Tbilisi. Transparency International - Georgia has released another audio podcast of parliamentary news. Topics of the November 10 edition are: draft Law "on the Procedure for Planning and Coordination of National Security Policy"; draft Law "on the General Education"; examination of the draft Law "on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons". The podcast. Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. A meeting of the Self-Government and Regional Development Working Group of the Regional Civil Society Network (R-CSN) was held on November 9. 14 regional CSOs have attended the meeting. Meeting participants have planned organizational works for drafting legislative initiative on the transitional provisions of the Self-Government Code concerning citizen participation. A plan was drawn up, according to which the regional network members will hold meetings in up to 100 villages and municipalities in the coming two weeks with the population as well as members of the self-government authorities. The meeting was organized as part of the project "Local Governance Regional Initiative" (LGRI), implemented by CSO "Cida" and supported by the "Open Society - Georgia" Foundation. Source: the page of "Cida" in the social network.

Samtskhe-Javakheti.The "Union of Democrat Meskhetians" has launched the implementation of project "You Have the Right to Know". The project aims to inform youth living in Samtskhe-Javakheti about democratic processes developing in the country, their rights and duties, which will help them become active citizens. Youngsters of 18-25 years of age living in the Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda Municipalities are eligible to participate in the project. Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. Annual South Caucasian media conference has started working in Tbilisi, opened by Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE's representative on media freedom issues. Public broadcaster in the digital era is the topic of OSCE-organized two-day conference. Journalists and experts from the South Caucasian countries are invited to the conference. Representatives of donor and international organizations will also participate in the work of the conference. For the full text. Source: media.ge

Tbilisi. At the initiative of the Consultations and Training Center, a group of researchers has conducted a study in 2012-2013 on the labor culture issues in religious communities of Georgia. The study is the first precedent of examining this particular issue. The study was carried out with support of the "Academic Swiss Caucasus Net" program, operated by the Interfaculty Institute for Central and Eastern Europe at the University of Fribourg. The study: "Labor culture and religious discourse in various communities of Georgia". Source: the organization's web page in the social network.

Adjara. The Civil Society Institute, Batumi City Council and its Civil Advisors' Council have organized on November 5-6 information meetings with the Batumi population. Together with the Mayor's trustees and deputies, representatives of the Civil Society Institute have informed locals in 13 territorial units of the Municipality about the principles of work of public assemblies. Further, they have informed them that until November 20 all interested citizens can request an application form in the local administration by place of residence and register as the assembly member. Following the registration, assembly members will elect the Chairman who will automatically become a member of the Civil Advisors' Council. Until November 25 the civil society, business and media organizations will hold meetings and name two Council members each. By the end of November, to boost citizen participation in the Municipality's governance, newly staffed Civil Advisors' Council will continue implementing activities together with the City Council.

Guria. The "Adult Education Center" opened up in the Chokhatauri Municipality. The project was implemented with support of the Georgia Office of the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (DVV international). The Guria Youth Resource Center is a partner organization of this program in Guria. Centers founded by DVV international currently function successfully in seven municipalities. Annually they offer education programs and activities to over 5000 beneficiaries, thus assisting them in employment and improving quality of life and socio-psychological environment in the communities.

Tbilisi. In relation to its 20th anniversary, the "Open Society – Georgia" Foundation summarizes activities implemented under its various programs. This time the Foundation has posted in the social network info-graphs of human rights projects implemented since 1999. The Foundation has funded 171 projects in this field. For the full text. Source: the organization's web page in the social network.

Tbilisi. Civil Society Organizations released a statement. "We are closely following the latest political developments in our country. ...Representatives of civil society cannot be indifferent and passive, given the fact that former Members of the Government have spoken about deliberate attempts to undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration. We call on the Prime Minister, as well as the former Members of the Government, to hold a meeting and give us their assessments on the current situation", says the statement. For the full text Source: transparency.ge  

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association has released its successful cases in October 2014. Information on six cases is available on the organization's web page. For the full text. Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia Ucha Nanuashvili met with members of the consultation council at the Public defender – the Ossetian Forum and discussed mainly legal rights of Ossetian community living in Georgia. The conversation mainly concerned issues of teaching Ossetian language, Ossetian culture, as well as problems connected to the citizenship, detentions at the so-called "demarcation lines” and situation with regards to prisoners and issues of restitution. For the full text Source: ombudsman.ge  

Kvemo Kartli. CSO "Cida" has released manuals on: "Community Mobilization" and "Co-Participative Planning", electronic versions of which are available to any interested person. "Community Mobilization". Source: "Cida's" web page in the social network.

Tbilisi. The Media Development Foundation has presented on November 6 preliminary results of study on media funded from the state budget. According to media.ge, in the Foundation's opinion, "funding of eight news information agencies by the state from the budget and provision of information to them in advance puts other information agencies in unequal conditions, especially when the public information must be equally accessible to all". For the full text. Source: media.ge

CSO "Radarami" has published in November the Georgian translation of David Graeber's "The Democracy Project", about which series of presentations were organized in Zugdidi, Mestia and Kutaisi. Philosopher Lasha Kharazi spoke about the book. "David Graeber is known in the US as the professor of anthropology, and a radical activist. His book - "The Democracy Project" - is about democracy - the most relevant topic for the Americans and not only ...", the organization's page says. Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. Students of the School of Liberalism have conducted interviewing on "How do citizens view two years of the Government's work". The School has released a video of interviews in the social network. The interviews Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Kakheti. CSO "Telavi Youth Center" has completed a several days event in Telavi. They have organized a street event titled "Give Way to a Pedestrian", which aimed to inform the drivers. According to the organization's representatives, schoolchildren wearing striped clothes were moving across streets with thematic posters in their hands and tried to draw the drivers' attention at cross-walks to the slogan – give way to a pedestrian.

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information released a blog post - "The Number of Motions on Secret Surveillance Has Decreased”. "Based on the information received by IDFI as well as that published by The Supreme Court we can conclude that in 2014, as compared to previous years, the number of motions made to courts on secret surveillance has significantly decreased. For instance, only in case of Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office Tbilisi City Court received 1795 motions on telephone surveillance in 2011, 5951 - in 2012 and 1400 motions in the first 5 months of 2013. However, Tbilisi City Court received only 952 motions from all the investigative entities during 9 months in 2014. The statistics also reveal that the percentage of granted motions has decreased, while 99.86% of motions were granted in 2011, the courts satisfied only 86.03% of the motions in 2014". For the full text Source: idfi.ge  

Tbilisi. Through Radio "Chocolate" and regional partner radios (Hereti, Old City, Adjara Radio), the Heinrich Boll Foundation offers to the audience the radio project "50 Women from Georgia". The audience will hear about women who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries and created Georgian culture and Georgian politics. Radio "Chocolate" will broadcast the program "50 Women from Georgia" on a daily basis. Source: web page of the Heinrich Boll Foundation in the social network.

Tbilisi. The Ministry of Culture has hosted on November 4 the presentation and discussion of the draft National Document on Cultural Heritage Policy of Georgia developed by ICOMOS Georgia. Source: the Civil Society Platform.

Samtskhe-Javakheti. The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy has organized round tables with local  authorities in Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe. Meeting participants have discussed the need to come up with alternative forms of citizen participation, public self-government bodies and their powers, as well as obligations of a self-government unit, determination of a territorial area of public self-government and the status and procedure for setting up a public self-government. Source: isfed.ge

Imereti. Social enterprise "Peacock" located in Kutaisi produces greeting cards for several months now. Social enterprise was set up last year with support of the Kutaisi Education, Development and Employment Center. Few months ago the Center and organization "People in Need" have developed through joint efforts a three-year business plan for developing the social enterprise. The enterprise employs 10 socially unprotected, IDP and disabled persons. For the full text. Source: tavisupleba.ge

Imereti. The Kutaisi Regional Office of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy has hosted a monthly information meeting of local and regional CSOs. Meeting participants have discussed activities implemented by organizations. Apart from summarizing last month's activities, meeting participants have discussed events and other activities planned in November. Coordination meeting was attended also by the observers of the Zugdidi Office of the EU Observers Mission, the Advisor to the Kutaisi Municipality Mayor, Zurab Khurtsidze and the member of the Kutaisi Municipality City Council, Irma Petriashvili, Chairwoman of the Gender Consultation Council functioning with the City Council. Source: isfed.ge