Tbilisi. Information Integrity Coalition releases the statement and expresses solidarity with Ukrainian people. Read more… Source: The Coalition’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Taso Foundation expresses solidarity for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. „Endangering the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any country is totally unacceptable for us and we condemn any intention that threatens world peace and security“. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Rondeli Foundation publishes the blogpost: “NATO’s possible expansion in Northern Europe and its significance for Georgia and Ukraine”. “Given the lack of support from the majority in Swedish and Finnish societies, the prospect of NATO membership seems less likely at this stage. However, as Russian aggression grows, the number of supporters of NATO membership is increasing. If Russia launches an attack on Ukraine, it will be a clear signal to the citizens of both countries of the threat to their sovereignty too, which could lead to a change in attitude. In Sweden and Finland, the number of people with no clear position regarding membership is quite high. In parallel with the growing security challenges, their support is expected to shift towards alliance membership”. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. The representatives of Taso Foundation held a coordination meeting with the community workers through the Zoom platform. “At the meeting, the project team summarized the work done in the regions and planned future activities together with community workers. Taso Foundation is implementing the project in Shida Kartli, Samegrelo, Guria, Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi regions with the support of the UN Women and the Norwegian Government”.  Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Rondeli Foundation publishes a roadmap: Who Forms and Who Implements the Kremlin’s Policy in the Occupied Regions of Georgia. “In this review, we shall try to identify who has been involved in shaping and implementing the Kremlin’s policy in the occupied regions of Georgia since August 2008. The document only assesses the activities of some key individuals or agencies whose area of direct responsibility is (in our opinion) the occupied regions of Georgia and whose activities can be monitored through an open source analysis. The review is based on materials used in the Roadmap to the Kremlin’s Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region project of the Rondeli Foundation”. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. As a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people, TI Georgia symbolically displayed the Ukrainian flag in our office today. Слава Україні! Героям слава! Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On February 8, the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) held a virtual round table discussion titled “How to Define Georgian National Interests Amid Ukraine Crisis?”. Participants of the roundtable discussion formed the discussion around the following topics: What are the significant challenges that the crisis around Ukraine poses to Georgia? How could we explain official Tbilisi’s low-key foreign policy amid increasing tensions in the region, and how could it affect its foreign relations? Do the main political actors in the country perceive Georgian national interests in the same manner? The roundtable discussion was moderated by Levan Tsutskiridze, Executive Director of the Eastern European Centre for Multiparty Democracy (EECMD). Read more… Source: gip.ge

Samegrelo. Transparency International Georgia's Zugdidi office and members of committees of concerned citizens have applied to the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure and Khobi City Hall with a request to build a water supply system, rehabilitate internal roads, drainage canals and outdoor lighting in the village of Torsa-Dgvaba in Khobi. The request statement is signed by 47 local residents. TI Georgia calls on the Khobi City Hall and the Ministry to study the problems of Torsa-Dgvaba locals in detail and in a timely manner. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The interactive map created by the Rondeli Foundation contains open-source information on the facts related to "borderization," including video and photographic materials. The map shows the dates when the "borderization" of a particular section took place and provides an insight on the dynamics of the "borderization" process. Moreover, the map is adaptive which means that new cases of "borderization" will be incorporated. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. IDFI signed a memorandum of Cooperation with the National Cyber Security Association. “The Parties have agreed to maintain cooperation to enhance the information society's resilience in terms of cybersecurity and response to cyber incidents, contribute to raising awareness regarding digital transformation, digital governance, reliable and efficient public services, and personal data protection”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On the night of January 30, 2022, 9 people were injured in an explosion in the Mindeli mine. One of them died after being taken to hospital. The Public Defender expresses her deep sorrow over the incident, offers her condolences to the family of the deceased and wishes the injured a speedy recovery.  “The Public Defender calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Labour Inspectorate to respond to the incident in a timely and effective manner, including by identifying the causes of the tragedy, in order to avoid similar cases in the future. The Public Defender also calls on the Labour Inspectorate to identify all the violations and risks within the framework of the current inspection and to use all legal levers to remedy them”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The study of the case revealed that JSC Liberty Bank does not take into account the different socio-economic situations of persons using social loans when determining the loan interest rates, which puts these individuals in an unjustifiably unfavorable position. Taking into account the above and the principle of equality, the Public Defender called on the relevant agencies to take specific steps to reduce the amount of interest rates of the social loans. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. European Union is glad to be part of an appreciation event organised by World Vision Georgia for foster parents and social workers in Georgia. “Their work and commitment in making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children is admirable, and we are proud to support them. Together with World Vision, we are working on child welfare and protection”. Find out more... Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Economic Policy Research Center has translated Luke Coffey’s very interesting proposal into Georgian, opening a necessary discussion on the possible ways to accelerate Georgia’s integration into the North Atlantic alliance:  “Here is a way to get Georgia into @NATO *right now*—even with the Russian occupation. It won’t be easy and my proposal is a little controversial (although it shouldn’t be). But if anyone has a better way then please share it” – Luke Coffey Tweeted on his official twitter page. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Shida Kartli. The Rondel Foundation publishes the fifth edition of “Monitoring of the situation at the occupation line in the Tskhinvali region” prepared by Elene Mindiashvili. “On December 12, Mamuka Chkhikvadze, a citizen of Georgia who had previously served in the Georgian Armed Forces, was detained near the village of Nikozi. Gela Gochoshvili, arrested in August, was released. A motion detector was installed at the house of Data and Valia Vanishvilis. People living in villages adjacent to the dividing line will receive financial assistance during the winter period”. Read more... Source: kremlin-roadmap.gfsis.org

Guria. Innovation and Civic Development Center - Progress House hosted the meeting on social enterprise, with participation of the CSOs operating in Guria region. The meeting was organized within the project “Civil Society STAR Initiative”, being implemented with support of the EU and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender's Office will continue to work as usual on the holidays announced until January 10. Hotline 1481 will be available on New Year's Eve as well. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. GCSD launched a new project - “Enhancing Georgia’s Capacity to Counter Targeted WMD Assassination Attempts”. “The project aims to enhance Georgia's capacity to detect and respond to the targeted use of weapons of mass destruction”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Under the program “Enhancing the Capacity of Georgia in Preventing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation”, GCSD organized a three-day training on the prevention of terrorism, violent extremism, counter-terrorism, and radicalisation. Read more… Source: www.gcsd.org.ge

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition negatively appraises a decision of the Parliament of Georgia to review the legislative package restricting gambling games and their advertisements in an expedited manner. “Review of the bill in an expedited manner and its adoption via two hearings in one day precludes full-fledged parliamentary discussions, submission of opinions by interested parties and refinement of the draft. These procedures are fundamentally important for initiatives that can entail significant financial implications for both the state budget and the media sector”. Read more... Source: The website of the Coalition on a social network

Tbilisi. Mark Clayton, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Georgia, met with Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, and expressed his support to the Public Defender’s Office and personally to the Public Defender of Georgia. The Ambassador noted that he closely monitors the assessments made by the Public Defender and trusts her statements as an objective source of information. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge