Mariam Svimonishvili, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Human Rights’ Program Director speaks about the freedom of expression and assembly which remain a problem in Georgia (GEO).

There is still an ingrained tradition of inheriting the real estate in Georgia, which favors men and leaves many women in the open, while the constitution and legislation provide for equal rights. More (GEO)

"The self is the only one who can both fly up and down." Listen to the story of fencer Irma Khetsuriani. More (GEO)

There are many stereotypes about people with disabilities in Georgia today, which prevents them from living a full life.  "Often their area of employment is strictly defined by society and does not allow these people to self-realize and prosper."  Listen to a podcast about people with hearing impairments. More (GEO)

Have you ever wondered why the victim of violence is silent? It is better to listen to someone before making a meaningless phrase. More (GEO)

Before giving up the vaccine, think about what information you have. Do not trust inaccurate and misleading information, learn more about vaccines. More (GEO)

The main problem for people with disabilities remains a non-adapted environment. Their employment rate deteriorates in accordance with the severity of the status. For each person, the obstacle mostly starts from the door of their own house and it seems as if they are doomed to house arrest because it is practically impossible for them to move independently. People go unnoticed and often get discriminated by society or the state.  More (GEO)

Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization founded in 1919 and implementing programs in 120 countries around the world, started its activities in Georgia since 1993. During these 28 years, the organization has been actively working on issues related to child protection, education, family and community empowerment, inclusive education, early childhood development, disaster risk reduction, youth skills development, child participation, IDP assistance, and empowerment of girls and women. With the help of Save the Children, there have been developed and introduced approaches, services, assessment tools, guidance documents and legislative changes, which serve as the basis for child wellbeing in many ways today. However, child protection in Georgia still faces a number of challenges in terms of a lot of aspect See more (geo)…

Loud cry out “The light is back!” has a special meaning for Georgia that passed the 90s. Since 2015, these words have acquired different meanings – there has been developed a project with this name, which aims to introduce people with disabilities, living in our country, to the public, as well as to retell their stories. Authors of the project hope that by looking closely at the lives of these people we will have answers to more questions, better understand their needs and be collectively able to say: “The light is back” - now we see better! Today, you can read 176 stories from 11 regions of Georgia on the website of the project, visit these people, look them into the eyes... You really can, just like you would do it at a face-to-face meeting because photos for this project are taken by Natela Grigalashvili. Authors of the project state that the success of the stories they retell is mostly due to these photos. Natela, however, says it just briefly that she joined this activity with great pleasure. She is like that, she does not like to talk much and expresses herself with things she does and photos she takes. She chose photography years ago to express her position, what she wanted to say. Prior to that, she studied at an art school, worked as an artist-decorator in a theater. As a photographer she started to work at the “Dvrita” newspaper, then she worked at other magazines and newspapers too. Currently, she is an independent photographer, projects, within the framework of which she takes photos, touches upon social themes - religious and ethnic minorities, women, the life of humans, and are always designed for regions. Georgian village and its life is a place where muses of Natela Grigalashvili live. Natela now shares her knowledge and experience with students of several universities, there have been held a number of exhibitions with her participation, she even made several personal exhibitions. No matter what she does, she always spares time to go to a village road and take photos. As she says, support from various foundations and organizations also helps her implement her ideas. More specifically that from the Open Society Georgia Foundation, Atinati Foundation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, etc. She introduced Dukhobors, IDPs, and others to the public together with them. One of the similar projects is “Rural Photo Clubs”. “I grew up in a village and I have never lost links with it, I am well aware of problems that exist in villages and regions. This is how I came up with an idea to help them, teach them photography so as to let them discover another world around them, find the extraordinary in the ordinary, enjoy photography as an art”, - says Natela, - “I think this is a successful project because they write to me from a lot of villages, regions and request to implement this project there”. The first club was established in Gorelovka. The duration of the project was ten months and every month Natela lived in Gorelovka for 10 days. She taught photography to 15 people of different ethnicities from 15 to 62 years of age, the first exhibition was held at the House of Culture also in Gorelovka, the second - in Tbilisi, while the third - in Batumi. Apart from Gorelovka, photo clubs were established in the Pankisi Valley and high mountainous Adjara. These projects were funded by the Open Society Georgia Foundation, the Fund of the President, and the Ministry of Culture. However, Natela Grigalashvili works on projects even without funding. "Currently, there are several projects like these”, - says Natela, - “I take photos of how people live in high mountainous Adjara, it is where different lifestyle is preserved the most of all, traditions and customs are maintained, however, at the same time, changes take place rapidly. Another project is about young people - while traveling in regions, I shoot photos of how they live there, what they are happy about, what they are worried about, what their hopes or despairs are. This is an observation of people who are supposed to change the reality and provide their input to the creation of a better future for the country”.

Public Movement “Multinational Georgia” is one of the first non-governmental organizations that unites representatives of 19 ethnic minority communities and 56 non-governmental organizations. The organization actively works in the education, elections, and advocacy fields. Watch the video and learn more about the activities of the organization... More (GEO)

The Coalition for Independent Living implements projects that help people with disabilities to build a full life. Get acquainted with its activities in our video.  More (GEO)

During the pandemic, the most vulnerable groups, people who need support like never before, appeared to be particularly unsecured. The Civil Society Development Center (CSDC), a non-governmental organization, has launched an “Engage yourself and engage others” voluntary campaign in support of homeless and single women. Through mobilization of volunteers and supporters, its representatives have contacted 100 women to whom they keep delivering first necessity hygiene and food items with the help of volunteers even in the circumstances of restrictions. 25 volunteers, engaged in the campaign, make a significant contribution to the implementation of this project. Representatives of the organization consider that one of their achievements is the mitigation of the situation of single women in the most difficult conditions. The Civil Society Development Center (CSDC) has implemented a number of important and successful projects. One of them aimed at the informational and technological development of schoolchildren in an occupied region of Georgia. This way children visited Tbilisi and, with the support of volunteers, established friendly relations with their peers living in Tbilisi. Besides, it was the toughest project and challenge for the organization to get homeless children off the street and engage them in distance learning. As a result of their tireless work, tens of children have been enrolled in school and are still actively engaged in the learning process. Despite restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, the “Engage yourself and engage others” campaign continues, and, in full compliance with safety requirements, as well as with active involvement of volunteers and supporters, its participants mitigate the hardest living conditions of single and homeless women and children. # ShareTheResponsibility because #ThisCountryIsYours