Switzerland. The researcher of disinformation and memory studies, Nino Gozalishvili, presented her report: “Disinformation and Democracy: Challenges in the Context of Transitional Democracy” for the students of three Georgian universities in the summer school: Territorial Challenges and Opportunities for Multicultural Democracies” which was organized by the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Regions. In June 2022, employees of the Gender Department and the Department on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the Public Defender’s Office - Gvantsa Kharatishvili, Mariam Gvidiani, Ana Lobzhanidze and Nino Valikova held information meetings with women living in the municipalities of Kvemo Kartli, Adjara and Imereti, including women with disabilities and persons employed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The purpose of the meetings was to raise the awareness of women living in the regions about violence against women and domestic violence, as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Adjara. Batumi shares waste management practices with Samtredia. Representatives of two municipalities met in Batumi to discuss different models of waste sorting and recycling. They also visited waste collectors to see how plastic waste gets prepared for recycling. “UNDP’s behavioural experiment, carried out in Batumi and Tbilisi, proved that people are ready to recycle if they get better access to municipal infrastructure and services. We strongly believe that waste sorting and recycling will become a reality in Georgia, benefitting people, cities and the environment”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Adjara and Racha. On July 5 and 8, 2022, within the framework of the “Civil Society  STAR Initiative” project, job shadowings were organized in Adjara and Racha municipalities.  Representatives of local civil society organizations visited the “Independent  Journalists’ House” in Batumi municipality, and the offices of fund “Abkhazintercont” and “Adult Education Centre” in Ambrolauri municipality.  As a result of the activity, the experience of CSO’s/CBO’s representatives of  the Imereti region increased in the direction of management and development of the organization. The circle of contact persons in the form of organizations working in the bordering regions has also increased. The study visits are being organized 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

Tbilisi. Today, Ambassador Hartzell held a farewell meeting with civil society organisations. They shared views on how best for Georgia to implement the 12 priorities outlined by the European Commission. The Ambassador also thanked for the support and commitment of Georgian civil society and pledged the EU’s continued support in the months and years ahead. Read more… Source: EU’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. In the framework of the training program “Georgia's Future Civil Service Leaders,” the Estonian expert, Dr. René Värk visited the Foundation. The professor overviewed the current security challenges and related topics: the use of armed force, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. With the legal assistance of "Rights Georgia", a citizen of the Syrian Arab Republic won the court dispute regarding the issuance of a study residence permit in the Supreme Court of Georgia. Read more... Source: rights.ge

Tbilisi. Within the framework of the “Women's Economic Empowerment” project, participating women completed the training course “How to Start and Develop a Business” which was conducted by qualified trainers of BDO Academy. “As a result of the training course, women learned how to transform an idea into a business plan, financial and tax issues, branding and marketing, sales techniques and more. The project is implemented by Taso Foundation with the support of the UN Women and the Government of Norway”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On May 30, 2022, OECD published a pilot report on the assessment of the corruption environment in Georgia. "Even though the report does not include information about the scores received by Georgia and the ratings of fulfillment of indicators in each performance area, based on the descriptive part of the monitoring report it can be said that almost all the thirteen areas are characterized by a low level of performance". Learn more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On July 4- 6 2022, EU Cyber Direct in cooperation with GCSD, conducted a three-day event “Building A Common Future While Managing Cyber Crises/Cyber Consultations with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.” The event aimed to better understand the security environment across the region, identify common interests and opportunities for cooperation in strengthening cyber resilience at national and regional levels. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the TI Georgia’s new survey, financial inequality between political parties and ineffective state oversight of political corruption remain major problems in Georgia. “Both in terms of total revenues and expenditures (up to GEL 40 million each), the ruling party's finances were almost twice as high as the other 16 parties combined, indicating an extremely unequal distribution of finances between the parties, which is a traditional problem of Georgian politics. Revenues received by political parties: 17 political parties received a total of GEL 43 million of revenues in 2021. The ruling party - Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia got 60% - about GEL 26 million of this amount. The United National Movement was second with GEL 5.1 million and Lelo for Georgia was third with GEL 3.3 million; Expenditures of political parties: 17 political parties spent a total of GEL 41.9 million in 2021, of which 62% - GEL 25.8 million was spent by the Georgian Dream party. The United National Movement was second with GEL 5.1 million, and Lelo for Georgia was third with GEL 3.3; The alleged cases of political corruption or other types of violations: In 2021, the companies connected with the donors of the ruling party had won public tenders worth about GEL 320 million and simplified public procurement contracts of GEL 19 million. During the same period, the donors directly or indirectly affiliated with these companies contributed over GEL 4.5 million for the benefit of the Georgian Dream, is noted in the survey. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Kakheti. The new educational and energy efficiency centre at Kabali’s public school helps schoolchildren, teachers and parents understand how renewable energy works. It showcases amazing everyday solutions, like mini solar panels, energy-efficient ovens, wind power generators and biogas digesters. “Over 200 village residents already attended information sessions and training courses. The centre engages twenty local schoolchildren who offer educational tours to their peers and tell them about the advantages of renewable energy. This green educational project was rolled out by the Lagodekhi Local Action Group (LAG) with European Union in Georgia and UNDP Georgia support under #ENPARD, the EU-funded programme for rural development. Educational activities are organised in partnership with the non-governmental organization “Energy Efficiency Centre”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. At the request of locals, an interdepartmental commission established by the Decree of the Government of Georgia is examining events that transpired in Itkhvisi in March 2022, three months after geodynamic processes damaged residents’ homes in the area. The absence of an independent expert and a local representative in the commission's composition creates mistrust among Itkhvisi’s residents. Doubts are exacerbated by the fact that people are unaware of the commission's methodological approach. Furthermore, before the completion of the commission's work, officials of the local government offered insufficient and legally ambiguous compensation to affected families. The local population requests more information about the commission's work and asks the involved state authorities to ensure the commission's operations are transparent by making its protocols, plans, and deadlines public. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. On June 30, 2022, a webinar was held as part of “DRIVE: Digital Research and Impact for Vulnerable E-citizens”, a joint project of the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the eGovernance Academy (eGA). The training was based on the report on digital vulnerability published in May, intended for civil society organizations. It covered the stages of civic engagement, tools for collaboration between stakeholders, and effective communication issues. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center publishes a survey: Electronic System of Case Distribution in Courts. “The present document is the third monitoring report. It critically analyzes legislative changes introduced in the rule on electronic system of case distribution, updated statistics, and the remaining challenges concerning the system from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. The report also reviews the shortcomings of the electronic case distribution that were identified during previous reporting periods but no further steps were taken to eliminate them”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Tranpsarency International Georgia publishes the blogpost: Who Runs Georgia Irakli Garibashvili - Prime Minister with an Informal Master. “Who Runs Georgia is a new series of publications aimed at highlighting the allegations of corruption against the country’s ruling elite”. Read more… Source: transparency.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. UNA Georgia's Media Platform Civil.ge celebrates its 21st anniversary. “Civil Georgia is a Tbilisi-based free daily news website, operated in three languages (English, Russian, Georgian), which UNA Georgia created with the purpose of filling the gap of trust in Georgia’s divided, politically biased media. During the last 21 years of its uninterrupted service, Civil.ge continues to serve this unique purpose. UNAG launched Civil Georgia (www.civil.ge) in 2001, which soon succeeded in becoming one of the very few sources of information that enjoy unreserved trust by local and international readers in Georgia. With over 1,250,000 unique users from all corners of the globe in 2022, Civil.ge reaches out to the policy and academic communities in Georgia, as well as in Europe and the U.S., to officials working in EU and international organizations, as well as Tbilisi-based foreign diplomatic corps”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the GDI, exactly one year since the July 5, 2021 violence, the ECHR has started communicating the application submitted by the GDI: “Tbilisi Pride” and others v. Georgia”. The Court considers that the application may become an impact case. “The case concerns the events of July 5, 2021 - homophobic violence, attack and threats against the LGBTQI+ community and activists. Arguing that the Georgian authorities did not act and their response was ineffective, the applicants have requested the European Court find the violation of Article 3 (No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment), Article 11 (freedom of assembly), Article 13 (Right to an effective remedy) and Article 14 (enjoyment of the rights and freedoms without discrimination) of the European Convention of Human Rights. The Court has communicated the application regarding each article to the parties. This means that the Georgian authorities must submit their response before October 13, 2022 to all questions asked by the Court. Among those, the Court asks: Did the authorities’ statements made in respect of the pride march exacerbate the violence which erupted on 5 July 2021? Did the state meet its obligation to prevent and effectively investigate violence? The Court has accepted the GDI’s motion and has invited the Government to provide copies of the relevant internal documents concerning the planning of the security arrangements undertaken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in advance of the impugned events. Significantly, the trials at the Tbilisi City Court ended a year after the July 5 events. However, no organizer of the violence has been punished, and those who were found guilty received minimal penalties. GDI is the legal representative of Tbilisi Pride and LGBTQI+ activists at the European Court”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. On July 1, 2022, IDFI held an online presentation of the regional results of the Global Data Barometer (#GDB). An online event aimed at sharing the key findings, obstacles, and recommendations for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region based on thematic modules of the Global Data Barometer. Learn more... Source: idfi.ge

Adjara. On July 3, a meeting with media representatives was held in Batumi on the immunization program and its importance, as well as the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the information of the Rights Georgia, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber delivers three arrest warrants. “30 June 2022, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’ or ‘Court’) issued the public redacted versions of arrest warrants for three individuals in the context of the situation in Georgia: Mr Mikhail Mayramovich Mindzaev, Mr Gamlet Guchmazov and Mr David Georgiyevich Sanakoev”. Read more… Source: www.icc-cpi.int