Tbilisi. On June 10, 2021, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the University of Georgia. The memorandum aims to establish a partnership between the parties, to jointly develop academic courses on studying and combating disinformation and propaganda, and to offer them within the University of Georgia, School of Social Sciences. The memorandum envisions expansion and continuous development of this direction. The aim of the academic courses developed through the partnership is to help students develop/deepen anti-disinformation and anti-propaganda skills. The academic courses developed and offered within the framework of the Memorandum will be led and/or visited by local and international researchers in the field of disinformation research. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia has learned that a former beneficiary of the Ninotsminda Orphanage has allegedly been forced to leave the dormitory of the St. Tbel Abuseridze Teaching University of the Georgian Patriarchate after the letter informed the law enforcement agency about alleged violence that occurred in the orphanage. The Public Defender has already started examining the alleged discrimination against the former beneficiary of the orphanage. In addition, she appealed to the law enforcement agency to respond to the allegations of coercion, pressure and psychological violence. As result of communication between the Public Defender and relevant agencies, the young beneficiary has been temporarily placed in a safe environment, as the person had no other place to live in. The Public Defender will monitor the provision of long-term housing to the person. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On May 29, in the scope of the "Youth for Regional Development" project, schoolchildren of Zarzma Children’s Academy attended the lecture on "History of the Western Road of Georgia". The discussion was conducted by Irakli Chkhaidze, Assistant Professor at Tbilisi State University. The aim of the project is to enhance civic consciousness and increase civic activism among schoolchildren from Adigeni and Akhaltsikhe municipalities. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samtskhe-Javakheti. CENN, with the Support of the EU and in partnership with Ninotsminda Youth Center, launched an Innovative Knowledge Hub in Ninotsminda Municipality. „The goal of the Innovative Knowledge Hub is to empower young people at the local level and promote their social and green entrepreneurship development. The Innovative Knowledge Hub is a youth workspace that will be accessible to young people living in Ninotsminda Municipality. The Hub will periodically host environmental and youth campaigns, and beneficiaries will also have the opportunity to meet with representatives from various fields and hold public discussions“. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Adjara. UNICEF in partnership with the National Centre for Disease Control and the Ministries of Health and Education of Adjara organized the informational session in Adjara region for the local teachers and medical personnel. The meeting was led by prominent health experts and representatives from the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, and aimed to inform about COVID-19 vaccination. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia (LDA Georgia) is implementing the project "Increasing the Quality of Citizen Involvement in Local Self-Government" in eleven (11) municipalities of Imereti region (Baghdati, Zestaponi, Samtredia, Vani, Khoni, Tskaltubo, Sachkhere, Chiatura, Kharagauli, Terjola, Tkibuli). Within the framework of the project, training was conducted with the members of the Civic Advisory Council of the Mayor of Kharagauli Municipality. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Dean of the Department of Social and Political Sciences of Tbilisi State University (TSU) considered the appeal of the Public Defender's Office and replaced homophobic literature with other textbooks.  The Public Defender’s Office, on the basis of the application of the Equality Movement, studied the mandatory literature of the elective discipline of political culture of the Department of Social and Political Sciences. The study revealed that the educational material contained homophobic content. The Public Defender’s Office appealed to the administration of the department and as a result of constructive cooperation with the Dean, the discriminatory educational material was removed from the mandatory literature. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The EU and UNDP helped Georgian Parliament create a textbook for schoolchildren, offering an entertaining way to learn about parliament, parliamentary tradition, and citizen engagement in decision-making. Next year, it will be piloted in 50 public schools in Tbilisi and eastern Georgia. On 22 and 23 May, public school teachers took a training course, designed to help them make full use of a new textbook and learn about civic education methodology. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Are you ready to challenge your knowledge?  Take this quiz and share your results with us in the comments…  Source: The EU’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Parents of children with disabilities play many roles in a child’s life. To function effectively in all of these roles, parents need help, and a place to talk to others who have similar life experiences. With this in mind, MAC Georgia and მშობლის სკივრი • Mshoblis Skivri are creating a new kind of ‘community’ for parents of children with cerebral palsy.  The parent’s community group will meet online one evening every two weeks and will consist of a small number of parents with the goal of sharing experiences and information and supporting one another in everyday challenges. The group is only open to parents who have a child with cerebral palsy. If you are a parent of a person with cerebral palsy, have access on the internet and time to join once every two weeks, please follow the link and register… The deadline is May 18. We hope to begin our first group meeting before the end of May 2021. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On 25th of May Business and Technology University (BTU) will host a virtual employment forum – FEMTECH. “Forum aims to provide employment opportunities to women and girls, who have graduated BTU Coding School. In this way the University tries to support the graduates with employment opportunities in ICT sector. BTU is one of the signatories of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and has already launched a number of interesting initiatives to empower women and girls”. Read more… To register for the forum, please visit the following link… Source: UN Women Georgia’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Last week, the Rondeli Foundation and OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities successfully completed the second part of the training course "Enhancing National Minority Agenda". “Within the framework of the program cohort of national minorities of Georgia gained theoretical and practical knowledge on policy analysis, advocacy and lobbying, women's participation, research methods, and disinformation. Participants also met with the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia representatives, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Central Election Commission, and the OSCE HCNM”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Shida Kartli. April 23 organized by CENN and the Society Biliki, the EU-supported rural innovation knowledge hub in Gori has been launched. “The Innovative Knowledge Hub is a youth workspace that will be accessible to young people living in Shida Kartli region aiming to empower young people at the local level and promote their social and green entrepreneurship development”. Find out more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

Samegrelo. The Georgia Red Cross Youth and Volunteering Development department organized “ My First Job” workshop. The workshop was led by the Georgia Red Cross Society Zugdidi branch volunteer trainer Romeo Malazonia. He shared useful tips about how to look for vacancies, how to write CV/Motivational letter, communication with potential employers, tips for successful interview and etc. Read more… Source: The Red Cross Society Page on the Social Network

Tbilisi. GCSD conducted online trainings on prevention of violent extremism and radicalisation. “This is the first PCVE curriculum in Georgian which reflects and was adapted to the Georgian context. The curriculum includes "Countering Violent Extremism: An Introductory Guide to Concepts, Programming and, Best Practices" a trainer's guide, thematic videos, presentations and supporting Exercises. The project is supported by Hedayah Center in the framework of STRIVE Global Program funded by the EU. The training material was translated and adapted for the local context by the GCSD. For more please, follow the link... Source: gcsd.org.ge

Kakheti. In Tsnori, a USAID-supported knowledge café needed fundraising to build a new building. ”Traditional methods did not appear sufficient. In March, in order to raise funds, USAID supported the café in launching Bootcamp - a new experiment for Georgian students. What was the challenge? Young people had 10 days to gain GEL 200 or 300 from GEL 100. 29 teams, participating in the first round, managed to raise money through both selling goods and donations. 20 teams succeeded to move to the second round, with the help of coaching, provided by a startup entrepreneur, they handled to double or triple GEL 200. In the end, these young entrepreneurs collected GEL 35 387 for the knowledge café and, at the same time, improved their business skills”. Read more... Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. Georgian Center for Strategy and Development (GCSD) presents a study: “Use of artificial intelligence while confronting information operations carried out against Georgia”. Visit the link to find full version of the study... “...Using artificial intelligence, fact-checking organizations can combat disinformation and fake news more effectively, mark messages and respond accordingly. Regardless of its perspective, artificial intelligence should not be perceived as a universal way of solving a problem, like other techniques, artificial intelligence also raises ethical and legal questions”... Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Guria. Through the joint efforts of the Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government of Georgia, the UNFPA Georgia Country Office and the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, Women’s History Month was celebrated in the municipalities of Chokhatauri, Ozurgeti and Lanchkhuti, in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of Guria, with the support of the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia and the European Union. Within the framework of the events, there was a meeting held between Giorgi Sakhokia, Governor of Guria, and Lela Bakradze, Head of the UNFPA Georgia Country Office, to discuss future cooperation in the field of human rights, promotion of gender equality and youth empowerment. Read more… Source: georgia.unfpa.org

Tbilisi. On February 22-25, 2021, the Public Defender’s Office monitored 21 public schools of Tbilisi,[1] in order to check the readiness of educational institutions for the educational process in the context of the pandemic and to identify the safety needs. “The monitoring revealed a lot of challenges, the prevention and elimination of which is important for ensuring the safety of the educational process. It should be noted that the inspected schools largely meet the necessary conditions for the virus prevention, however, some problems were identified with sanitation-hygiene, infrastructure, access to drinking water, toilet arrangement and distance protection. In some of the inspected schools it is necessary to put the sanitary system and infrastructure in order so that to make it possible to properly observe the hygienic norms”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. An online training course has been developed on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women with psychosocial needs through cooperation between the Public Defender of Georgia, UNFPA Georgia Office and Tbilisi State Medical University. “The innovative course will help certified doctors working in the field of obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry deepen their knowledge in the direction of health management of women with psychosocial needs, their rights and the commitments undertaken by the State”. Read more… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. HumanDoc Foundation, in collaboration with partner organizations: “Kartlosi” – Bridge of Friendship, Association “Merkuri” and Cultural-Humanitarian Fund “Sukhumi”, has released a publication: “Guide for teachers on violence against children”. An electronic version of the publication is available here... Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. UNDP invites women and girls from Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Imereti and Shida Kartli regions to join training courses in graphic design and web coding. Training is delivered by the UNDP's partner organization GeoLab • ჯეოლაბი.  Deadline for applications: 12 March 2021;  Registrations forms: Graphic design... Coding... Source: The organization’s page on the social network