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Infosheets and reports

Reports, infosheets and other links that might be useful to women thinking of standing for public office are listed here:

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States meeting dates

Go to gov.gg/StatesMeetings to find out which policies and laws the Deputies will be debating at each meeting. Includes links to listen back to recordings of previous meetings. Meetings start on the date shown and may continue until the end of the week, depending on the length of the agenda.

For States Meeting dates further in the future, click here.

Watch a States meeting

If you want to watch a States meeting from the Public Gallery of the Royal Court, here’s what you need to know:

1. States meetings take place every three weeks or so –  dates for the next few months are here. Meetings start at 9.30am and run to 12.30pm, then after lunch from 2.30pm to 5.30pm. Visitors are allowed to enter and leave the public gallery at any point while the States is in session, you don’t have to be there from the beginning.

2. To find the gallery, go to the new entrance to the Royal Court building in St James Street (revolving door).  Tell Security you’ve come to watch the States meeting and ask them to direct you. Or watch the gov.gg ‘How to access the States chamber’ video.

3. As you go through the wooden door to enter the gallery, you’ll see some stairs to your left. At the top of those stairs turn right and stand at the top of the aisle.

4. If the States is in session you will see the Presiding Officer (usually the Bailiff or the Deputy Bailiff) across the chamber in front of you. It is polite to acknowledge the Presiding Officer by pausing briefly and bowing your head slightly. But don’t worry if you forget, he or she won’t mind.

5. Take a seat wherever you feel comfortable.

6. No clapping or other noise, even if the Deputies clap. No communication with States members while the States is in session, even by email or text. No eating or drinking in the gallery, although an occasional discreet sip from a water bottle is permitted to keep hydrated. If you need a proper drink and haven’t brought anything with you, there is a water cooler in one of the corridors near the chamber (ask someone to show you) and another cooler in the main reception area of the Royal Court. The Court is trying to reduce waste so if you can use your own cup, so much the better.

7. Make absolutely sure your phone is on silent – you could be asked to leave if it goes off.
 
8. You can leave the gallery quietly at any time but, ideally, during a natural break between speeches. As you go, stand at the top of the aisle, face the court and nod to the Bailiff again. Feel free to return later.
 

9. Women’s toilets are down the curved staircase, turn right at the bottom.

10. For a copy of the agenda for the debate, called the Order Paper,  go to gov.gg/statesmeetings. To help visitors understand terms like ‘relevé’ and ‘sursis’, gov.gg has produced a ‘Glossary of Guernsey parliamentary terms’.

11. Ask security for assistance if you have mobility or any other access needs. The gallery itself is not accessible so there are two spaces for wheelchair users on the floor of the chamber.
 

12. There are no rules about what to wear – it’s important that members of the public can drop in when they are passing. But if you are coming specifically to watch, you may want to wear something smart (but comfortable).

13. To listen on the radio instead, tune in to 1116AM. Or to listen online, google ‘BBC Guernsey States live’. Or go to gov.gg/statesmeetings and listen live (or a recording later) via Microsoft Teams.

If it would help to have some company on your first visit to the Gallery, we’re always happy to show new people the ropes. Join our Politics WhatsApp group and we’ll keep you posted as to when we are next going to be watching a States meeting. Just send your mobile number to hello@womeninpubliclife.gg and ask to be added to the group.

Voting in Guernsey

Who can vote

It doesn’t matter if you were born somewhere other than Guernsey or the UK, anyone can register to vote if they have been living here for the last TWO YEARS, whatever their nationality.

Alternatively, you can register to vote if you’ve lived here for five years in total (with breaks in between).

You must be aged 16 or over.

Getting registered

Before you can start voting, you have to be officially added to the list of voters (known as the ‘electoral roll’). You need to do this well in advance of the election you want to vote in.

To be added to the list of voters (electoral roll), just complete THIS REGISTRATION FORM and email it to elections@gov.gg.

Or print it out and post it to: Electoral Roll Office, Sir Charles Frossard House, La Charroterie, St Peter Port, GY1 1FH.

More information

You can register to vote when you are 15 years old but you won’t actually be able to vote until you are 16.

If you think you might already be on the list of voters (electoral roll), email elections@gov.gg to check. Note that Guernsey created a new list in 2020, so if you registered before then, you’ll need to do it again.

The registration form uses the term ‘ordinarily resident’. That just means that mean that you live in Guernsey in the ordinary course of your day to day life.

The next general election won’t be until June 2025 but in the meantime, you can vote in your local parish elections (St Peter Port, Castel etc).

More information at gov.gg/elections.

Guernsey’s iconic women of the future?

Thank you for nominating a young woman or girl for our future iconic Guernsey women campaign to celebrate International Women’s Day!

Nominations close on Sunday 6 March at 17.00.

Please fill in the details below.

miriam-makeba-SA

Miriam Makeba - South Africa

Nominated by: Christine James

Zenzile Miriam Makeba (1932 to 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, United Nations goodwill ambassador, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa. In 2020 she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 women of the century. 

South Africa is ranked 12th in the world for percentage of women in national parliament: 45.8% (source: data.ipu.org) 

Are you from South Africa? Please email hello@womeninpubliclife.gg if there is a social or cultural group for people from South Africa in Guernsey.

Want to learn more about public office vacancies in Guernsey? 

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The original image “The Hague Jazz 2008 – Miriam Makeba” by Haags Uitburo is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. 

jacinda-adern-2

Jacinda Ardern - New Zealand

Nominated by: Martin Lock

Jacinda Ardern (born 1980) has served as prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. In 2019, she led the country through the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, rapidly introducing strict gun laws in response, and throughout 2020 she directed the country’s widely praised response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ardern was the world’s second elected head of government to give birth in office when her daughter was born in 2018. ‘An inspiring Prime Minister who brought a nation together with true leadership, empathy and compassion.’

New Zealand is ranked 4th in the world for percentage of women in national parliament: 48.3% (source: data.ipu.org) 

Other iconic women: Dame Whina Cooper, nominated by Claire Fisher, and Kate Sheppard, nominated by Anna Cooper.

Are you from New Zealand? You may be interested in joining the ANZACs in Guernsey Facebook group

Want to learn more about public office vacancies in Guernsey? 

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