A unique example of 150 years old community work and the self-organization of the population of the Kvemo Machkhaani village is a theater, for construction of which each resident of the village had been collecting money for 9 years. They managed to do it and on July 25, 1899, the Theater of Kvemo Machkhaani was opened with the play “Khanuma”. The architect of the building is unknown. The 2-story brick construction merges well with the urban environment of the village and, at the same time, its interior architectural concept is similar to contemporary European theaters - the building provides space for reading and the opportunity to hold various discussions or educational events. Each resident of Kvemo Machkhaani was involved in the implementation of various initiatives important for the village – they were setting priorities of the village in economic, cultural-educational or other areas and then raising funds in different ways. Results of their self-organization and initiatives are as follows: school, reading room, theater, public workshop depot-bank, pharmacy and etc. Community Development Center (CDC) and Center of Contemporary Art - Tbilisi (CCA), with the support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, searched for a lot of interesting stories of community self-organization before the occupation of Georgia, similar to that of Kvemo Machkhaani, and published a book containing them. The occupation of 1921 discouraged all kinds of motivation and initiative as in Machkhaani, as well as in other villages or regions of Georgia. Since then, initiatives were rarely heard in the village. While today, there have appeared young people thirsting for novelty and culture. One of the examples of this is the campaign, which is a chance for the second life of the Kvemo Machkhaani Theater. They invite theaters from different cities to perform in Kvemo Machkhaani. #ShareTheResponsibility because #ThisCountryIsYours

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)…

Tazo Jojua, a young activist, has registered an idea on an “Orbeliani Meti” crowdfunding platform of a civil society organization “Orbeliani”. The idea is about creating a digital space for a school in Askana. “Orbeliani Meti” is a website that supports civic initiatives and allows citizens to improve their community as well as their living environment with the help of donors and society. Implementation of the idea of Tazo has helped the school to acquire digital equipment, which has been successfully integrated into educational or non-educational processes. More (GEO)

5 students from Shida Kartli - Davit Robanishvili, Luka Mosiashvili, Rati Begijanashvili, Lizi Berianidze, and Elene Pataridze will pay a three-week study visit to the United States of America. “Frankly speaking, I was expecting this result and consider that self-confidence also played a big role. I was with my friends when a representative of PH International called me and we celebrated my victory emotionally. I can boldly say that the ACCESS program has made me furthermore goal-oriented, for what I would like to thank PH International, the US Embassy and a society “Biliki”, - states Davit Robanishvili, a winner of the program from Kareli Municipality. Adolescents have achieved this success within the framework of the English Access Microscholarship Program (ACCESS). Access allows students to improve their English, learn about American culture, participate in a competition, and study in America. In Georgia, the program is implemented in partnership with local civil society organizations at 18 locations. In Shida Kartli, Access is supported by a society “Biliki”. More (GEO) 

Youth Engagement and Development Center of Akhmeta was a newly established organization when a youth initiative group decided to install bike parking racks at schools. “We considered that Akhmeta had great potential for development of a cycling culture due to its landscape. Besides, we had a desire to develop a well-established cycling culture in Europe here as well and thus facilitate a healthy lifestyle of youth”, - Vakhtang Kadagidze, Youth Project Manager states. Initially, the idea was supported by “Orbeliani Georgia”. With the financial support of this organization, there were installed bike parking racks at five schools of Akhmeta, Kistauri, and Birkiani. At the second stage, with the financial support of the Tusheti Development Fund, 5 more bike parking racks were arranged at Kvemo and Zemo Alvani schools and sports fields. At this point, they can be found at ten locations in total. As Vakho points out, only bike parking racks and relevant materials were purchased with the grant funding, whereas their installation became possible with the voluntary involvement of members of the organization, school administrations, and students. “As a result of the implementation of the idea, the interest of young people in cycling culture has increased, more students go to school by bike, new bike parking racks served as a kind of motivators and encouragements for them. Besides, it should be noted that the number of bicycles at the Zemo Alvani school # 1 increased so much that the school administration added new bike parking racks on its own initiative”, - notes Vakhtang. The center obtained funding from both organizations through participation in an open competition, successfully implemented projects, and earned donor appreciation too. Youth Engagement and Development Center of Akhmeta aims at the development and empowerment of young people living in the municipality. At this stage, the organization is in the process of rearrangement and works on its future plans.

“Knowledge Café” is a social enterprise established in Kakheti and, at the same time, the only multifunctional educational institution in the region. The enterprise combines a modern library, a space for non-formal education, a café, and a bookstore, while the proceeds from the sale are used to create a “knowledge fund”. It has been three years already that the campaign to build “Knowledge Café” takes place, however, last year activities were completely suspended due to the pandemic. This year, raising funds for the construction of “Knowledge Café” has been resumed with new ideas and refreshed forces.  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)

Would you like to change the life of your neighborhood, community, village, town, or country for the better? Watch the video and learn more about an organization “Orbeliani – Georgia” and its online platform, which provides activists with an opportunity to implement various ideas... More (GEO)

Civic Integration Foundation has been working in Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli in the fields of ethnic minority rights, youth issues, non-formal education, and harmonious coexistence of people since 2005. They consider at the non-governmental organization, working on ethnic minority issues, that their beneficiaries are all citizens of Georgia – working and educating together is the best means for integration. More (GEO)

The Economic Policy Research Center, an analytical civil society organization, has been established 18 years ago. It operates in different directions: economics; security and foreign policy; education. Its audience is quite wide: representatives of the international community and non-governmental organizations, as well as those of small and medium businesses; politicians; youth.  More (Geo)

Association “Atinati” is the first civil society organization established in the 90s in Zugdidi. Since then, members of the organization have been spending their efforts to address issues that society is concerned abou Watch the video and learn more …

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”.