Event: ISSI Webinar: "COVID-19: why governance makes a difference"
Date: Thursday 17 November 2022
Time: 15:00 - 16:30 (CET)
Venue: Online event via Zoom
Register online
The Islands and Small States Institute (ISSI) of the University of Malta, in collaboration with the WHO Collaborating Centre on Health Systems and Policies in Small States, is organising a webinar on "COVID-19: why governance makes a difference". The event will be held on Zoom on Thursday 17 November 2022 from 15.00 – 16.30 (CET) and registration is required. It will also be live-streamed on ISSI's Facebook Page
The webinar will be held by Dr Mark Egan, former Greffier of the States of Jersey, and also addressed by Dr Bettina Menne, Coordinator of the European Office for Investment for Health and Development from the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are all self-governing, British territories, located in the British Isles. The three territories, known as ‘Crown Dependencies’, have similar populations (103,000 in Jersey, 86,000 in the Isle of Man and 64,000 in Guernsey), are English speaking and closely connected to the United Kingdom.
However, the Islands have strikingly different political systems. Jersey and Guernsey have unicameral legislatures; the Isle of Man has a unique tricameral legislature. Jersey and the Isle of Man have ministerial systems; Guernsey has an executive committee system. Jersey has an active and well-established scrutiny system, constitutionally separate from the executive; in the other two Islands, the scrutiny systems are less strong and are not separate from the executive.
All three territories developed their own responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursued different policies in terms of the number and duration of lockdowns, mask wearing, and restrictions on overseas travel. This may have led to different outcomes in terms of the numbers of cases and deaths and the economic impact of the pandemic.
In this webinar, Dr Mark Egan, former Greffier of the States of Jersey, will present the different governance arrangements used by the three Crown Dependencies to legislate and set policy on COVID-19 in 2020/21 and lead discussion on how those arrangements might have affected the legislation and policy, public acceptance of the legislation and policy, as well as policy outcomes.
The event will also be addressed by Dr Bettina Menne, a medical doctor and specialist in Hygiene and Public Health. Dr Menne is the Coordinator of the European Office for Investment for Health and Development from the WHO Regional Office for Europe and Reference Hub for the Small Country Initiative and the Regions for Health Network.
To join the webinar on Zoom, please register here. Any questions? Kindly contact us by sending an email.