Tbilisi. ''Transparency International Georgia'' has completed a three-month internship program and awarded certificates to participants. The organization expresses its gratitude to the interns for cooperation and extended assistance. Read more… Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies releases publication: Territorial Dispute in North Caucasus: Unprecedented Protests in Ingushetia. ''The rallies in Magas demonstrates the growing unrest in North Caucasus. Since his early years, Putin has managed to cleanse the political spectrum of North Caucasus from the political opposition, civil society as well as an Islamic insurgency, which has created a political vacuum. The improvement of social media combined with the poverty and harsh economic conditions in the region could create the fertile ground for the future protests,'' is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.gfsis.org

The web portal www.csogeorgia.org releases a weekly newsletter of grants competition, contests, vacancies, fellowships and tenders for civil society organizations and for any interested person. Newsletter...

Tbilisi. ''Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center'' (EMC) conducted a research - ''Under the security gaze: history, politics and religion in the Pankisi Gorge''. According to authors of the thesis, the aim of the research is to explore a genealogical line of "marking the Pankisi Gorge as a threat”, on the one hand, while on the other hand, to attempt to pose lifestyle of Pankisi inhabitants versus dominant mentality rule. Read more... Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Anchoring Sustainable Development by Rule of Law NGO representatives gathered to talk about RIA+ as a tool for NGOs to ensure more inclusive policy making in light of 2030 Agenda implementation. ''Discussion enabled attendees to increase their understanding on the importance of RIA as a useful tool to improve policy process as well as learn more on 2030 Agenda/#SDGs and its relevance to RIA.'' Read more… Source: The webpage of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. On October 23-14, a two-day training was conducted on ''Management and Development of Homeowners’ Association,'' in the office of Charity Humanitarian Center (CHCA). The training was conducted by trainers Sophio Kupatadze and Gia Chumburidze from the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC). The participants of the training were young leaders living in IDP communities. ''The training covered the following issues: the basics of homeowners’ associations, registration and formation of HOA’s, the rights and obligations of members of HOA’s and of a chairperson, private and shared property, maintenance and development of shared property, accountability and transparency, the development of shared property of members of HOA’s, finances of HOA’s, small business management and others. At the training, successful Georgian and German cases of HOA’s were shared with the participants,'' is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The webpage of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Georgia foundation strategic and international studies  Published the publication of the expert Mamuka Komakhia: „Who Forms and Who Implements the Kremlin's Policy in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region". The publication… source: gfsis.org

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia (TI) considers that OGP Summit on Good Practice Was Held with Poor Practice. "The organizational costs for the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Global Summit in Tbilisi have amounted to at least 1.79 million GEL. The majority of these expenses were financed from the Government Reserve Fund, which goes against the purpose of the Reserve Fund, as well as the principles of good governance and OGP", - marks TI. In full  Source: The organization’s webpage

Tbilisi. Part of civil society organizations addresses both Mayor and Chairman of the Assembly of Tbilisi City in regard to intended construction in the Digomi forest-park. ''We demand to reject issuance of a new building project agreement and permit for construction on the territory of the Digomi forest-park; in accordance with the statement of Tbilisi City Mayor, grant the building-construction of KIA Motors, located on that territory, the status of inappropriate building; within the framework of a new draft master plan, extend the status of landscape-recreation zone throughout entire territory of the Digomi forest-park'' - the statement reads. Read more… Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. A consultation meeting was conducted between advisors of the President and representatives of civil society organizations to select a Chairperson of the Supreme Court. Participants of the meeting shared with advisors of the President their vision and those criteria, which, in their opinion, should be met by the Chairperson of the Supreme Court. Within the framework of the meeting there was also discussed an issue of importance of openness of procedures for selection of a candidate and need of broad consensus. Read more… Source: phrgeorgia.wordpress.com

Tbilisi. On August 6, 2018, the Public Defender of Georgia appealed to the Prime Minister of Georgia with a general proposal and requested to modify the term ''head of the family'' used in the legislative acts issued on behalf of the Government with more neutral term. ''Even though the above acts do not directly specify who is or should be the head of the family, a man has been traditionally considered as the ''head of the family'' as a decision-maker due to his sex for centuries. According to the Public Defender, the use of this term nowadays strengthens stereotypes about women, according to which, a woman is a secondary member of the family, who cannot equally earn or make decisions, which, in turn, encourages negative views about sex'', is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. ''Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center'' (EMC) publishes an article regarding developments, which take place in Svaneti. ''Taking recent history into account, when a repressive policy, implemented by the state, carried out systemic character, these developments, which take place in Svaneti, provoke sharp associations on renewal of a systemic repression and police regime on the state level'' – is noted in the article. Read more... Source:The website of the organization

Tbilisi. According to the report published by a non-governmental organization, Transparify, Transparency International Georgia received the highest ranking in financial transparency in 2018 – a five-star award. The report published on 17 July contains the assessment of financial transparency of 92 think tanks in 24 countries. Specifically, Transparify evaluates whether non-governmental organizations publish information about the sources and amounts of their funding on their websites. In Transparify's rating, organizations receive between 0 and 5 points – 5 meaning "the most transparent" – based on the degree of their transparency. In full  Source: The organization’s webpage

Tbilisi. The Public Defender’s Office will be located in a new building from July 23, 2018. The central office will be located on Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, 150, Tbilisi. As the Public Defender’s Office mentioned, despite the technical difficulties related to the relocation of the organization, the Office will keep receiving citizens' applications without delay; the hotline response team will also keep working. In full  Source: The Public Defender’s webpage

On June 26, 2018, First Deputy Public Defender Tamar Gvaramadze took part in the fourth meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Committee in Brussels, Belgium. ''A wide range of issues relating to EU-Georgia cooperation - political dialogue and reform, political association, justice, freedom and security, conflict resolution, economic and sectoral cooperation were discussed at the meeting; implementation of the anti-discrimination law in the context of justice, freedom and security was another topic discussed'', is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. According to the examination conclusion, third-degree damage has been ascertained for the building of the Public Defender's Office. Furthermore, the ongoing rehabilitation in the surrounding area leads to quakes, which creates additional threat to the damaged building. Accordingly, the Public Defender’s Office has decided to declare emergency mode and suspend the working process until July 2, 2018. „Allocation of additional funds for the Public Defender's Office is planned at the nearest meeting of the government, which will allow us to rent a temporary alternative building. The Public Defender's Office will make every effort to prevent delay in case proceedings", - is mentioned in the Public Defender’s statement. In full  Source: The Public Defender’s webpage

Tbilisi. Member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy Michel Kazatchkine, former Executive Director of Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, and Pavel Bém, former Mayor of Prague, have been visiting Georgia to conduct meetings. Civil society and people who use drugs at a time when the Parliament of Georgia is currently engaged in a promising debate to reform its drug laws and possibly by ending the criminalization of possession  for personal use. Read more… Source: www.osgf.ge

Ajara. Europe Day was celebrated in Keda. Guests who attended the event were able to get acquainted with local handmade items, paintings and thematic works were performed by schoolchildren, and information corners from the projects in Keda municipality, guesthouses, local folk dance and song ensembles were presented during the event. Europe Day in Keda was organized by Keda Municipality, the Information Center on NATO and EU in partnership with CENN’s EU-funded ENPARD project "Keda Leader”, Keda LAG, the Institute for Democracy, Education and Adult Center, Keda Resource Center and Culture Center. In full  Source: http://enpard.ge

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. The Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, together with partners, organized the Europe Day celebration event in Zugdidi. The Skate Park was transformed into "Eurovillage” for a day, taking all visitors on a journey to the European Union with fun activities throughout the day. The guests could meet various EU-funded development programmes and find out more about how the EU is helping create more opportunities for Georgian citizens. The Europe Day celebration will continue throughout June 2018 in several cities of Georgia. After the events in Tbilisi and Zugdidi, celebration will continue in Kutaisi, Lagodekhi and Akhaltsikhe. In full  Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. On Saturday, 5 May 2018, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia together with EU member states’ embassies and partners, organized the traditional Europe Day celebration event in Tbilisi. The visitors could meet various EU Member States as well as EU-funded development programmes and find out more about how the EU is helping create more opportunities for Georgian citizens. As usual, ENPARD programme was presented at the Europe Day together with selected EU-funded beneficiaries. Visitors enjoyed delicious products of EU-supported agricultural cooperatives and rural development initiatives. The Europe Day celebration will continue throughout May-June 2018 in several cities of Georgia – Zugdidi, Kutaisi, Lagodekhi and Akhaltsikhe. In full  Source: The organization’s webpage

The web portal www.csogeorgia.org releases a weekly newsletter of grants competition, contests, vacancies, fellowships and tenders for civil society organizations and for any interested person. Newsletter...

Tbilisi. Within the framework of a study: ''Analysis of statistical data regarding people with disabilities'', the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a visualization of statistics of people with disabilities living in Georgia. The study prepared by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) showed that the Georgian state is still unable to collect comprehensive statistics on persons with disabilities, which it has committed to under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Read more… Source: www.datalab.ge