The Hansard Association of Kenya (HAK) has announced its 8th Annual
Conference, scheduled to take place in the lakeside city of Kisumu
from May 10th to 16th, 2026.
Themed "The Hansard: Milestones, Gains and Impact",
the conference will serve as a platform for legislative reporting
professionals to harmonize standards and embrace the digital frontier
of governance.
The Kisumu summit follows the 7th Annual Conference held in May 2025,
which saw over 300 professionals congregate in Mombasa. The forum
sponsored by Parliament of Kenya focused heavily on breaking
linguistic barriers and leveraging technology to make parliamentary
records more accessible to the public.
While the Mombasa forum laid the groundwork for integrating Kiswahili
and local dialects into county assemblies' reporting, the 2026 Kisumu
conference aims to go further by exploring the ethical and practical
implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automated
speech-to-text technologies in the legislative process.
This year's event is expected to draw a diverse array of stakeholders,
including delegates from the National Assembly, the Senate, and all 47
County Assemblies. International delegations from Ghana, Malawi,
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Somaliland, and Sierra Leone have also
confirmed participation.
This diversity in participation is crucial for the development of
benchmarks to address emerging challenges in the digital age, and to
harmonise reporting standards across the country while providing a
platform to share experiences and best practices with peers in the
region.
Hon. Gladys Boss, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, and Mr.
Samuel Njoroge, Clerk of the National Assembly are scheduled to make
keynote addresses at the forum. Additionally, a retinue of resource
persons drawn from the academia and the media has been tapped to
facilitate various sessions of the conference.
The week-long programme is structured around four critical pillars
designed to elevate the Hansard profession.
These include an evaluation of the transition from manual shorthand to
digital systems; covering decades of documentation and a deep review
of the Hansard's role as a bulletproof legal record for judicial
review and parliamentary privilege.
In an effort to build on the consequential matter of public trust and
accountability, the forum will delve into strategies for developing
open hansard initiatives to provide real-time transcript access to
citizens.
The program schedule shows that the conference will also delve into
ways of addressing cybersecurity, the risk of artificial intelligence
hallucinations in official records, and professional certification.
Artificial Intelligence has prominently featured as a crucial topic in
the last two conferences.
According to HAK President Mr. George Wanyoko, the annual meet is held
in recognition of the crucial role the Hansard plays in advancing
governance and public accountability.
"The Hansard is more than a transcript. It is a vital instrument
which plays a crucial role in governance, judicial proceedings, and
in enhancing public accountability," Mr. Wanyoko who also heads the
Hansard Department in the Senate, noted.
"As we gather in Kisumu, we celebrate our milestones and sharpen our
focus on the impact we have on the legislative landscape of Africa",
he added.
Beyond technical reporting, the 2026 conference has adopted a strong
focus on staff wellness, addressing the unique cognitive load and
burnout associated with real-time transcription.
Additionally, sessions will be dedicated to inclusive communication,
ensuring the Hansard is accessible to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)
through braille and sign language integration.
The conference is expected to conclude with the generation of
Kisumu Resolutions; a communiqué intended to set the
standards for Hansard practice across Commonwealth jurisdictions.
