Imereti. On May 1, The Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) held a training session for facilitators in the Baghdati Municipality City Hall. The goal of the meeting was to introduce the innovative model of participatory budgeting and inform the participants about the methodology of holding the forum. The training participants learned about important organizational issues when planning and organizing forums. The organizing committee selected the facilitators. Lika Kiladze, the chairperson of the board, and Natia Namichheishvili, the executive director of EDEC chaired the meeting. Find out more... Source: edec.ge

Guria. On April 28, 2023, the Institute for Changes and Innovation, in partnership with the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), held a thematic meeting in Ozurgeti within the framework of the EU-supported “Learn for Employment” project, the aim of which was cooperation between sectors to overcome problems in the field of education and employment, to discuss current challenges and ways to improve the situation. Representatives of local self-government, non-governmental organizations, the State Employment Promotion Agency, media, and educational and business sectors attended the event. Read more… Source: edec.ge

The web portal 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. A new nationwide poll conducted in Georgia by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research (CISR) shows strong support for EU membership, disapproval of Russian citizens within the country, and a lack of faith in political parties. “Taking into account both the low public trust in political parties, as well as the high desire for youth in political leadership, IRI is pleased to continue its work supporting multi-party democracy in Georgia – that is, the ruling party, opposition and emerging movements – in order to ensure that citizens have a diverse range of political options available both in governance and at the ballot box. This survey was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samtskhe-Javakheti. A company owned by the son and daughter-in-law of Nodar Talakhadze, the Chairperson of the Infrastructure Commission and Member of the Tender Commission of the Akhaltsikhe City Council - Company L S Georgia LLC - received 8,797,512 GEL from the state procurements in 2020-2021. 2,290,017 GEL (78%) contracts of which were awarded by Akhaltsikhe City Hall through tenders without competition and direct procurements. Transparency International Georgia calls on the Anti-corruption Agency of the State Security Service to examine the state procurement contracts signed between Company L S Georgia LLC and the Akhaltsikhe Municipality City Hall and establish whether there were potential corruption deals between the supplier and purchasing organizations. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. UNA Georgia is proud to announce it’s partnership with Tbilisi Open Air/AlterVision. “If you are planning to attend the festival this June 23 - 25, you must stop by our colorful space during the daytime hours! We will meet you with a range of engaging talks, activities, and games, centered around the topics that unite us all - Diversity, Equality, Freedom, Activism. We are thrilled to meet the many young and diverse people at the festival, and we thank the Tbilisi Open Air/AlterVision for this incredible opportunity”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Child benefits support children in need, though 38% of children in Georgia are affected by material and social deprivations, reveals the Child Welfare Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) with support from UNICEF.  The purpose of the survey was to measure children’s welfare in several core domains, including access to education, healthcare and social assistance, nutrition during school hours, safety at home, material and social deprivation, functional difficulties and stigma associated with disability. Find out more… The survey is available here… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. Women entrepreneurs in 10 countries will be helped to digitize their businesses, through a program developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) with Microsoft Corporation’s support. At this stage, the project mainly covers Asian and African countries. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the new report of UNICEF, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, and Ukraine have among the highest rates of under-vaccinated children. “Nearly one million children across Europe and Central Asia missed one or several routine vaccinations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. MAC Georgia’s Psychologists Anna Bezhanishvili & Tamar Kevkhishvili conducted Behaviour Management training for Tbilisi kindergarten N74. The training targeted kindergarten teachers, special teachers and psychologists at the school and focused on the following: Supportive System of Positive Behaviour; Functional Evaluation of Behaviour; Strategies of Managing Behaviour; With an emphasis on practical learning, the course walked through approaches to analyze and manage challenging behavior in the classroom. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Civil Society Organizations continue to monitor the fulfillment of 12 priorities defined by the European Commission to grant the candidate status to the country. Under the leadership of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, 8 organizations prepared an assessment document – EU CANDIDACY CHECK, which reflects the progress achieved by the Georgian authorities in this context until the period of March 31, 2023, as well as the current state of play and the steps to be implemented in the future. According to CSOs’ assessments, at this stage, one priority is fully implemented, two priorities are mostly fulfilled, four priorities are partially fulfilled, and five priorities defined by the European Union are to be fulfilled. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

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

Regions. The Public Defender’s Office of Georgia has prepared a special report on the gender equality policy of the municipalities. The report evaluates the rights situation of women at the local level, existence of support mechanisms, women’s involvement and participation in the decision-making process. The research areas were the functioning of gender equality councils at the municipal level and the main characteristics of their activities, existing policy documents, segregated data and budgeting issues, support mechanisms relating to women's rights, as well as women's involvement and participation in the decision-making process. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Samegrelo. Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) and Samegrelo-Kvemo Svaneti regional hub organized a workshop for the members of the Zugdidi Youth Council on the topic “Culture of volunteering in Georgia: youth volunteering as social capital”. Participants discussed the importance of volunteering in the field of education, the work of organizations in this regard, and the role of young people in the development of volunteering services. The workshop was chaired by Goderdzi Sharasia, a journalist. Find out more... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On April 13, Sapari submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of 5 former beneficiaries of Ninotsminda boarding school. “The applicants seek a finding of the violation of their rights under the substantive aspects of Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman/degrading treatment) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), as well as the procedural aspect of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Kvemo Kartli. According to the TI Georgia, the company of Davit Chartolani, Koruldi LLC, wins tenders in the Mestia Municipality without competition. “Chartolani is the former Deputy Head of the Bolnisi Municipal Administration, and he was also the Chief of the Election Headquarters of the Georgian Dream in 2012. The total value of the contracts received by Koruldi LLC is 2,247,897 GEL. It should be noted that Davit Chartolani, together with Otar Chartolani owns the company of the same name Koruldi LLC. Otar Chartolani is the donor of the Georgian Dream party and the business partner of the parliamentary majority MP Viktor Japaridze. We call on the Anti-corruption Agency of the State Security Service to examine the participation of Koruldi LLC in the Mestia Municipality procurements and establish whether it contains potential signs of corruption”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Join us at Expo Georgia on 6 May to listen to inspiring speeches of well-known Georgians sharing their views and experiences about Europe. Check out the video below to listen to our two hosts, Tako Kvelidze and Dato Gorgiladze, share a few ideas about Europe and Georgia. Join our event and keep updated… Find out more about Europe Day… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Imereti. On April 12 and 13, 2023, the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) held online meetings on the topic: “The Importance of Digital Volunteering” the purpose of which was to introduce the first volunteering digital platform in Georgia, www.volunteer.ge, people involved in volunteering activities, and to discuss the needs of digital volunteering and the meaning of volunteering. Find out more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

A consultation meeting with the Eastern Partnership Region and Europe AML/CFT Multi-Stakeholder was held in Warsaw on April 4-5, 2023, organized by the EU Global Facility. Presenters from Georgia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria took part in the meeting. Representatives from Europe also participated in seminars. Experts shared their relevant knowledge during work meetings and spoke about challenges related to the implementation of the 8th recommendation of the FATF (the Financial Action Task Force) and also shared best practices related to the cooperation of the governmental institutions and civil society and the role of the financial sector in this process.  During the meetings, a CSI representative also participated as a presenter and spoke about current processes and challenges related to the civil sector in Georgia.

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

Adjara. According to the Transparency International Georgia, there are signs of corruption present in the development of Salibauri Hills residential area near Batumi, which is being planned by the Russian-owned company “H Group Development.” “On November 25, 2022, two Georgian citizens connected with the company donated a total of GEL 40,000 to the ruling party. Two weeks later, Khelvachauri Municipal Council unanimously approved the Detailed Development Plan (DDP) for the project. The fact that the permit was issued shortly after the donation raises the suspicion that the purpose of the donation may have been to obtain said permit”. See full blog… Source: transparency.ge