Tbilisi. TI Georgia has studied the expenses of 9 administrations of State Representatives in 2021, which amounted to GEL 5,567,583 in total. “It should be noted that the institution of State Representative does not fulfill any critical functions for the functioning of the state, while the existing practice shows that the influence of State Representatives on municipalities is high – they often interfere in the activities of mayors and city councils elected directly and considerably limit their independence. In a situation where the level of decentralization is low, the institution of State Representative is an important lever for the central authorities for exercising formal or informal control over municipalities”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the blogpost: Celebrating May 9 in Russia. “The Kremlin continues to build a national narrative about the great victory of 77 years and the defeat of Nazism. IDFI's blog will analyze how attitudes towards May 9 have changed over the years, what forms the main parade dedicated to this day took in the modern Russian Federation, and which symbols or narratives dominated this day”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. A meeting on the rights situation of women and girls representing non-dominant ethnic groups in Georgia was held in cooperation with the Public Defender’s Office and the United National Population Fund (UNFPA) on April 28, 2022. Two special reports were presented at the event. “One report concerns sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls of ethnic minorities; the second report reviews the harmful practice of early/child marriage in Kvemo Kartli and key findings of the study of the relevant attitudes. The study showed that a number of social-cultural factors, primarily gender roles and sexuality-related stigma, often lead to the violation of sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls of non-dominant ethnic minorities. Another problem is lack of information, which is further exacerbated by the language barrier”. Read more… Source: www.ombudsman.ge 

Tbilisi. On April 28, IDFI held an international conference - Digital Transformation of Georgia: Proactive Steps Toward EU Accession. „The conference discussed good practice, main trends, as well as challenges and opportunities for Georgia in the field of modernization and transformation of the public sector using new Technologies“. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On April 20, at a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the non-governmental organization “Russia – Country of Opportunity”, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the modification of historical education in schools to combat "false narratives" about the situation in Ukraine. "Falsifying history, distorting facts and using it without context is one of the most important strategies in modern Russian hybrid warfare. Through the methods and narratives reviewed in the analysis, Russia has for years been preparing an ideological basis and an appropriate historical narrative to legitimize the aggressive invasion in Ukraine". Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

IDFI is delighted to invite you to an international hybrid conference: Digital Transformation of Georgia: Proactive Steps Toward EU Accession. Date: April 28, 2022 Time: 13:00-17:15 (UTC/GMT+4) The conference aims to discuss good practices, main trends, as well as challenges and opportunities for Georgia in the field of public sector modernization and transformation using new technologies. For online participation, please register... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On April 18, 2022, the Public Defender of Georgia presented a special report assessing the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on children’s rights and the measures taken by the State. The report was prepared with the support of the UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (UNICEF ECARO), the UNICEF Georgia Office and the European Network of Ombudspersonsfor Children (ENOC). According to the survey results, the measures taken by the State to prevent the spread of the pandemic aggravated the rights situation of children in Georgia. Read more… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On April 14, IDFI submitted a legislative proposal to the Parliament of Georgia about amendments and additions to the Law of Georgia - “On the National Archival fund and the National Archives.” “The legislative proposal provides that, researchers will be able to access and use archival documents containing personal data for scientific and research purposes, regardless of time period”. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Rondeli Foundation shares the publication: Main Economic Challenges of Pandexit. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Center for Strategy and Development (GCSD) shares a publication “Research NATO” The publication unites expert opinion papers on such significant topics as NATO's role in strengthening Georgia's defence capabilities, NATO's future and so on. In addition, the publication includes papers, prepared by students as part of a research contest, on pressing issues on the Alliance's agenda. The publication is prepared under the project “Talk, Research and Discover NATO” implemented by GCSD with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tbilisi Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Adjara. At the invitation of IDFI, and the Diocese of Batumi and Lazeti, specialists from the Wroclaw Medical University began a thorough anthropological study of the remains found in the mass grave of the victims of the Great Terror of 1937-1938 in Khelvachauri near Batumi. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On March 27 the closing ceremony of the School on Party Politics was held. The spring session of the School on Party Politics is the first, theoretical part of the project “Strengthening sustainable political culture among Georgian political parties”. Read more… Source: gip.ge

Tbilisi. In connection with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, on March 21, the Center for Tolerance and Diversity (TDI) publishes a study. 'Racial Profiling in Georgia. Existing policies and practices of the police system toward ethnic minorities and migrants', - is the title of the study. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the study: Processing of Biometric and Genetic Data - European Standards. “The present study reviews the concept and area of application of biometric and genetic data, the threats and risks associated with their processing, and analyzes the principles and grounds for processing such data. The study also discusses certain judgments delivered by the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the processing of biometric and genetic data”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On February 10, 2022, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Business and Technology University (BTU). The main purpose of the cooperation is to conduct research and projects as well as to develop various tools for support and mutually beneficial cooperation. Specifically, the collaboration will focus on encouraging the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Adjara. On February 9, 2022, Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) completed the process of exhumation in Adjara and the mass grave №6 of the victims of the Great Terror of 1937-1938, discovered in Khelvachauri, near Batumi, was fully examined. “According to research conducted by IDFI , a total of 1,050 people were shot dead in Adjara in 1937-1938. The study found that among these 1,050 people, 311 were from other provinces in the Russian Empire, as well as from Central European countries: among them, about 30 ethnic Poles were shot in Adjara. Based on the information provided by IDFI, the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) became interested in discovering the fate of its own citizens and taking appropriate measures for their exhumation and subsequent identification. Experts from IPN examined the grave for two weeks, after which they discovered skeletal remains of 29 victims”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Un Women Georgia publishes 'The Country Gender Equality Profile' (CGEP) a guide to assess the existing situation regarding women’s empowerment and gender equality.  “The CGEP describes and analyses the present situation in Georgia mainly based on the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while at the same time considering the BPfA and CEDAW frameworks”. Read more… Source: georgia.unwomen.org

Tbilisi. The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in South Caucasus presents the publication: From Independence to Freedom: How the state and society are changing in the new Georgia. “In the publication eleven Georgian authors attempt to analyze Georgia's democratic state-building process from different perspectives: the establishment of state institutions, the relationship between the church and the state, rethinking and overcoming of the Soviet legacy, the transformation of values and political culture. Different chapters in the publications are based on lectures publication authors gave within the scopes of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's lecture series - “In the footsteps of democracy.” Read more… Source: The Stiftung’s page on the social network

Adjara. From January 4, delegation from the Polish National Memory Institute (IPN) invited by the Eparchy of Batumi and Lazeti and IDFI, is examining and excavating human remains discovered in Adjara from the sixth mass terror. On February 3, Polish specialists fully excavated №6 mass grave, after which the process of exhumation began. Due to archaeological excavations specialists discovered skeletal remains of 29 victims. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Rondeli Foundation presents key findings of two surveys conducted in Georgia and Russia. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. According to the information of the IDFI the scientists of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) will study the graves of the repressed people during the Mass Terror in Adjara. “For the next two weeks, the team, which includes 4 archaeologists and 2 anthropologists, will carry out the work of exhuming and examining the remains from the graves of the repressed people during the Mass Terror 1937-1938 in Adjara”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. In the new publication of IDFI you can find the stories of the victims of the Soviet repressions and the comics about them drawn by the pupils of the St. Matthias Apostle Gymnasium-Boarding School in Batumi. The children expressed their perspective on history through comics, which was incorporated in the book published by IDFI. Read more… Source: idfi.ge