuse and to overcome jurisdictional challenges; restoring control and amplifying survivor voices; and urging parliaments and women's caucuses to keep technology-facilitated violence high on national agendas, including advocating for stronger cyber laws, enforcement, platform accountability, and resources for victim support and training for women MPs and public figures.
Honourable Melvin Turnbull reflected on the conference opening, noting that he stood alongside the Honourable Speaker and Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. He described Prime Minister Mottley’s powerful welcome address, which urged parliaments and world leaders to pay attention to global developments and reminded small island nations of the need to unite and build resilience and shared prosperity.
Officials say the delegation used the conference to learn about innovations in lawmaking, committee work, transparency measures, and how other small jurisdictions address economic resilience, public accountability, and regional cooperation. The House of Assembly expects the visit to inform ongoing efforts to strengthen parliamentary practice and to bring back ideas and partnerships that support parliamentary excellence and stronger regional ties for the Virgin Islands.
House of Assembly Public Relations Officer Giovanni Herbert confirmed the delegation's attendance. He can be reached at 1 (284) 468-6909 or by email at gherbert@gov.vg. The House of Assembly maintains social media channels for updates at facebook.com/HOABVI and YouTube @houseofassemblyvi2922.
For international media enquiries, contacts have been asked to use BVIGovernment@dgagroup.com. Residents seeking government services or information can call the Government of the Virgin Islands main line at 1 (284) 468-3701 or WhatsApp 1 (284) 468-9760; offices are located at 33 Admin Drive, Wickhams Cay 1, Tortola.
The House of Assembly says it looks forward to meaningful discussions and to bringing back practical ideas and partnerships to strengthen democracy and public service in the Virgin Islands.
Primary source: BVI Government