Tbilisi. Third Leadership Academy was held in Tbilisi. Human Rights House Tbilisi is implementing a project with IREX Europe, a French-based NGO, aimed at promoting and strengthening the leadership skills of young women human rights defenders.  This 26-month project covers 5 countries of Eurasia with the support of the European Commission. The leadership academy in Georgia is co-financed by the Human Rights House Foundation.  About 30 young human rights activists from Georgia and Azerbaijan participated in the Third Leadership Academy. The topic of the Academy was non-profit and social marketing for human rights defenders.  Read more…  Source: https://hrht.ge

Computer courses are conducted for women and girls from self-help groups in Akhmeta, Telavi, Lagodekhi and Tetritskaro municipalities. Read more… Source: Social network

Tbilisi. EU and Government of Georgia launch new 150 M GEL programme supporting vocational education and labour market development in Georgia.  At a special event held at Gldani Vocational Education and Training Centre, Mikheil Batiashvili, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Carl Hartzell, EU Ambassador to Georgia and Cesare Onestini, European Training Foundation (ETF) Directorlaunched the second phase of the Skills4Jobs programme in Georgia. Five year programme to assist 105 000 Georgians find jobs by expanding high quality vocation education, improving labour policies, and supporting entrepreneurship training.  Read more…  Source: https://eeas.europa.eu

Ajara. The EU-supported Khulo Local Action Group (LAG) has launched a new project “Promotion of service quality development in the guest houses in Khulo Municipality”.  The four months project aims to improve the quality of knowledge in the field of guesthouse management, service and marketing through retraining the guesthouse operators from Khulo municipality. Overall, 13 guesthouse operators have been selected to participate in the trainings. The project is financed jointly by American embassy small grant program and Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia.  Read more… Source: http://enpard.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Public Defender and Deputy Public Defender met with representatives of the media and civil sector in Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda. The challenges of ethnic minorities in the region, the issue of teaching the Georgian language, shortcomings in the 4+1 programme and the problem of the low quality of general education were discussed at the meeting. Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Kakheti. HEKS/EPER, in the frame of the EU-supported project “Promoting Citizen Engagement for Economic Development (PROCEED)”, organized a training in International Accounting Standards and Georgia’s Tax System for the beneficiaries of the 1st and 2nd grant cycles in Dedoplistskaro municipality.  The training aimed at raising awareness and improving skills of the EU grantees in modern standards and practices in project financial management. To make the training delivery most efficient, the 19 trainees were split into two groups. The split reflected the diversity of expertise by the trainees and their specific training needs.  Read more…  Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. 15 participants successfully completed IDFI’s practical training on the Methods & Mechanisms of Government Oversight. “The training participants selected out of 200 applicants via the open call, included students, activists and journalists from all parts of Georgia“, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: Social network

Tbilisi. Hate crimes was a topic of yet another, two-day training organized by IDFI, with the participation of the journalists and prosecutors from the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Training of Trainers program studying the work of private enforcement officers has started with the assistance of GIZ Legal Program within the framework of EU funded project “Development of Commercial Law and Practice”.  "Totally 14 state and private enforcement officers participate in the training. “The goal of the training is to train local trainers on the private practice of enforcement. These local trainers will train all state enforcement officers on the necessary issues of private practice during this and next year period. These trainings will prepare them for the reform planed in the enforcement law“, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The web-page of the organization in a social network

Ajara. As part of a broader effort to promote rural development in Georgia, the European Union (EU), in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is launching a series of workshops in Rural Development Advocacy in eight municipalities.  The first workshops brought together up to 60 community activists and representatives of civil society organizations from the municipalities of Tetritskaro, Lagodekhi and Dedoplistskaro. By the end of 2020, similar workshops will be carried out in five other municipalities – Akhalkalaki, Borjomi, Kazbegi, Keda and Khulo.  The series of workshops for the civil society organizations is part of the EUR 179.5 million in EU assistance that has been allocated to Georgia under the ENPARD programme between 2013 and 2022. This support aims to promote rural development policies and create economic opportunities for the rural population outside of agriculture.  Read more… Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a blog post: Questions concerning authenticity of Tadumadze’s diploma must be answered.  “Transparency International Georgia studied the documents which confirm inconsistencies with regard to the diploma of incumbent General Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze. Specifically, according to the diploma, Shalva Tadumadze enrolled in the institute in 1993 while the institute itself was established in 1994. There are inconsistencies in terms of the graduation date too: the diploma indicated 1998, while, according to Shalva Tadumadze’s resumé, it is 1999”, is noted in the statement.  Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Heinrich Boell Foundation Tbilisi Office renews a lecture course for students "War and Peace". Local and international experts working on peace building and conflict transformation will deliver speeches on different topics.  Read more… Source: Social Network

Representatives of EU’s partner organisations – Mercy Corps, CARE and People in Need – implementing the EU-funded ENPARD project “Strengthening Rural Development Models in Georgia” and the members of EU-supported Borjomi, Lagodekhi and Kazbegi Local Action Groups (LAGs) participated in Leader Inspired Network Community, LINC Conference in Estonia.  LINC is a European Leader conference which combines European exchange of experience with sport events and European culinary. It is an initiative from LAGs and National Network Units for rural development in Austria, Germany, Estonia and Finland. The conference aimed to present the results and innovative methods achieved using the European LEADER approach to rural development, exchange the professional experience of representatives of the European LEADER areas and establish links for international cooperation.  Read more… Source: http://enpard.ge

Kakheti. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the ENPARD programme of the European Union, held a Farmer Field Day for the farmers and stakeholders in Lagodekhi, Georgia. The event was held in support to the agricultural extension services which is one of the components of the FAO-ENPARD project which supports the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MEPA) in the implementation of the National Strategy for Agricultural Extension 2018-2019. FAO organizes farmer field schools, theoretical and practical training activities for lead farmers, ICCs and interns from Agrarian University. Within the project FAO experts arrange various types of demonstration plots of potatoes, wheat, maize, cucumber, eggplant and sweet corn, focusing on the municipalities of Dedoplistskaro, Akhalkalaki, Khazbegi and Lagodekhi. Read more… Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics compiled guidelines for combating hate speech. “Hate speech is often associated with all types of negative expressions. Abusive, defamatory or discrediting materials are perceived as hate speech. In reality, there is a big difference among them. Due to the fact that every country has a different unique contexts, it is difficult to determine what hate speech is, which terms, phrases and expressions may enhance a negative attitude toward any person. Notwithstanding, there is agreement as to what hate speech is based on. According to a recommendation, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 1997, “Hate speech implies all forms of expression that disseminate, propagate, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other forms of intolerance, including nationalism, ethnocentrism, discrimination and hostility towards minorities or migrants”, - is stated in the information released by the Charter. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Mtskheta-Mtianeti. Members from the International Women’s Association Georgia visited the EU-supported Green Camp for Young Leaders and Innovators at Bulachauri Green Center.  During the meeting, the invited guests shared their experiences with the camp participants and discussed topics such as environmental issues, technologies, education and career development. The Green Camp participants presented their community problems and future plans for solving them. IWA member, Mrs. Mette Hartzell, spouse of Carl Hartzell, EU Ambassador to Georgia, addressed the camp participants and read a letter addressed by the Ambassador to the camp participants.  Read more… Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. The Public Defender's Office organized a training on issues relating to international refugee protection and security. The training was attended by representatives of the Public Defender's Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service and Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the South Caucasus. The two-day meeting highlighted the importance of cooperation between the Public Defender's Office and relevant state agencies in improving the rights situation of aliens, including asylum seekers and internationally protected persons. Read more… Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. The Public Defender terms segregation of students by University of Georgia according to their academic performance as discriminatory.  „According to the practice of the University of Georgia, students with less than 2 points are not allowed to choose all the proposed groups and hours during the registration period, while no similar restriction apply to students with higher points. Such a division among first-semester students is based on the results of the Unified National Exams. According to the University, the purpose of such a division is to improve the quality of education“, - Mentions the Public defender, - “The Public Defender recommended the University of Georgia to abolish the differentiated groups at all stages of education and in all departments, in particular the restrictions relating to the students’ opportunity to choose courses regardless of their GPA (or results of the Unified National Exams in case of first-semester students)”.  Read more… Source: The web-page of the organization

Samtskhe-Javakheti. On September 3-4, within a frame of an ongoing project, Taso Foundation conducted trainings on Women's Leadership in Aspindza and Akhaltsikhe municipalities. Women had an opportunity to meet a rural leader from village Leilani, who is not only the leader in her community but also of the women's movement as a whole. Leadership, management, motivation, these are some of the topics discussed during the training. These activities are carried out in the framework of the project “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” is managed by UN Women and funded by Swiss Development Cooperation and Austrian Development Cooperation. Read more Source: The page of the organization

Happening Now USAID-PROLoG organized a workshop for members of the Coalition for an independent and Transparent Judiciary on Freedom of Expression and Public Persuasion involving American expert Jason C. DeSanto from Northwestern University. Read more… Source: The page of the organization in a social network

Racha-Lechkhum-Kvemo Svaneti. Social integration, developing the basic comunication and interpersonal skills were the major topics of the EU-supported Youth Summer Camp organized by the initiative of the Akhalkalaki Local Action Group (LAG) in Racha. The event was held within the framework of EU-supported project “Promoting a New Rural Development Approach in Akhalkalaki.”  During the Summer Camp, participants had the opportunity to raise awareness about the history of Racha Region, visit cultural, historical and recreation sites, and receive information about the academic programmes of local vocational college. Moreover, the youth learned local traditional handiworks such as the art of patterning and creating Georgian enamel, as well as cooked local dishes with the host family. In addition, the camp participants were introduced to local tourism development trends and innovative methods of establishing effective communication and interpersonal skills.  Read more… Source: http://enpard.ge 

On 12 July, movie screening was held for the School of Justice Alumni.  „Screening of “White Christmas” episode of the TV-Show “Black Mirror” was followed by the discussion. The participants together with the Free University Professor, David Zedelashvili discussed morality of obtaining evidence and the problem of developing technologies which purport to improve the administration of justice, but can also be used for deprivation of human liberty“. Read more… Source: Social page