Nicola Cowsill | December 2015
December has been a busy month for me; I have had my first
site visit with the Tynwald Advisory Council for Disabilities, which included
the Council assessing the disabled access of Tesco. It was a successful visit
with the Tesco customer services manager working with the TACD to achieve
better standards for their disabled shoppers.
The
Office of the Clerk of Tynwald welcomed visitors from Kenya. A
delegation from the Parliamentary Service
Commission (PSC) of the Parliament of Kenya visited Tynwald on a study
visit. They were interested to learn
more about the services the Isle of Man offered its citizens and parliamentarians.
The Chamber and Information Service also runs the education
and outreach programme for Tynwald. I co-presented a presentation to our
visitors describing the services we offer to schools and our adoption of social
media tools. The presentation was well received and they were interested in my
position as an intern.
When visitors come to Tynwald we take the time to arrange
visits to different locations on our island. I arranged the tour which included
a site visit to Tynwald Hill. All Acts must be promulgated on Tynwald Hill, and
although Tynwald Court only sits on Tynwald Hill once a year, it is important to
share this part of our parliament and our heritage. Madam President, Mrs Clare
Christian, was able to share her experiences with our guests.
A quick visit to the
House of Manannan closely followed so the delegation could get a feel for the
history of the island and our Viking/Norse influences. The tour was concluded
with a visit to the Laxey Wheel with the Speaker of the House of Keys, Mr
Stephen Rodan). Apart from being very cold our visitors said the island was an
absolutely stunning place. I enjoyed running the tour as it gave me an insight
into the differences and the similarities between the two parliaments.
The Office of the Clerk of Tynwald closes over the Christmas
break. I feel like I have learnt so much but can’t wait for what comes next
year!