'There is no good or bad Russia in politics. Russia is one and it will never be a friend of Georgia politically. He was, is, and will remain the enemy of Georgia. We must get rid of childish illusions once and for all', - Akaki Bakradze wrote in his letter 'Babaia's diplomacy'. More (Geo)

Obtaining state grant funding for a civil society organization means cooperating with public institutions, mainly government agencies, at the central or municipal level. There is no necessity for those agreed on cooperation on a particular issue to have the same position in everything, however, it is specifically the cooperation with the Government that makes some CSOs doubt about feasibility of obtaining state grant funding. “Anika”, an association of children with disabilities, is one of those CSOs, which can be cited as an example of good cooperation between government agencies and civil society organizations. The word “good” is used here with only one connotation - stately useful, important. Maka Jaiani More (GEO)

One of the most important issues that civil society organizations address in the context of state grants are topics selected for grant funding. They say at public agencies that grant funding topics are selected as a result of exploring relevant areas. In 2016-2019 years, the Civil Society Institute (CSI) studied the practice of state grant funding within the framework of the “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” project, funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, during which period grant topics were as follows… Maka Jaiani More (GEO)

In 2019 and 2020 years, the Civil Society Institute (CSI) released small grants within the frameworks of the “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” project, funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in order to monitor state grants. The purpose of this project is to strengthen civil society organizations (CSOs) and improve their working environment in Georgia, while one of the objectives is to facilitate improvement of the state grant funding system for CSOs and develop relevant recommendations. It is specifically periodic monitoring of the existing state grant funding system that one of the components of the project envisages. Maka Jaiani More (GEO)

The inclusion of local self-government into the state grant system is one of the issues that the “Concept of State Grant Funding Reform of Civil Society Organizations” considers among necessary changes. Levan Paniashvili, a member of the Concept working group and Chief Lawyer of the Civil Society Institute, will tell us why this is important for the development of civil society. By Maka Jaiani 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)

Myths about Russian-Georgian friendship are passed from generation to generation.  Do not trust unverified information, learn history.  1801 Annexation.  1804 Suppression of the Mtiuleti uprising.  1811  Abolition of Autocephaly of the Georgian Church.  1812,19,41,56 Suppression of uprisings in different parts of Georgia.  1921  Annexation of the Independent Republic of Georgia.  1924 Suppression of the uprising.  1937–38  Repressions. 1956 Tragedy of March 9.  1978  Attempt to abolish the Georgian language as a state language.  1989 Tragedy of April 9.  1989 Military operations in Samachablo.  1992–1993  War in Abkhazeti.  2008  Russian Georgian war.  From 2008 to present Creeping occupation, kidnapping people!!! 20% of the territories of Georgia are occupied by Russia!!!

The main problem that civil society organizations observe in terms of awarding state grants is the lack of respective uniform, even minimal, standards, and a low degree of transparency as well as accountability. Public institutions have had the right to issue state grants since 2010, while they release grants to civil society organizations since 2012, however, during this time there have been developed no uniform standards that would create a common framework for issuing this type of grant. By Maka Jaiani More (GEO)

As Wikipedia can also say, “budget” is such an old word that it appears even in Latin and, like in both French and English, means a leather pouch, wallet, or bag. In the modern understanding, budget is a system of revenue distribution and exists all over, where the need for financial management occurs. Budget can be made for a person, a family, a company, an organization, and, of course, the state. It is the latter in particular that represents the subject of our interest.  By Maka Jaiani More (GEO)

Public institutions have been issuing state grants in Georgia since 2009. Over the years, both grant-issuing structures and grant funding directions, as well as the total amount of released grants increase. Today, already all ministries of Georgia and its autonomous republics, as well as more than ten legal entities of public law, have the right to issue grants. Above mentioned public institutions release grants also to civil society organizations. However, the current state grant funding system contains a number of significant shortcomings that create serious risks and need to be addressed. Furthermore, some civil society organizations see risks in the content of state grant funding as well. More (GEO)

There are 1289 active civil society organizations in Georgia. Their work covers actually all aspect of life. The purpose of this letter is to retell you how and what civil society organizations were doing in the past year of 2020. It is definitely impossible to fit all their activities in just a few pages. We will try to highlight the most interesting topics from them.  Read more (geo)…

What does defamation mean and how to distinguish it from freedom of speech? How to defend ourselves from defamation? How we should fight against it so that freedom of speech is not harmed? Marine Kapanadze, Director of the Civil and Political Rights Program at Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), will tell us about it.  Interviewed by Maka Jaiani Read more (GEO)