Tbilisi. Georgian Civil Society Organizations appeal to Carl Harzell, the EU ambassador in Georgia. “On behalf of the civil society of Georgia, we would like to thank you for many years of successful work in Georgia and for the support that our homeland and civil society have always felt from the European Union – and you personally. We are certain that our friendship flourished in Georgia will continue in the future and that you will remain a firm supporter of our country. Thank you for your service and the support that you have personally extended to our country, citizens and civil society”. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Imereti. According to the TI Georgia’s survey, tenders in the municipalities of Zestaponi, Terjola, and Baghdati are won by Borani LLC, a company with links to the Georgian Dream, whose main activity is the arrangement, maintenance, and repairs of road surfaces. From 2013 to July 12, 2022, the company obtained tenders and simplified procurement contracts worth GEL 34,970,860. “In the opinion of TI Georgia, the involvement of Borani LLC in the public procurements of the municipalities of Zestaponi, Terjola, and Baghdati raises doubts regarding the lawfulness of the process. Therefore, we call on the Anti-Corruption Agency of the State Security Service to study each procurement and establish whether or not they contain possible signs of corruption”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. “Thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of Georgia, Georgia will always be a part of us”. - after 4 years as the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Carl Hartzell is completing his diplomatic mission here. Watch the video message of the Ambassador and his spouse, Mette, below. Video… Source: EU’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the decision of Human Rights Center, from July 18, 2022, all offices of HRC shall be open from 10:00 to 14:00. “The decision was prompted by the desire to increase the motivation of the officers so that after a stressful work week they can have a proper time for rest, while the engagement in the work from the new business week would be much more productive. HRC takes due care of improving the working conditions of the employees. For many years, HRC includes a one-hour lunch break in the 8-hour working time”. Read more… Source: www.hrc.ge

Tbilisi. The Transparency International Georgia’s present study brings together the information on N(N)LEs established by the municipalities of Zugdidi, Poti, Abasha, Martvili, Senaki, Khobi, Tsalenjikha, Chkhorotsku, and Mestia, as well as on only those LLCs that receive subsidies from local budgets. The reporting period includes the years 2020-2022. “Ninety-two legal entities of the nine municipalities of the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Region have increased the number of employees and their salaries in 2022 – the salaries of 8,406 people working in the non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities (N(N)LEs) and limited liability companies (LLCs) – those already paid this year and to be paid until the end of the year – amount to GEL 52,237,836 in total, which is 24% of the total allocations of the budgets of the region’s municipalities”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Kakheti. On July 14th, 2022 the graduation ceremony for the project participants was held in the village Jokolo, Pankisi Gorge. Along with certificates, the successful participants revealed based on the quiz results conducted within the framework of the projects received awards. Graduation ceremony was attended by the students, parents, teachers and principals of the schools of the villages: Duisi, Jokolo and Omalo. The project “Pankisi Youth School” is being implemented by the Georgian Foundation of Strategic and International Studies and is founded through the Alumni Grants Program by the US Embassy in Georgia and aims to raise civic awareness and informal education among young people (14-18-year-olds) in Pankisi Gorge. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. In June, 2022, IDFI became a member of the Global NPO Coalition on FATF (Financial Action Task Force). The Global NPO Coalition on FATF is a loose network of diverse nonprofit organizations (NPOs). The Coalition advocates for improvement in the quality and effectiveness of FATF Mutual Evaluations with sustained outreach to the NPO sector, and the effective, risk-based implementation of FATF Recommendations affecting NPOs, particularly Recommendation 8 (R8). Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. According to the information of the Social Justice Center since Russia started waging a war in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 to 9 March (inclusive) there has been a growing demand on the registration of right over real estate by Russian, Ukrainian and Belarus nationals. Russian nationals account for the most registered property rights totaling 23.945 items. 3.350 Ukrainian nationals now own 4.423 real estates while 603 items are registered under the ownership of Belarus citizens. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Regions. CENN with the support of the German Government hosted meetings with 85 CSOs from 5 different municipalities in Georgia to support the localisation of SDGs. The training were held in Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Batumi, Telavi and Rustavi. The trainings helped raise awareness about the SDGs and their importance, the role and capabilities of various sectors, especially the civil sector, in achieving the goals. The training aimed to offer municipal non-governmental sector representatives practical steps and best practice examples to ensure their involvement in the localisation and implementation of the SDGs. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On 15 July 2022, President of Georgia issued a decree on convening an extraordinary session of the parliament from 18 July 2022, in order to consider a number of issues necessary for granting Georgia the EU candidate status. The President was addressed by 46 opposition MPs requesting that she convene an extraordinary session. The issues specified for consideration at the extraordinary session are the draft law on constitutional amendments that has already passed its first reading, and the initiated draft laws on the amendments to the Law on Common Courts and on the establishment of anticorruption agency. The consideration of aforementioned bills has been suspended in the Parliament. Transparency International Georgia calls on the members of the parliamentary majority to discuss the issues of the extraordinary session at committee sittings, take part in the extraordinary plenary sitting and support legislative changes thereby helping our country move forward on the path towards the EU integration. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. IDFI shares annual report 2021.  Annual report includes information on the achievements and progress of the organization in the following thematic directions: Open Government, Fighting Corruption, Economic and Social Policy, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Local Government, Media and Freedom of Expression, Internet and Innovations, Memory and disinformation studies. Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On July 15, 2022, the Ambassador of the United States of America to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, met with the Public Defender of Georgia. Nino Lomjaria briefed Ms. ambassador on her vision on the role of the Public Defender's institution in the process of implementing democratic reforms, which represents the main prerequisite for European integration, and spoke about the challenges existing in this direction; She also emphasized the importance of the efforts of the United States of America for the development of democratic processes in Georgia. Read more…  Source: ombudsman.ge

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

Imereti. Within the framework of the Child-Friendly Cities Initiative, UNICEF helped the Child Protection and Support Department of the Kutaisi Municipality to equip a psychologist's office. Opening of the office was attended by UNICEF Representative in Georgia, Ghassan Khalil and the Mayor of Kutaisi, Ioseb Khakhaleishvili. The United Nations Children's Fund continues its active activities in Kutaisi municipality in the direction of child rights protection. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On July 13, 2022, an audio recording was released by the media, which described the planning process of the Main Channel programme - Post Factum and contained information about journalists' confidential source. This is not the first case when we learnt about the alleged illegal surveillance of the representatives of the media. The Public Defender is concerned about the reports of alleged unauthorized wiretapping of representatives of critical media outlets, which has a negative impact on the quality of media freedom that has already been deteriorated in the recent period. In this regard, the dangerous and hostile environment created for media representatives, as well as the unjustified control of the content of programmes, is particularly noteworthy. The Public Defender will actively monitor the investigation of the alleged surveillance of the employees of the Main Channel by the Special Investigation Service and calls on the Investigation Service to periodically and proactively inform the public about the progress of the investigation. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Mac Georgia’s team of psychologists, under the supervision of Danika Stoutt, MAC’s Coordinator of Special Education, developed a training module on “Pre-academic skills and transition”. This training is part of MAC’s intensive professional support program for kindergartens. The training will be piloted in select kindergartens starting this September. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

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Tbilisi. According to the IDFI, on 13 July 2022, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) published the addendum to the Fourth Evaluation Round second compliance report for Georgia, which evaluates the progress made in implementing the outstanding recommendations since the second compliance report. According to the assessment, eight out of the 16 recommendations issued by GRECO to Georgia are still unimplemented. IDFI once again calls on authorities to acknowledge the existing challenges addressing of which is critical for successful implementation of reforms, take all necessary measures for implementing GRECO recommendations, and renew the implementation of Anti-Corruption reforms. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The first module has started within the scope of the National Security and Public Policy 2022-23 Training Program. The course on Principles of Economics is conducted by Vladimer Papava, a Senior Fellow at the Rondeli Foundation. The module involves six lectures in total. The National Security and Public Policy Training Program is implemented by the Rondeli Foundation and supported by the U.S. Government. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia established sexual harassment against a woman employed in CD Company and addressed the director of the company with a recommendation on July 5, 2022, urging him not to harass employees sexually in the future and not to create insulting, humiliating and/or degrading environment for them. Sapari NNLE represented the interests of the applicant in the Public Defender’s Office. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge