Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) is delighted to invite you to an international hybrid conference -Good Governance Forum 2022 (GG Forum 2022). Date: December 13, 2022 Time: 13:00-18:30 (UTC/GMT+4) The topic of the Forum is Accelerating Decentralization: Best Practices and Innovative Solutions. The event aims to explore global trends, good practices, needs for Eastern European countries, and innovative methods to deal with their challenges in developing democratic principles and implementing decentralization reforms at the local level. Check out the Good Governance Forum panels and speakers. Read more… Conference details... Source: idfi.ge

Samegrelo. TI georgia’s Zugdidi office together with Committees of Concerned Citizens applied to Zugdidi City Hall with a request to pave Archil Firtskhalava Street and arrange drainage channels. The organization calls on Zugdidi City Hall to take into account the solution to the infrastructural problems of Firtskhalava Street in the 2023 budget project. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Shida Kartli. On October 25, the representatives of IDFI and the USAID Economic Governance Program met with the members of the Gori Municipal Council and Gori City Hall in the city of Gori. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce the Public-Private Quality Tracking Mechanism and to learn about the experiences and challenges of engaging the private sector in the dialogue in Gori Municipality. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Meeting with the US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly C. Degnan  was held at Samtskhe-Javakheti State University on October 25, 2022. Together with the local students, participants of the GFSIS project from villages Mokhe, Zarzma and Daba Adigeni attended the meeting.  Community Youth Engagement in the Regions of Georgia has been launched since October 2021 by Rondeli Foundation with the financial support of the US Embassy, which aims to increase civic awareness among public school pupils of Mountainous Adjara, Tserovani, and Adigeni Municipality and stregthen their capacity through non-formal educational activities. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samegrelo. The city of Poti joined UNICEF’s "Child-Friendly Cities Initiative" (CFCI). A memorandum of cooperation was signed between UNICEF and the Poti Municipality City Hall. At the next stage, an action plan will be developed, after which Poti will gain the status of a "child-friendly city". A child-friendly city is a system of local government where the needs and rights of children are an important part of local policies and programs. Find out more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. On September 16-18, a joint meeting for community workers was held, organized by “Taso Foundation”. The meeting was held within the framework of the second phase of the project "Economic Empowerment of Women through Social Mobilization and Capacity Building". The project is implemented in partnership with the UN Women Georgia, Kakheti Regional Development Fund (KRDF), and CARE Caucasus. The Project is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia and Austrian Development Agency. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The handbook was prepared by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) within the frames of the programme - Good Governance for Local Development South Caucasus (GGLD). The handbook provides information on sustainable development goals, the importance of the engagement of local governments in their achievement, measures to be taken to localize the SDGs, key milestones and circumstances to be considered to ensure the engagement of all stakeholders. As a result, the handbook covers the following chapters/topics: - What Are Sustainable Development Goals? - Georgia and the Nationalization of Sustainable Development Goals - Why is the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals Important? - What Additional Benefits Will Active Participation in the 2030 Agenda Bring to Municipalities? - Stages of Localization of the Sustainable Development Goals - First Stage: Awareness-Raising Activities - Second Stage: Integration of Sustainable Development Goals into the Local Agenda and Strategic Documents - Third Stage: Implementation - Fourth Stage: Monitoring and Evaluation Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Kvemo Kartli. On June 16, members of the Taso Foundation team held a working meeting with Bolnisi Municipality Mayor and City Hall representatives. The aim of the meeting was to select new target communities/villages in Bolnisi Municipality and to determine future plans for gender budgeting. The Project is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia and the Austrian Development Agency. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Based on the appeal of Transparency International Georgia's Committees of Concerned Citizens, the Ninotsminda Municipal Assembly (Ninotsminda Sakrebulo) approved the documents required for filing and registering the petition. Despite the requirements of the Self-Government Code, Ninotsminda Sakrebulo has not yet developed these documents. According to the TI Georgia, Ninotsminda is the second municipality in Akhaltsikhe after Samtskhe-Javakheti, where the forms for filing and registering petitions were approved after our organization's advocacy. We welcome the decision of the Ninotsminda Municipal Assembly because the petition is one of the essential instruments for citizen engagement. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Members of TI Georgia’s Committees of Concerned Citizens in Akhaltsikhe identified 42 problems in 24 settlements of two municipalities - Akhaltsikhe and Adigeni in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The majority of them concerned the drinking water supply, irrigation, central and internal motorways, outdoor lighting, sports grounds and waiting points. As a result of advocacy efforts by the Akhaltsikhe Office and CCCs, 12 problems were resolved in Akhaltsikhe and Adigeni. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Regions. On May 17-20, 2022, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) conducted online trainings on Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the representatives of Keda, Senaki, Oni, and Sagarejo Municipalities and local stakeholders. The trainings were attended by 40 participants, including civil servants of the municipality, representatives of non-governmental organizations, school teachers, and the Youth Advisory Council members. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. TI Georgia believes that the draft amendments to the Election Code and the Local Self-Government Code of Georgia, which were initiated by members of the parliamentary majority on May 10 and regulate the issue of powers of city council members elected in by-elections a new manner, have only been tailored to the interests of the ruling party. “The Georgian Dream has decided to overcome the crisis in the Batumi City Council to their advantage by means of this initiative. We call on the Parliament of Georgia not to tailor the legislative amendments only to the interests of the ruling party in the Batumi City Council and to put an emphasis on the development and introduction of a unified standard of staffing of local self-government bodies”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Samegrelo. Transparency International Georgia publishes the report on the outcomes of 2021 advocacy efforts of TI Georgia’s Committees of Concerned Citizens in Samegrelo. “As a result of advocacy efforts undertaken by TI Georgia’s Zugdidi Office and CCC members, 10 projects were implemented in Khobi, Zugdidi and Tsalenjikha municipalities in 2021; implementation of another 11 projects has begun and will be completed in 2022; five projects advocated in previous years have been planned under the 2022 budget”. Read more about the outcomes of the work and advocacy of our CCCs in Samegrelo in 2021 in the report… Source: jobs.ge

Adjara-Imereti. According to the information of the UNDP Georgia, Batumi and Kutaisi are on a journey to design their municipal transformation portfolios. “Batumi is designing a strategic #PortfolioOfOptions to become a facilitator in co-developing a #startup and #innovation ecosystem. Kutaisi aspires to become an #EcoCity: sustainable, resource-efficient, embedded in its natural environment and ensuring a healthy and comfortable existence for its citizens. This exciting and challenging endeavour is supported by the “Mayors for Economic Growth” (M4EG) programme, implemented by the EU and UNDP in the Eastern Partnership countries to assist local municipalities to discover new opportunities for sustainable growth and economic prosperity”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network Photo: Irakli Dzneladze, Vladimir Valishvili/UNDP

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Civil Society Organizations of the Samtskhe-Javakheti Region appeal to the Government of Georgia and the International Organisations Operating in Georgia. “We, representatives of the civil society organisations (CSOs) of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, condemn the Russian aggression in Ukraine. We support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their struggle.    The Russian aggression endangers international peace, freedom, and values of democratic development. At the same time, it poses a threat to our region. In particular, this war has exposed the risks facing the Samtskhe-Javakheti region due to its economic, financial and informational dependence on Russia: Many people from this region have been living and working in Russia and financially supporting their families for years. Some of them used to go there for seasonal work. Moreover, Russia’s propaganda media outlets remain a central source of information for the region. We have pointed to these risks before. Nowadays, because of the sanctions imposed by the international community on Russia, the remittance flows from there are likely to sink and our population will most probably return to the region. Overall, the unemployment rate in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region will rise and the social background will deteriorate.  Based on the above-discussed, we, representatives of Samtskhe-Javakheti CSOs, call on the Government of Georgia and International Organisations operating in Georgia to take these risks into account, turn them into perspectives, and use this window of opportunity for the benefit of the local community”. Read more… Source: The page of the Union of Democrat Meskhs on the social network

Imereti. On April 8, in Kutaisi, at the Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University, Mayors of ten municipalities gathered to discuss how to increase the involvement of municipalities to ensure the social welfare of their communities. The high-level meeting, organized by UNICEF and the National Association of Local Authorities, was attended by the representatives of central and municipal governments, donors and civil society organization. Read more… Project is being implemented with the support of European Union in Georgia. Source: www.unicef.org

Adjara. The Supreme Council of the Ajara Autonomous Republic launched a new online platform for citizen engagement. The platform provides various digital services, including submitting a petition to the Council, commenting on draft laws, scheduling an appointment with a Council member and requesting a pass to attend the Council sessions. Fully adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, the platform is the most inclusive web resource of all public websites in Georgia. The digital platform has been created as part of the open governance agenda pursued by the Supreme Council of the Ajara Autonomous Republic. Its development was supported by the European Union in Georgia and UNDP Georgia in partnership with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Civil Society Institute (CSI) published the book on Communication Strategy for Participatory Budgeting.  Communication Strategy for Participatory Budgeting…

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia held a meeting with the members of the Baghdati Youth Council. “At the meeting, council members were informed about the importance and role of local government, types of authority, forms of citizen participation”. The Baghdati Youth Council is being strengthened within the framework of the project "Civil Society STAR Initiative," with the support of the European Union and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samegrelo. Taso Foundation is visiting target villages as part of the Women’s Economic Empowerment project. On March 14, the foundation held a working meeting in the village of Khabume of Chkhorotsku Municipality. 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

Shida Kartli. On 7 March 2022, the training about the self-government structure and organization management for youths of Gori Youth Council was held in Society Biliki (Regional Hub in Shida Kartli). Gori Youth Council is becoming strong within the framework of the European Union (EU) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) funded project “Civil Society STAR initiative: CSOs as Sustainable, Transparent, Accountable and Resilient Development Actors in Georgia” (2021-2025). Gori City Hall is a supporter of Gori Youth Council. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network