

LegisTech: Modernisation in Parliaments: AI as a Tool for Modernisation
Bússola Tech and the Houses of the Oireachtas, the Parliament of Ireland, have the honour of presenting LegisTech: Modernisation in Parliaments – AI as a Tool for Modernisation. This prestigious international conference will be held from June 3rd to 5th, 2026 at the Houses of the Oireachtas, in Dublin. The conference aims to deepen international dialogue on parliamentary modernisation and the strategic integration of artificial intelligence in legislative institutions, bringing together secretaries-general, clerks, parliamentary counsels, legislative administrators, technology leaders and institutional decision-makers from across jurisdictions.
The next edition will focus on the important theme of Artificial Intelligence as a Tool for Parliamentary Modernisation. The programme has been designed to promote in-depth debates on various dimensions of parliamentary modernisation, including, among other topics, digital maturity evaluation, modular and interoperable digital platforms, data governance and standards, AI-ready parliamentary data, cybersecurity, procedural adaptations, institutional guardrails for artificial intelligence, long-term financial planning for modernisation initiatives, parliamentary accessibility in the era of disinformation, and the integration of AI tools with parliamentary business and services.
The conference will also feature thematic breakout sessions and practical discussions on governance models, infrastructure, digital service delivery, decentralised development of parliamentary solutions, and the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence in legislative environments.
Parliaments and legislative institutions from around the world are invited to participate in a journey of dialogue, cooperation and institutional reflection, envisioning a future in which digital transformation strengthen parliamentary capacity, procedural resilience and democratic governance.
Registration for in-person participation is not available to the general public. Parliaments and institutions interested in participating are invited to contact Bússola Tech and the Houses of the Oireachtas for further information.
Programme
Day 1 – June 3rd, 2026 (Wednesday)
Venue: Houses of the Oireachtas, Dublin. Ireland
08:30 – 09:00: Registration
09h00 – 09h30: Official Opening
- Ciarán Doyle - Assistant Secretary of the Houses of the Oireachtas
- Luís Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech
- José Pedro Montero - President of the Association of Secretaries-General of Parliaments (ASGP)
- Luís Fernando Pires Machado - Executive-Director at the Legislative Knowledge Institute
09h30 – 10h30: Panel Discussion about Modularization, Integration and Tailoring of Digital Platforms and Services in Parliaments
- Luís Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech (moderator)
- Neemias Muachendo - IT Director at the Assembleia Nacional of Angola
- Kirsten Gullickson - Director of Systems Analysis and Quality Assurance at Office of the Clerk at the U.S. House of Representatives
- Mairéad Keating - Head of Parliamentary Business Systems Development at the Houses of Oireachtas
- Juliano Bringer - CIO at Ágape Consulting
10h30 - 10h45: Coffee-Break
10h45 - 11h45: Panel Discussion about Agentic Artificial Intelligence in Parliaments
- Ciarán Doyle - Assistant Secretary of the Houses of the Oireachtas (moderator)
- Ahto Saks - Administrative Director at the Parliament of Estonia
- Stephen Dwyer - Senior Innovation Director at the U.S. House of Representatives
- Bruno Thomasi - CEO at Govsys
- Kieran McCorry - National Technology Officer at Microsoft
11h45 - 12h45: Panel Discussion about the Evaluation of Digital Maturity of Parliamentary Business and Services
- Ludovic Delepine - ICT Director at the EU Parliament (moderator)
- Fotis Fitsilis - Head of Documentation at the Hellenic Parliament
- Ciarán Doyle - Assistant Secretary of the Houses of the Oireachtas
- Shahin Hasan Hasanov - Deputy Secretary-General at the National Assembly of Azerbaijan
- Leslie Addico - IT Director at the Parliament of Ghana
12h45 - 14h00: Lunch-Break and Official Photo at the Oireachtas
14h00 - 16h30: Thematic Trails in Breakout Rooms
- Presentations of 10min and remaining time of moderated discussion by the Chairperson
Breakout Room 1: Governance and Administration
- Ciarán Doyle - Assistant Secretary of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Chairperson)
- Kirsten Gullickson - Director of Systems Analysis and Quality Assurance at Office of the Clerk at the U.S. House of Representatives (Speaker)
- Mary Tougher - Programme Manager at the Houses of the Oireachtas (Speaker)
- Fuat Bayramoglu - Legislative Expert at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Speaker)
- Daniel Schuman - Executive-Director at the American Governance Institute (Speaker)
Breakout Room 2: The use of AI in cybersecurity to combat AI powered/fueled attacks
- Fotis Fitsilis - Head of Documentation at the Hellenic Parliament (Chairperson)
- Graeme Smith - Cybersecurity Programme Manager - Houses of the Oireachtas (Speaker)
- Jack Turner - Cybersecurity Governance Risk and Compliance Officer Houses of the Oireachtas (Speaker)
- Franklin De Vrieze - Head of Practice Accountability at the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (Speaker)
Breakout Room 3: Ensuring Funding for Parliamentary Modernisation
- Luís Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech (Chairperson)
- David Wilson - Clerk at the Parliament of New Zealand (Speaker)
- Elaine Cameron - Head of Infrastructure and Operations Houses of the Oireachtas (Speaker)
- Wade Ballou - Chief Legislative Counsel (retired) at the U.S. House of Representatives (speaker)
- Marty Bickford - Vice-President at Xcential Legislative Technologies (Speaker)
16h30 - 17h00: Plenary Session Update on Breakout Sessions
17h00 - 18h00: Networking Reception
Day 2 – June 4th, 2026 (Thursday)
Venue: Houses of the Oireachtas, Dublin. Ireland
08h30 – 09h30: Panel Discussion about Data Governance and Standards in Parliaments: Preparing Parliamentary Data for AI Integration
- Ciarán Doyle - Assistant Secretary of the Houses of the Oireachtas (moderator)
- Monica Palmirani - Professor at the University of Bologna
- Grant Vergottini - CEO at Xcential Legislative Technologies
- Ambrósio Soares - ICT Center Coordinator at the Assembleia da República of Mozambique
- Fotis Fitsilis - Head of Scientific Documentation and Supervision at the Hellenic Parliament
09h30 - 10h30: Panel about Engagement, Delivery and Prioritization of Member's Digital Services
- Ambrósio Soares - ICT Center Coordinator at the Assembleia da República of Mozambique (moderator)
- Loveness Mayaka - Clerk at the National Assembly of Zambia
- Ana Rita Laranjeira - Assembleia da República of Portugal
- Marcos Aquino - CEO at Ágape Consulting
- Stephen Dwyer - Senior Innovation Director at the U.S. House of Representatives
- Juan De Dios Cincunegui - Advisor at the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina
10h30 - 10h45: Coffee-Break
10:45 - 11:30: Cybersecurity and Parliament Specific Incident Response for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
- Neemias Mucheando - IT Director at the Assembleia Nacional of Angola (Moderator)
- Graeme Smith - Cybersecurity Programme Manager at the Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland
- Sara Fernandes - Head of the Information Security Division at the Assembleia da República of Portugal
- Franklin De Vrieze - Head of Practice Accountability at the Westminster Foundation for Democracy
11h30 - 12h30: Panel Discussion about Parliamentary Content and Weaponised Media in the Era of Disinformation
- Luís Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech (moderator)
- James Pinnell - Deputy Director for Programmes at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
- Derek Luyten - Executive Director at the House Democracy Partnership at the U.S. House of Representatives
- Cara Hunter - Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland Assembly
- Jeffrey Joswa - Deputy Director of ICT at the National Assembly of Zambia
- Michelle Conville - Assistant Principal Officer, Communications Unit at the Houses of the Oireachtas of Ireland
12h30 - 13h30: Panel Discussion about Preparing the AI Guardrails for your Parliament
- Ciarán Doyle - Assistant Secretary at the Houses of the Oireachtas (moderator)
- Wade Ballou - Chief Legislative Counsel (retired) at the U.S. House of Representatives (Speaker)
- Fuat Bayramoglu - Legislative Expert at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
- Tim De Bondt - Head of the Communications Department at the Sénat of Belgium
- Luís Fernando Pires Machado - Executive-Director at the Legislative Knowledge Institute
- Fillemon Johannes - IT Director at the Parliament of Namibia
13h30 - 14h30: Lunch-Break
14h30 - 17h00: Thematic Trails in Breakout Rooms
Presentations of 10min and remaining time of moderated discussion by the Chairperson
Breakout Room 1: Building Parliamentary AI Assistants
- Ciarán Doyle - Houses of the Oireachtas of Ireland (Chairperson)
- Bilal Munir - Data and AI Manager at the Houses of the Oireachtas (Speaker)
- Sola Adewumi - IT Manager at the Houses of the Oireachtas (Speaker)
- Bruno Thomasi - CEO at Govsys (Speaker)
- Ludovic Delepine - ICT Director at the EU Parliament (Speaker)
- Stephen Dwyer - Senior Innovation Director at the U.S. House of Representatives (Speaker)
Breakout Room 2: Data Governance and Standards for AI Integration in Parliaments
- Jude Wilson - Chief Technology Officer at the Houses of the Oireachtas (Chairperson)
- Marcos Aquino - CEO at Ágape Consulting (Speaker)
- Monica Palmirani - Professor at the University of Bologna (Speaker)
- Grant Vergottini - CEO at Xcential Legislative Technologies (Speaker)
- Fotis Fitsilis - Head of Documentation at the Hellenic Parliament (Speaker)
Breakout Room 3: Technology and Infrastructure for a Digital Parliament
- Luis Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech (Chairperson)
- Kirsten Gullickson - Director of Systems Analysis and Quality Assurance at Office of the Clerk at the U.S. House of Representatives (Speaker)
- Neemias Muachendo - IT Director at the Assembleia Nacional of Angola
- Carlos Rocca - Director-General at the Cámara de Representantes of Uruguay (Speaker)
- Marty Bickford - Vice-President at Xcential Legislative Technologies (Speaker)
- Juliano Bringer - CIO at Ágape Consulting
17h00 - 18h00: Visit of the Floor and Demonstration of Oireachtas’ Digital Systems
18h00 - 18h30: Plenary Session Update on Breakout Sessions
Day 3 – June 5th, 2026 (Friday)
Venue: Houses of the Oireachtas, Dublin. Ireland
08h30 – 09h30: Panel Discussion about Procedural Adaptations and Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Parliaments
- Luís Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech (moderator)
- Claus Koggel - Director-General at the Bundesrat of Germany
- Xolile George - Secretary-General at the Parliament of South Africa
- Hugo de Rosas - Secretary of Legislative Services at the Cámara de Diputados of Mexico
09h30 - 10h30: Panel Discussion about Legacy Systems in Parliaments in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
- Mairéad Keating - Head of Parliamentary Business Systems Development at the Houses of Oireachtas (moderator)
- Kirsten Gullickson - Director of Systems Analysis and Quality Assurance at Office of the Clerk at the U.S. House of Representatives
- Vaapi Kaenda - System Administrator at the Parliament Of Namibia
- Bruno Thomasi - CEO at Govsys
- Patrick McAllister - IT Manager at the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly
- Frode Rein - Head Strategy & Innovation at the Parliament of Norway
10h30 - 11h00: Coffee-Break
11h00 - 12h00: Panel Discussion about The Financial Planning for Parliamentary Modernisation: Ensuring Long Term Continuity
- Luís Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech (moderator)
- David Wilson - Clerk at the Parliament of New Zealand
- Carlos Roca - Director-General at the Cámara de Representantes of Uruguay
- Elaine Cameron - Head of Infrastructure and Operations Houses of the Oireachtas
- Augusto Nardes - Minister at the Congressional Audit Office from Brazil
12h00 - 13h00: Panel Discussion about the Possible Usage of Artificial Intelligence on Ex-post Legislative Scrutiny
- Wade Ballou - Chief Legislative Counsel (retired) at the U.S. House of Representatives (moderator)
- Sinéad Fitzpatrick - Private Members’ Bills Legal Adviser at the Houses of the Oireachtas
- Andy Beattie - Chief Parliamentary Counsel of Scotland
- Marty Bickford - Vice-President at Xcential Legislative Technologies
- Ludovic Delepine - ICT Director at the EU Parliament
- Daniel Schuman - Executive-Director at the American Governance Institute
13h00 - 14h00: Lunch-Break
14h00 - 15:00: Panel Discussion about Addressing Administrative and Political Concerns Around Parliamentary Digital Transformation
- Luís Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech (moderator)
- Julius Kampamba - Team Lead at the Technical Team of the Society of the Clerks at the Table (Socatt) Africa
- José Pedro Montero - President of the Association of Secretaries-General of Parliaments (ASGP)/ Secretary-General at the Cámara de Senadores of Uruguay
- Joe Peppard - Academic Director at the University College Dublin
- Martin Hughes - Clerk of the Seanad of the Houses of the Oireachtas
15h00 - 17h30: Thematic Trails in Breakout Rooms
Presentations of 10min and remaining time of moderated discussion by the Chairperson
Breakout Room 1: Decentralized Development of Digital Solutions in Parliaments
Presentations of 10min and remaining time of moderated discussion by the Chairperson
Breakout Room 1: Decentralized Innovation and AI Assisted Development of Digital Solutions in Parliaments
- Colm Kealy - Programme Manager at the Houses of the Oireachtas (Chairperson)
- Cillian Hamel - Data and AI Consultant at the Houses of the Oireachtas (Speaker)
- Juliano Bringer - CIO at the Ágape (Speaker)
- Frode Rein - Head Strategy & Innovation at the Parliament of Norway (Speaker)
Breakout Room 2: Reviewing the Rules of Procedure to Enable AI Integration
- Xolile George - Secretary-General at the Parliament of South Africa (Chairperson)
- Hugo de Rosas - Secretary of Legislative Services at the Cámara de Diputados of Mexico (Speaker)
- Mairéad Keating - Head of Parliamentary Business Systems Development at the Houses of Oireachtas (Speaker)
- Claus Koggel - Director-General at the Bundesrat (Speaker)
- Bruno Thomasi - CEO at Govsys (Speaker)
Breakout Room 3: Technology and Infrastructure for a Digital Parliament
- Daniel Schuman - Executive Director at the American Governance Institute (Chairperson)
- José Pedro Montero - President of the Association of Secretaries-General of Parliaments (ASGP)/ Secretary-General at the Cámara de Senadores of Uruguay (Speaker)
- Stephen Dwyer - Senior Innovation Director at the U.S. House of Representatives (Speaker)
- Ronan Curran - Digital Team Lead at the Houses of the Oireachtas of Ireland (Speaker)
- Luís Kimaid - Executive-Director of Bússola Tech (Speaker)
17h30 - 18h00: Plenary Session Update on Breakout Sessions
18h00 - 18h15: Closing Remarks
Participants

Ahto Saks
Administrative Director
Parliament of Estonia

Ambrósio Soares
ICT Coordinator
Assembleia da República of Mozambique

Ana Rita Laranjeira
Parliamentary Advisor in the Committee Support Division within the Directorate for Parliamentary Activity Support
Assembleia da República of Portugal

Andy Beattie
Chief Legislative Counsel
Scotland, United Kingdom

Augusto Nardes
Minister
Congressional Auditing Office (TCU) of Brazil

Bruno Thomasi
CEO
Govsys

Carlos Roca
Director-General
Cámara de Representantes of Uruguay

Ciarán Doyle
Assistant Director
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

Claus Koggel
Director-General
Bundesrat of Germany

Colm Kealy
Digital Parliament Programme Manager
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

Daniel Schuman
Executive-Director
American Governance Institute

David Wilson
Clerk
Parliament of New Zealand

Derek Luyten
HDP Executive-Director
U.S. House of Representatives

Filimon Johannes
IT Director
Parliament of Namibia

Fotis Fitsilis
Head of Documentation
Hellenic Parliament

Franklin De Vrieze
Head of Practice Accountability
Westminster Foundation for Democracy

Frode Rein
Head Strategy & Innovation
Parliament of Norway

Fuat Bayramoglu
Legislative Expert
Grand National Assembly of Türkiye

Grant Vergottini
CEO
Xcential Legislative Technologies

Graeme Smith
Cyber Security Programme Manager
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

Hugo de Rosas
Secretary of Legislative Services
Cámara de Diputados of Mexico

Jack Turner
Governance, Risk and Compliance Manager
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

James Pinnell
Deputy Director for Programmes
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

Jeffrey Joswa
Deputy Director of ICT
National Assembly of Zambia

José Pedro Montero
President/ Secretary-General
Association of Secretaries-General of Parliaments/ Cámara de Senadores of Uruguay

Joe Peppard
Academic Director
University College Dublin

Juan de Dios Cincunegui
Advisor
Cámara de Diputados of Argentina

Jude Wilson
Chief Technology Officer
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

Juliano Bringer
CIO
Ágape Consulting

Julius Kampamba
Technical Team Lead
Society of the Clerks at the Table Africa

Kieran McCorry
National Technology Officer
Microsoft

Kirsten Gullickson
Director of Systems Analysis and Quality Assurance at Office of the Clerk
U.S. House of Representatives

Loveness Mayaka
Clerk
National Assembly of Zambia

Ludovic Delepine
ICT Director
EU Parliament

Luís Fernando Machado
Executive-Director
Legislative Knowledge Institute

Luís Kimaid
Executive-Director
Bússola Tech

Mairéad Keating
Head of Parliamentary Business Systems Development
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

Marcos Aquino
CEO
Ágape Consulting

Martin Hughes
Clerk
Seanad of Ireland

Marty Bickford
Vice-President
Xcential Legislative Technologies

Mary Tougher
Head of Programme Management Office
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

Michelle Conville
Assistant Principal Officer, Communications Unit
Houses of the Oireachtas of Ireland

Monica Palmirani
Professor
University of Bologna

Neemias Muachendo
IT Director
Assembleia Nacional of Angola

Sara Fernandes
Head of the Information Security Division
Assembleia da República of Portugal

Sola Adewumi
Data and AI
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

Sinéad Fitzpatrick
Private Members’ Bills Advisory
Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland

Stephen Dwyer
Senior Innovation Director
U.S. House of Representatives

Tim De Bondt
Head of the Communications Department
Sénat of Belgium

Vaapi Kaenda
System Administrator
Parliament of Namibia

Xolile George
Secretary-General
Parliament of South Africa

Wade Ballou
Chief Legislative Counsel (retired)
U.S. House of Representatives
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