The history of the European Union began 70 years ago on May 9, 1950. 70 years ago, the Declaration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Robert Schuman, changed the future of the European continent. “This speech, made in the ruins of World War II, laid out a vision of cooperation between European nations that would lead to the European Union as we know it. Today, with 27 Member States and 446 million citizens, the EU marks the 70th anniversary of this declaration. The theme of 2020 Europe Day is Stronger Together, highlighting the need for solidarity particularly in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Watch the video to learn more about the declaration and what idea the EU is based on”. Read more… Europe Day... Source: EU's page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes an article, according to which the Open Government Partnership (OGP) launches a campaign aiming to respond to the crisis occurred as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. “The campaign proposes specific and practical ways, which demonstrate importance of principles of openness – engagement of citizens and civic oversight while developing a response policy against the pandemic. The Steering Committee identifies three important stages in overcoming the crisis occurred as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic: 1. Rapid response to the pandemic, 2. Socio-economic recovery and 3. Long-term reform, and emphasizes that openness and engagement of citizens increase effectiveness of crisis management methods”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Due to the information of UN Women Georgia in a village of Maradisi, Marneuli municipality women took care of potato crops of the family infected by #COVID19. “While the family members are under intensive care at a hospital, Naira Paqsadze together with some active local women, obeying social distancing rules have weeded the crop not to leave the family without source of income. Naira Paqsadze is a community worker of SCO TASO and she is actively engaged in community mobilization project of UN Women”. Read more… Source: Social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has been studying international practice of proactive publication of information for years and, taking this into consideration, offers recommendations to the Government of Georgia. “International practice of proactive publication of information related to the new coronavirus pandemic shows that on the background of the crisis situation, certain countries manage to establish a good practice of accessibility to information regarding a number of issues. Also, there has been highlighted importance of official open platforms, where states publish data in an open format. While other stakeholders, data analysts, research organizations, field specialists and journalists are given the opportunity to prepare their own analysis and interesting studies in regard to various aspects of spread of the pandemic”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information became a member of the international platform – the Sites of Conscience. Founded in 1999, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is the only worldwide network of Sites of Conscience. With over 275 members in 65 countries. The coalition builds the capacity of these vital institutions through grants, networking, training, transitional justice mechanisms, and advocacy. Read more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies publishes an overview of the Russian military forces: Edition 35, April 13 - April 19, 2020. “The overview of the Russian military forces is a weekly digest, which offers a reader information regarding key activities of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and changes that take place there. The overview is useful for researchers, public servants and all the others interested in what is happening in the military forces of this one of the most aggressive states in the world”. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. On 5-6 December 2019, with the financial support of the Open Society Institute – Budapest Foundation, the Institute for Development of Freedom of information (IDFI) held a conference on the Openness of State Archives and Memory Studies in the Former Soviet and Eastern Bloc Countries in Tbilisi. “Up to 30 researchers, historians, and the representatives of civil society from all over the world participated in the conference. IDFI wrote a few articles about the results of the conference and the speeches/presentations made during the event. However, we asked our partners to provide more detailed information about their theses and most of them sent a brief summary of their topics”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes a blog post: A Year after the Discovery of the Mass Graves of the Victims of the Soviet Repressions. “The discovery of the mass graves is very important event for Georgia. In general, the studies of the stories of the repressed persons, their proper commemoration and immortalization is an important and urgent issue in the post-Soviet region. In many countries, on the execution and burial sites, there are complexes of memorials and the governments support the commemoration of the repressed, educational and the other types of events. All of these have a key role in the formation of collective memory of the countries and the rethinking of the totalitarian past. The graves discovered in Khelvachauri is the first discovery of this kind in Georgia, which requires an appropriate attention from the state”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The report “Analysis of the state of fulfillment of obligations assumed by Georgia in the field of energy in 2014-2018 years on the basis of the Association Agreement between the EU and Georgia” is designed within the framework of a project – “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” and contains: - A review of the energy market of Georgia, presenting main indicators of electrical energy and natural gas markets of Georgia by years; - Information regarding obligations assumed by Georgia in the field of energy on the basis of the Association Agreement and description of the state of fulfillment of these obligations in 2014-2018 years. Read more… Source: The website of the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia

Tech activists in the Eastern partner countries and across the world are invited to take part in a global hackathon to find solutions in the face of the Coronavirus crisis, taking place from 9-12 April, globally and online, across all time zones, organised by Estonia and supported by the European Union. Find out more... ource: EU’s page in the social network

Within the framework of the “Keda Leader” project, carried out through the support of the EU ENPARD program, CENN, Institute of Democracy (IoD) and Keda Local Action Group (LAG) are pleased to announce a grant competition: “New Challenges - New Opportunities”. The purpose of the grant is to react quickly and respond to those new challenges that Georgia faces as a result of the “COVID-19” pandemic caused by spread of the Corona virus. The grant competition begins on March 27 and ends on April 6 at 6:00 pm. Read more…  Source: kedalag.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes an article by Mariam Shalvashvili and Aitaj Khalil: Missing needs, interests and history - Problem of teaching Georgian language in the Azerbaijani community of Georgia. “Present critical review evaluates textbooks, designed for Azerbaijani students, in terms of teaching Georgian language as well as historical place and self-identification of Azerbaijanis of Georgia in these texts. The document is essentially based on studies, existing in this area, as well as interviews with focus groups, conducted with Azerbaijani activists in Georgia, and teachers”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) publishes a blog post: 10 disinformations of Kremlin in regard to COVID-19 in Georgia. “A coordinated campaign of discrediting and disinformation, intensified on the background of the Coronavirus, indicates that malicious actors, both inside and outside the country, were forming powerful news networks for the 2020 parliamentary elections. It was supposedly planned to use these networks actively for electoral purposes, however, at this stage, a crisis caused by COVID-19 appeared to be a favorable moment for their use”. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. Take a look at the address of Carl Hartzell, EU Ambassador, as to how he appraises effective efforts of Georgia against COVID-19 and calls on everyone to take care of each other.  “I am reporting from home. These are clearly unprecedented times for Georgia and the rest of the world. Due to the Corona pandemic the world is turning upside down. I would like to use this opportunity to express my heartfelt admiration for the medical professionals, for doctors and nurses, for law enforcement and border guards, and others for working tirelessly these days for the safety and security of everyone here. This crisis is not only a health crisis but also a tremendous economic challenge, therefore I’m proud to be working alongside other international partners under the leadership of the Georgian Government to properly assess the needs and to set out the way ahead. The European Union stands with Georgia. The European Union is Georgia’s largest donor and strongest partner and we will remain that…”  Read more… Source: The website of the European Union in Georgia in a social network

Tbilisi. On February 25, an exhibition dedicated to the 99th anniversary of the Soviet occupation of Georgia, organized by #IDFI in collaboration with the society Memorial, is being held in the Parliament of Georgia. “Various archival materials and stories, describing the invasion of the Bolshevik Red Army in 1921, Soviet terror and personal tragedies of different people, are displayed at the exhibition”. Read more… Source: Social network

Tbilisi. According to information of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), Ivane Machavariani, Minister of Finance, regularly violates the Constitution, which serves the basis for his impeachment. "On February 24, the faction “Independent Members of Parliament” called Ivane Machavariani, Minister of Finance of Georgia, to the sitting of the Committee on Sector Economy and Economic Policy. He did not attend the sitting. According to the Constitution, “in case it is required, a member of the Government [...] - is obliged to attend [...] sittings of a committee [...], answer questions raised at sittings and present a report on activities carried out.” Read more… Source: gyla.ge

On February 21, 2020, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), in collaboration with its partner organizations, issued a statement in support of the Public Defender of Georgia.  International organizations refer to the state’s breach of the confidentiality of the Public Defender’s prison visits, and subsequent attacks on the institution and urge the state to promptly and thoroughly investigate such cases.  Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) releases a joint statement, through which the organizations respond to a crisis existing in Shukruti and Itkhvisi. “Confrontation of locals with “Georgian Manganese LLC” in the Shukruti village of Chiatura Municipality has resumed. The mine was also blocked on February 23 in the village of Itkhvisi, where locals, like those from Shukruti, link damage to their homes, ancillary buildings and agricultural lands to functioning of the mine and demand compensation of suffered loss from Georgian Manganese. In the current circumstance, it is important for the state to realize the crisis that exists in both Shukruti and Itkhvisi, take an active role and eliminate the social and environmental disaster, which the local population remains vulnerable to”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a blog post: Internet ownership in Georgia. “Importance of the Internet, in terms of both daily communication and access to information, increases day by day. A number of Internet users tends to be growing and, respectively, so does the Internet industry. Information, obtained through the Internet, acquires particular importance in the pre-election period and may play a key role on the background of increased threat of misinformation and low culture of media literacy. Taking into consideration high public interest, Transparency International Georgia studied the ownership of large operators, existing in both landline and mobile internet markets in 2018, as well as their business connections. The study also highlights issues related to distribution and use of the Internet among population”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Today's report, prepared by the European External Action Service and the European Commission and covering the period since the last Association Council in March 2019, shows that Georgia remains committed to the obligations and undertakings of the Association Agreement.  “Alignment to the EU acquis, as well as to European standards, particularly in the area of human rights, has effectively continued. However, challenges remain in the areas of electoral reform, political dialogue and reform of the judiciary. Going forward, it is essential that the parliamentary elections are held in a free and fair environment and that the selection procedure for Supreme Court Judges adheres to all recommendations made by the Venice Commission and is carried out in a transparent manner and in line with a genuinely merit-based nomination process. Legislative changes in line with international recommendations and implementation of the fourth wave of reforms will be important throughout 2020”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Members of the youth organizations of political parties and Tinatin Gogeliani, a representative of the State Ministry for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia discussed the state strategy for civic equality and Integration action plan of ethnic minorities at Rondeli Foundation. "The discussion was a part of the project “National Minorities in Political Processes – Engagement for Better Future” which is implemented with the support and active participation of OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM)“, is noted on the page of the organization in a social network. Read more… Source: Social network page

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to grave cases of discrediting the Public Defender by the Minister of Justice of Georgia and calls on the Government of Georgia to study political responsibility of the Minister and to make sure the Public Defender has guarantees for effective and independent activity. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge