Tbilisi. TDI responds to statements of the Patriarchate of Georgia and Kutaisi-Gaenati Eparchy about the anti-Semitic sermon of the Orthodox clergy. „The statement reads, that Archpriest Ilia Karkadze's sermon of January 4, "represents completely groundless accusations against the Jewish people or its individual representatives. It is not based on the teachings of the Church and is inspired with the anti-Semitic pathos". As the Metropolitan notes, Archpriest Karkadze received a warning and he is sorry for what he has said“, - is mentioned in the document, - “We welcome the critical assessment of the anti-Semitic statements of Archpriest Ilia Karkadze by the Church and consider it as the first step forward. However, this response is insufficient to address the problem of anti-Semitism and intolerance within the Church. It was the December 20 sermon of Metropolitan Ioane Gamrekeli that created a ground for a new wave of anti-Semitism, which was followed by the statements of Archpriest Ilia Karkadze. Therefore, it is important from the side of Metropolitan to assess the problematic nature of his own sermon and to apologize for the anti-Semitic rhetoric”. Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. GCSD is presenting the first thematic guidebook in the Georgian language on dealing with violent extremism - “Countering Violent Extremism – An Introductory Guide to Concepts, Programming, and Best Practices”. The guidebook covers the multifaceted and advanced approaches in the field of combating violent extremism and radicalization. Accordingly, it is intended for public officials as well as representatives of civil society, media and academia. The publication was developed in collaboration with the Hedayah Center, Search for Common Ground, and the European Union, translated by GCSD and adapted to the Georgian reality. The guidebook can be found here... Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Today the whole world is focused on containing the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak. In these challenging times accurate information is crucial but pro-Kremlin disinformation is trying to undermine the trust in vaccines. The list of disinformation about vaccines is very long. See below some of the recent disinformation narratives compiled by EU vs Disinformation and check out an infographic with the full list here... Source: eu4georgia.ge

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) critically appraises an action of the Government to demand lists of clergy and parishioners from non-dominant religious organizations. As EMC considers, with this decision, the state actually forces people to reveal their religious affiliation. “Besides, the state will obtain access to the number of clergy and parishioners, as well as to their places of living. In the circumstances when the trust of religious organizations and communities in the State Agency for Religious Issues is very low and it is considered as an agency connected with security services, it is problematic that the Government attempts to use again control techniques and methods to communicate with religious organizations and interfere in their autonomy”. Read more… Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia welcomes the adoption of Technical Regulations for National Accessibility Standards by the Government of Georgia on December 4, 2020. “It is important that the document is based on universal design principles and defines technical criteria of accessibility of buildings, land and other elements. In addition, the needs of persons with various disabilities are taken into account. The Public Defender continues to monitor issues related to accessibility, as well as the oversight of the introduction and practical implementation of the national accessibility standard”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. IDFI participated in the webinar organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The event provided a platform to generate open discussions and build capacity among relevant stakeholders on the potential of open data in enhancing good governance in public procurement. During the event IDFI discussed the system of public procurement in Georgia and the remaining challenges in regards to the availability of procurement-related information in open-data format. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a collection: Extractive crossings: Politics, ecology and social justice. “Authors of research articles worked using history, anthropology, social geography or political ecology methods, where the specifics of a local context and its connection with global processes were the main focus of the research. Taking into account the fact that the research direction of extractivism is itself based on interdisciplinary methodology and is not brought down to field or scientific specialization, knowledge, gathered also under this umbrella, is qualitatively rich and multifaceted”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the blogpost: Is Georgia a Captured State. “Georgian civil society organizations have talked about the problem of informal governance in Georgia for years. In 2018, this assessment was made even graver when international organizations also began to raise concern about democratic backsliding and signs of state capture. Evidence accumulated by the end of the second term of the Georgian Dream’s governance is sufficient to argue that corruption in Georgia has assumed the form of state capture. As it stands today, a single person keeps a firm grip on Georgia’s executive government that has been made free of democratic checks and balances through weak Parliamentary oversight and an unofficial pact of no interference and mutual support with an influential group of judges in complete control of the judiciary. Without holding any official position of public accountability, Bidzina Ivanishvili has successfully managed to place key Georgian public institutions, including ones supposed to be independent by law, in the service of his private business interests and security”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies publishes a blog post of Ani Zirakashvili, an intern of the organization: Energy policy of Russia in the Tskhinvali region. “As a result of the policy implemented in recent years, the Tskhinvali region, unlike Abkhazia, has become completely dependent on Russia in the field of energy. At this stage, due to the financial and technical support of Russia, gas and electricity are supplied to the Tskhinvali region only from Russia. The purpose of Moscow is to ensure energy stability of the Tskhinvali region on the basis of implemented and planned projects”. Read more… Source:www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. To mark the International Volunteer Day, Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) will organize the Volunteer Week on December 7-14 within the EU funded project “Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative”. During the week, animations about volunteering, posts about successful volunteer campaign initiators and infographics highlighting the major achievement within CSSIGE project will be published. Also, 5 cinema sessions will be arranged and online discussions with involvement of famous public figures will be held from December 10 to December 14. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The First International Congress on Deaf blindness in Georgia It is a great honor for us to invite you to the First International Congress on Deaf blindness in Georgia: "I can See and Hear through Touch" December 4, 5, 6 of 2020.  Registration is already opened… “Congress's goal is to raise the awareness of decision-makers and the public about deaf blindness and draw their attention to the importance of creating and implementing an adequate management standard for dual sensory loss. For three days, within the framework of planned lectures, discussions, and seminars led by Georgian and foreign experts in this field, the problems faced by deafblind people in Georgia and other countries will be discussed. It will also be an opportunity to exchange international experiences and best practices”. Read more…  Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Consul is an electronic platform for decision-making, civic dialogue and joint initiatives, created for 5 cities of Georgia: Tbilisi... Gori... Telavi... Kutaisi... Batumi...  Get registered at the website for your city, set up your own initiatives and introduce them to general public to gain support in their implementation process.  Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) release a joint statement in regard to development of policy documents on public administration. In line with expiry of the Public Administration Reform Guide and the 2019-2020 Action Plan, the administration of the Government has started working on a new strategy and action plan. The process has been initiated with engagement of representatives of civil society. The organizations appreciate the fact that engagement of civil society in the process of development of an action plan in ensured and, at the same time, emphasize necessity of addressing shortcomings related to previous strategic documents. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. ”Social Entrepreneurship Forum 2020” was held on November 19, the International Day of Social Entrepreneurship. “Taking into consideration the pandemic and safety norms, the forum was carried out in an online format. Participants had an opportunity to attend the forum via the ZOOM platform. Besides, the event was covered through the FACEBOOK LIVE of Social Enterprise Alliance. Within the framework of the Forum, there has been revealed a “Social Enterprise of the Year” – Gumbati”.  One of the partners of the event is the Civil Society Institute (CSI). Read more… Source: The website of the Alliance in a social network

Tbilisi. The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies publishes a blog post by Shota Utiashvili, a senior fellow of the organization: Who won and who lost in the Karabakh war. “The war was lost by Armenia, which gave up seven surrounding districts and part of Karabakh itself, along with the Shusha City, while it was won by Azerbaijan, which, respectively, took over these territories. The West was defeated too, as it became obvious that its influence on the region was minimal. Formally, the United States and France (along with Russia) are co-chairs of the Minsk Group, however, their calls for cease-fire, the same as the agreement signed by Foreign Ministers in Washington, have had no effect on the course of the conflict”. Read more…  Source: www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. Due to ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, the Tsalka Local Action Group has extended the deadline to submit applications for the second grants competition under the EU-supported ENPARD project, EMBRACE Tsalka. The grants competition aims at promoting economic diversification and improving the well-being and socio-economic status of local communities in the municipality. The application deadline is: December 15, 2020 at 18:00 P.M. Find out more here... Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Council of Religions under the Public Defender of Georgia publishes the statement on the visit of the United States Secretary of State, the honorable Michael R. Pompeo.  W/e, the Council of Religions, welcome the visit of the United States Secretary of State, the honorable Michael R. Pompeo to Georgia. It is of utmost importance for us, that one of the reasons of Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Georgia is to support freedom of religion. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude towards the American people and the government of the United States of America, for their great efforts throughout the years in promoting the independence, territorial integrity, protection of human rights, prosperity and democratic development of our country as well as safeguarding freedom of religion and tolerance throughout the world, including in Georgia… Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The LEPL Public Service Development Agency (Agency) has drafted Policy Document and Action Plan on public service development, delivery, quality assurance and evaluation, which are planned to be submitted for approval to the Government in December 2020. In February 2020, the Agency submitted through e-mail the drafted documents to civil society representatives, including the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information, and requested comments. IDFI submitted its views on the policy document and action plan to the Agency. Two of the six recommendations submitted by IDFI concerned the content of the documents: the need to set a specific objective and measures related to the enforcement mechanism and the issue of cooperation with municipalities. The rest of the IDFI comments served to ensure the pertinence of the goals, objectives and indicators. In October 2020, the Agency returned to IDFI the responses (paper of the notes) to the comments received, according to which neither of the two substantive comments submitted was accepted, and the comments submitted regarding the correct formulation of the objectives and indicators were agreed and taken into account by the Agency. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies publishes the organization’s research fellow’s Davit Batashvili’s blogpost: What Russia has Gained in Karabakh “The Russian contingent in Karabakh is a key that Moscow can use to allow or forbid Armenians and Azerbaijanis to hurt one another. There should be no doubt that this crucial lever will be employed by the Russians in their relations with both sides. Russia’s quest to dominate its neighborhood has not gone anywhere and the South Caucasus is a part of it”. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies publishes a blog post by Kakha Gogolashvili, the organization's chief researcher: What Armenia Did and Did not Lose as a Result of the Ceasefire Declaration in Karabakh  “To conclude, we can point out that the outbreak of hysteria in Armenia, accusing Prime Minister Pashinyan of making a “treasonous deal” and equating the result to a “catastrophe,” is incorrect. This is a panic reaction of the society caused by confusion and an insufficient understanding of the results. In reality, Armenia has managed to conclude the situation with relatively small setbacks if one can say this considering that thousands of soldiers and civilians have died. However, when I say this, I am speaking about political outcomes. As for the long-term humanitarian consequences, they may turn out to be beneficial for Armenia as opening up roads and other communications of regional importance, which the declaration entails, will bring significant economic and social benefits for Armenia if actually implemented”, - is said in the organization's website.  Read more...  Source: www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. ”Social Entrepreneurship Forum” is an annual event and this year it will be conducted on November 19, the International Day of Social Entrepreneurship. One of the supporters of the Social Entrepreneurship Forum 2020 is the Civil Society Institute. To take part in the forum, please register at... Source: The website of Social Enterprise Alliance in a social network

Tbilisi. Europe Foundation supports the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. The Foundation calls upon the authorities to refrain from restricting these rights and to prevent further escalation of the situation. The organization joins public demand to conduct negotiations between the ruling party and other political subjects, participating in the elections, thus seeking a constructive way to defuse current political situation and ensure further stable, democratic development of the country. Read more… Source: www.epfound.ge