Public and international engagement Despite the suspension of physical public engagement activities during Covid, the International Relations Office has continued to support engagement activities including: Letter of congratulations from the Presiding Officer (as President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Scotland Branch) sent to the new CPA Secretary-General Stephen Twigg Stuart McMillan MSP, a Member of the CPA Scotland Branch Executive Committee, participated in virtual meetings of the CPA Executive Committee Presiding Officer held a virtual meeting with the Irish Consul General to discuss interparliamentary relations CPA Scotland Branch provided information to the CPA on the Scottish Parliament’s engagement, approach etc in relation to: youth 5 p arliaments, referendums, social media and broadcasting and crisis communication Jeremy Balfour MSP participated in a virtual discussion with the CPA on ‘How Parliaments can be made more accessible for Members with disabilities’ CPA Scotland Branch Executive Committee members participated in the virtual CPA British Islands & Mediterranean Region Regional Conference A number of Members participated in a CPA virtual Election Observation Mission training session Participation by Parliament officials in virtual discussions organised by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy on strategic planning and on business resilience In addition, like a number of offices across the organisation, having found their normal workloads reduced due to covid-19 restrictions, and in line with our aim of re-deploying staff where possible, IRO staff have taken on operation of the Covid-19 Helpdesk and the co-ordination...