Tbilisi. On August 14, the Civil Society Institute (CSI) conducted its 16th meeting and, thus, concluded awarding of winners of a high school seniors competition “This Country is Yours” as well as meetings with young people in regions. Awarding of winning teams from Tbilisi is going to be held in September. The last stage of the competition is a super final, in which one team from each region, including Tbilisi, will take part. The super finale envisages gathering for 2-3 days, interesting meetings, as well as quizzes and will be planned in accordance with the epidemic situation. The competition “This country is yours” was carried out throughout the country and about 150 teams participated in it. The winning students and their curator-teachers were given laptops, face masks, maps, notebooks, and an almanac “Freedom, Justice and Democracy in Georgian Thought” as gifts... Public meetings with young people were conducted by well-known writers, publishers, journalists and education experts. They talked about civic values, activities of civil society organizations, civic responsibility, activism and education. The social campaign “This Country is Yours” is carried out within the framework of the “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” project, implemented by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in collaboration with the Civil Society Institute (CSI), the Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) and the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC). The project is funded by the European Union and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Kakheti. In Pankisi, Jokolo village, Rondeli Foundation organized an award ceremony for the "My World" project participants. The students, who actively participated in the project, read magazines, took quizzes and engaged in the discussions were given special prizes.  The project, My World has been implemented by GFSIS since 2013 aimed at increasing development opportunities of youth from vulnerable communities and strengthening the affiliation with the Georgian State. The project is implemented in the vulnerable communities of Georgia - Pankisi, Mountainous Guria and Adjara, IDP communities of Zugdidi and Tserovani.  Read more…   Source: The web-page if the organization

Tbilisi. On July 20, 2020, the Public Defender addressed both Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia and Head of LEPL Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau with a general proposal on the issue of avoiding age based discrimination practices while conducting forensic-psychiatric and complex psychiatric-psychological examinations. The Public Defender explained that children under the age of 10 need to be treated differently, compared to people over the age of 10, taking into account their mental maturity. The fact that at this stage there are no special procedural guidelines for conducting forensic-psychiatric and complex psychiatric-psychological examinations of juveniles, puts minors under the age of 10 in an unequal position compared to those older than them. Such a practice is an age based discrimination treatment as the existing general rule has a negative impact on children under 10 years of age. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

12 August is the Youth International Day.  UN Women Georgia celebrating it by amplifying young people's voices, actions and movements.  See the link  Read more…   Source: The page in the social network

Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) held Professional Guidance and Career Planning CV Training for the IDPs and conflict-affected youth residing in Shida Kartli and Samegrelo regions.  In total 323 people attended the “CV Training”. The participants learned CV and cover letter writing tools. In addition, they were informed about employer communication stages and effective job interview techniques. The gained knowledge will help them in better demonstration of their abilities, attracting the employers’ interest, and taking the first step towards creating a successful career.  Read more…  Source: The page in the social network

In Georgia, the most important document for the field of youth, which is going to define a youth strategy of the country for next 5 years, is in the process of creation with participation of international experts of “Skills4jobs”, the European Union program, and local experts from the UN agencies. At regional forums, the Agency will present a strategy document existing at this stage, while young people will join thematic groups and develop recommendations. Further to the end of forums across the country, the Agency will submit a summary report of recommendations, received from the youth, along with other relevant documents, to the Government of Georgia at the stage of approving the strategy. Read more…  Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Young farmers of Tsnori Agro School will supply their harvest to the Tbilisi agro market, Café “Mziuri” on August 7, at 17:00. Young farmers at 8-13 years of age learned at the online agro school of “Knowledge Café” how to grow 5 crops and on Friday, in the yard of Café “Mziuri”, they will meet you at the agro market and bring: cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli. A fun agro quiz is going to be held for young guests of the agro market, winners of which will receive agro stickers as presents. While money gained from the agro market will be transferred by young farmers from Kiziki to construct a building for “Knowledge Café”. Read more…  Source: The website of the organization in a social network

From August 10th, every day, at 21:00, ‘Knowledge Café’, invites everyone to listen tales online. To watch this new project visit a link. Read more…  Source: The page in the social network

Down Syndrome International has developed new guidelines for specialists to educate learners with Down syndrome. Information in this regard is released by Georgian Down Syndrome Association. “Our association is a member of the international organization and we are pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to development of guidelines”, - is stated in the information, - “it should be noted that this manual is going to be the first guidebook, created on the basis of international experience, which combines best practices of various countries”. Read more…  Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Within the framework of a social campaign “This Country Is Yours”, the Civil Society Institute has started public meetings with young people in regions of Georgia... At meetings, attended by popular people, youngsters are informed about civil society, civic values and activities of civil society organizations; participants of meetings are going to receive an almanac, which is prepared within the framework of the campaign and brings together thoughts of the best sons of Georgia in regard to freedom, justice and democracy, as well as physical maps of the world, Europe, region and Georgia, including important information printed on them, promotional products of the campaign. There will also be conducted an award ceremony for winners of a youth competition of the “This Country Is Yours” campaign at public meetings. This competition was carried out all over the country and about 150 teams of senior schoolchildren participated in it. Winners – schoolchildren and their curator teachers - who were identified by a jury, consisting of teachers and representatives of civil society organizations, are going to be given notebooks as a gift. The first public meeting and the first award ceremony of winners were held today, in Gori. Until August 15, the team of the Civil Society Institute will conduct 15 more such meetings in Shida Kartli, Kakheti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Racha-Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti, Imereti, Adjara, Guria and Samegrelo. The purpose of the “This Country Is Yours” social campaign is to facilitate enhancement of civil society in Georgia and increase awareness of civil society organizations; to convey values and functions of civil society organizations, as well as the essence of their activities to population properly and demonstrate the importance of civic activism. The campaign is carried out within the framework of the “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” project. The “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” project is implemented by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in collaboration with the Civil Society Institute (CSI), the Center for Training Consultancy (CTC), the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) and the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC). The project is funded by the European Union and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Tbilisi. On July 13, there was held an online presentation of the project – “Youth volunteering in response to the COVID 19 pandemic in Georgia”. The large-scale volunteer project is implemented by a non-governmental organization “Helping Hand” with the support of the United Nations International Children’s Fund UNICEF Georgia.  “At the online presentation, those interested in the project, as well as adolescents and young people, willing to participate in it, met with: Ghassan Khalil, Representative of the United Nations International Children’s Fund in Georgia; Nina Ferencic, a Regional Office of the United Nations International Children’s Fund for Europe and Central Asia, Senior Adviser on HIV/AIDS and Young People’s Health and Development; Revaz Charkviani - Head of Youth Agency Tinatin Meskhi - Executive Director of “Helping Hand”, a non-governmental organization. The project consists of several stages and at the initial stage is going to bring together more than 150 volunteers across the country. They will acquire professional experience and knowledge, develop necessary skills, make new friends and, what’s the most important, manage to plan useful volunteer activities in their communities and help others. The youthvolunteering.ge platform, created within the framework of the project, will enable all adolescents and young people living in Georgia to engage in volunteering activities and receive consultations from both local and international experts in regard to volunteering issues”, - is stated on the website of the organization in a social network.  Read more…  Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The undersigned organizations would like to respond to the statement of H.E. Hubert Knirsch, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia, posted on the embassy’s official Facebook page on June 25. The statement was in response to the Georgian NGOs’ critical assessment of Ms. Sopio Kiladze’s nomination for the membership to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Ms. Kiladze is the member of the Parliament of Georgia. We believe that the state-nominated candidate in Georgia vastly lacks personal and professional integrity and is notorious for her openly confrontational attitude to the civil society that is critical of her public statements and work. There have been myriad of well-documented instances of Ms. Kiladze’s verbal abuse of human rights defenders and activists, homophobic and discriminatory public statements, public display of selective approaches to human rights protection, particularly with regard to the LGBTQI community and children. This has been the common practice of the candidate to such an extent that the civil society had to resort to the various forms of open protest on several occasions[i]. Various international and local organizations and the media have reported these facts. We would, therefore, like to underline that the statement made by the NGOs is not an attack of a personal nature, but the candid assessment of the facts that disqualify the nominated candidate from taking the CRC membership. It is not only desirable, but also the duty of the civil society organizations to call out such a lack of integrity, selective application of human rights by the candidate and disregard of the procedures by the nominating state. Read more… Source: phrgeorgia.wordpress.com

Tbilisi. The Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims – GCRT expresses its concern in regard to a story broadcasted through the air of “Mtavari Channel”. The story was about a porn trafficking of minors from 6 to 16 years of age.  “It is categorically unacceptable to spread photo and video material with nude, erotic content about children through the mass media, regardless of whether their faces are covered or not. This action is contrary to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Hiding faces of children cannot prevent the risk of their identification by people who are personally familiar with juveniles involved in this process. Besides, the risk of retraumatization is high - nobody knows how strong feelings viewing this material will cause in adolescents who have experienced violence against themselves. It should also be noted that by publicizing these shots through the television, we practically leave photo and video material about children in the Internet for ever and victims will be able to see them even years later”, - is stated on the website of the organization.  Read more… Source: gcrt.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations release the statement on the possible election of Sofio Kiladze as a member to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). “We, the undersigned organizations, underline that the state ignored the UN recommended selection procedure when selecting the candidate for the CRC membership and nominated Ms. Sopio Kiladze who does not represent for strong belief and respect for equality and human rights. Ms. Kiladze during her tenure as the Chair of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee has on numerous occasions demonstrated homophobic attitudes and selectiveness in supporting human rights, especially the rights of minority groups. We, the signatory organizations believe that the parties casting their votes should be aware of the civil society position before making a voting decision”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: phrgeorgia.wordpress.com

Tbilisi. Children and adolescents have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic. UNICEF is particularly concerned about the impact on those that have inequitable access to basic services and resources. “Children living in overcrowded households or in inadequate conditions, like lacking hand-washing and other hygiene facilities, are particularly vulnerable to rapid COVID-19 transmission. According to UNICEF’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 29,800 children in Georgia have no handwashing facility with water and soap in the household. This means they are exposed to a greater risk of COVID-19 infection. All children should continue to learn during the ongoing crisis and be able to safely return to school. Children who are already marginalized by lack of access to digital tools and internet connectivity, favourable home learning environments and parental support, risk falling further behind”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) demands protection of children from gambling industry. “Engagement of children in gambling, along with the high rate of child poverty and gaps in the education system, remains a serious challenge that increases the risk of chronic poverty and psychosocial problems. To ensure a safe environment and healthy development for minors, EMC calls on the Government of Georgia to enact strict gambling regulation mechanisms as soon as possible and prevent engagement of minors in gambling”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. From today, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Georgia joins the global 15-day campaign with hashtags #LearningAtHome and #HaveFunAtHome. Within the framework of the initiative, the organization is going to offer parents of children of preschool age one easy-to-perform activity daily, which will facilitate mental and physical development of their children. Read more…  Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. March 16th, at 14:00, Chris Davenport, Press Attaché of the US Embassy in Georgia, will read a story about a little penguin to you. “While schools are closed in Georgia, we, at the US Embassy, would like to help children continue their education. From 14:00 on weekdays, an American diplomat will read his favorite story and talk to you in English through the Facebook live. This is an excellent opportunity to practice your English and learn more about the United States”, - is stated on the website of the US Embassy in a social network. Read more…  Source: The website of the Embassy in a social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia published a special report on the protection of procedural rights of juvenile defendants, witnesses and victims in the area of criminal justice.  The project was carried out on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia and the Initiative for the Rehabilitation of Vulnerable Groups (non-commercial legal entity), with the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.  The purpose of the project was to evaluate, by observing trials, the quality of protection of the rights of children in conflict with the law and juvenile witnesses/victims during court hearings. Trials were monitored from July to December 2019 in three major cities, namely in the City Courts of Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Rustavi.  Read more…   Source: http://ombudsman.ge

On December 18, 2019, in New York, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, which obliges all member states to close orphanages immediately.  According to the resolution, states should ensure return of children to biological families, however, if it is impossible, children should only be provided with services close to the family environment.  Read more… Source: https://phrgeorgia.wordpress.com

Samegrelo. Today, on February 25 at association "Atinati" a seminar was held about "Reproductive Health". "During the seminar, youth had opportunity to get information about: What does reproductive health mean and why is it important to discuss about it and educate young people; STI - sexually transmitted infections and its types; STI complications and etc." Read more… Source: Social network

Kakheti. “Improving health and educational development possibilities for disadvantaged mothers and children” is the title of the project through which socially disadvantaged babies in Kakheti received their gift sets. This project was also implemented by the EU-funded Kakheti Regional Development Foundation. In 2018, a total of 60 beneficiaries have been supported in Akhmeta, Gurjaani and Telavi municipalities. “The EU has been financing this project since 2016. The partner organisations are the “Innovations and Reforms Centre” and “Europe Justice and Human Rights International Justice Institute”. The main objective of this project is to help women and children. 60 gift packages have been handed out; we have only two more to deliver. This year’s supply is almost complete, but the project will continue next year and 60 gift packages will be handed out again. The first criterion for receiving this support is that the family has to be disadvantaged. Some families may not have this status, but based on the family conditions, they can [still] benefit from this,” - explains Tamara Bekauri, Director of Kakheti Regional Development Foundation. She also says that, in addition to the gift sets, the EU funded training courses where mothers received both interesting and essential information about how to care for their babies. Read more… Source: https://eeas.europa.eu