PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – On January 21, 22, and 23, 2026, staff members of the Secretariat of the Parliament of Sint Maarten participated in a study visit on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation, hosted by the Chamber of Deputies of Chile in Valparaíso, in collaboration with ParlAmericas.
This visit fell in line with ongoing efforts to modernize parliamentary operations and strengthen institutional capacity, and was closely aligned with the theme of the current Parliamentary Year: “Building Digital Trust: Exploring a National AI Strategy and the Further Development of an Open Parliament.”
The initiative underpinning this study visit seeks to promote the exchange of knowledge and good practices in technology, with particular emphasis on the responsible use of artificial intelligence to support parliamentary work. The visit focused on contributing to the ongoing strengthening of the technical capacities of parliaments in Central America and the Caribbean. Parliamentary staff from Barbados, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Sint Maarten, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago participated in this exchange.
Over the course of the three-day program, participants were introduced to practical experiences and innovative solutions currently in use within the Chilean Parliament. Through presentations and hands-on workshops, the program explored how artificial intelligence and digital transformation can enhance core parliamentary functions.
Particular emphasis was placed on applied learning through demonstrations of AI-driven tools such as ArChileBot, alongside discussions on security, ethics, institutional readiness, and the collaborative development of a test SXMParBot.
The Secretariat of the Parliament of Sint Maarten used this opportunity to gather valuable insights that will inform the development of a comprehensive Digital Transformation Program. Areas under consideration include, but are not limited to, document management, paperless operations, AI-supported meeting reporting, AI-supported Hansard processes, automated document and template generation, and the feasibility of a parliamentary chatbot, all aimed at improving efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility in and to parliamentary services.
This study visit provided an opportunity to further strengthen the Parliament’s technical capacity and to reinforce its commitment to embracing innovation in support of an effective, transparent, and future-ready Parliament.
