Imereti. Organized by Local Democracy Agency Georgia (LDA Georgia), Mr. Beso Sulaberidze, representative of the Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), conducted a two-day training  on strategy formulation and action plan development for newly established organizations. The training was conducted  within the framework of the project “Civil Society 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. On June 3-4, 2022, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the University of Georgia, as well as the University-based Investigative Media Lab, held a conference on “Awakening of the World: A Hybrid War, Disinformation and History in CEE.” At the conference, in a roundtable, research of disinformation and challenges were discussed by experts working in this field in Georgia, also students of various Universities presented their researches at the conference.  Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

The EU has adopted the 6th package of sanctions in response to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine: Ban on import of Russian oil; Broadcasting prohibition for Russian media; De-swifting more Russian banks; Sanctions in response to war crimes. See detailed information about new EU sanctions here… and also here… Source: The EU’s page on the social network

America. On May 9-12, 2022, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, participated in the annual meeting of the Boardof Directorsof the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) in New York, USA, and in the meeting of the IOI Regional Directors. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Taso Foundation and the Center for Psychoeducation and Counseling „Sivrcany” offer group and individual play and art therapy sessions to Ukrainian children. The project is open to anyone interested in participating and aims to help Ukrainian children and their families adapt to the new environment and better cope with different hardships. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Open Society Foundation. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On June 2-3, UNICEF in partnership with the Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT) and with the support of European Union in Georgia, held a working meeting with the participation of prosecutors, mediators, social workers and psychologists involved in the diversion and mediation program, based in Tbilisi. The purpose of the workshops is to identify problems and current issues at the local level and to strengthen communication and coordination between different professionals. Read more… Source: the organization’s page on the social network

Imereti. Organized by Imereti Regional HUB – Local Democracy Agency Georgia (LDA Georgia) and Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), Akaki Tsereteli State University hosted a Civil Society Regional Forum in Kutaisi. The main purpose of the forum was to promote a culture of volunteerism, to attract potential donors and to strengthen civil society in the Imereti region. The forum was attended by local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), students, donors, representatives of self-governments and media outlets. The forum was organised within the framework of the project "Civil Society STAR Initiative: CSO's as Sustainable, Transparent, and Accountable and Resilient Development Actors in Georgia", supported by the European Union (EU) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Adjara. UNICEF Representative in Georgia, Ghassan Khalil delivered a public lecture on “Children's Rights - An Imperative on the International Agenda” at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University as part of the international conference “Early Education and Care”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On June 3-4, IDFI and The University of Georgia (UG) will hold the conference: “The World Finally Sees It”: Hybrid Warfare, Disinformation and History in CEE. The conference will engage the leading experts in the field with regional expertise and the keynote speaker. Registration is required. Please register here... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Adjara. According to the information of the UNICEF, the first International Conference on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), organized in Batumi on 2-3 June, aims to facilitate academic discussion and knowledge sharing on quality, access, and inclusion in early childhood education and care considering local and international practices. Find out more… Source: www.unicef.org

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

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...

On June 8, from 10:30 to 14:00, an employment forum will be held at the Ozurgeti Folklore Center in Guria. The aim of the forum is to facilitate the employment of young people, IDPs, people with no work experience, long-term unemployed and other vulnerable groups. Job seekers will have the opportunity to participate in the interactive Workshops on the topics: Readiness for work and volunteering. Up to 30 small and medium companies will present the existing vacancies for employment and internship at the forum. More than 300 job seekers will take part in the event and will have the opportunity to meet a potential employer, talk about the desired vacancy and demonstrate their skills through direct communication. The Employment Forum is funded by the European Union and is organized by the Institute for Innovation and Change (ICI), the project "Skills for Employment and Cooperation - Perspectives for the Regions of Georgia (SECTORs)"; Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) Project “Learning, Training, Achieving and Building Employment (Learn for employment!) LEARN "; United Nations Association of Georgia (UNAG) Project " “Local Investments in Networks for Knowledge and Skill-share” LINKS,  State Employment Service Agency (SESA). If you are a job seeker and want to participate in the forum, register at the link. Source: una.ge

Adjara. Transparency International Georgia's Committees of Concerned Citizens, On May 14, applied to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Adjara with a request to rehabilitate the public school building in the village of Bodzauri Khulo Municipality. According to the TI Georgia, the school needs to renovate the gym, equip a reading space and a comfortable ramp for people with disabilities, and upgrade the school computer room and laboratories. On May 27, the organization received a letter from the Ministry stating that they will take the needs of the Bodzauri school into account in the 2023 budget. “We welcome the position of the Ministry and call on the school administration and the local community to be involved in the process of preparing the project proposal to solve the identified problems”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. June 1 is International Children's Day, which has a special significance in the process of raising awareness of the rights of the child. According to the statement of the Public Defender of Georgia, in order to ensure proper protection of children’s rights in the country, it is necessary to: Increase the effectiveness of child welfare support programmes and services, develop additional targeted programmes and ensure their geographical accessibility; Ensure timely and effective management of the deinstitutionalization process, in order to provide each child with safe and family-like Read more... Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Georgia’s civil society and grassroots movement “Step Towards Europe”, met with Carl Hartzell, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia and handed over a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission. “We, the authors of the letter, ask the President of the European Commission Dr. Ursula von der Leyen for the support for Georgia’s application for candidacy for EU membership. Granting the candidacy status would be a recognition of the European aspirations of the people of Georgia and a way to accelerate the country’s progress in the policy areas of crucial importance. We genuinely hope that in June, Georgia, along with Moldova and Ukraine, will earn the status of a candidate country of the European Union. Granting Candidate status would open a new chapter in the history of the three nations”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Mtskheta-Mtianeti. On May 30, members of the Taso Foundation team held a working meeting with Dusheti Municipality Mayor and City Hall representatives. The aim of the meeting was to select new target communities/villages in Dusheti Municipality and to determine future plans for gender budgeting. The project is implemented in partnership with UN Women Georgia , Kakheti Regional Development Fund (KRDF), and CARE Caucasus. 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

Albaneti. On May 23-27, 2022, the first meeting of the Platform for Dialogue Between Historians was organized by the European Union and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berat, Albania. “Topics discussed on meeting included the role of the historian as a medium between society and government during the transitional justice period and in countries with a traumatic recent past. Participants discussed international projects and researches that aim to understand past in the regional and international context. Representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia spoke about revision of history textbooks in there and neighboring countries and the issue that there is no common agreement around this topic in these countries. Anton Vatcharadze delivered a speech at the meeting – “Archival openness in the former Soviet republics and the countries of the Eastern bloc”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Imereti. Within the framework of the project "Civil Society Initiative", LDA Georgia conducted training on the importance, role, stages, methods and specifics of advocacy for the members of CSOs and citizens in the target municipalities.  The trainings are being conducted by LDA Georgia within the framework of the project "Civil Society 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. According to the 2021 Open Budget Survey (OBS), conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), Georgia got 87 points out of 100 in state budget transparency. This is an improvement compared to the 2019 survey’s result (81 points). With this indicator, Georgia took first place in the world ranking of 120 countries, while according to the results of the 2019 survey, Georgia was 5th. The entire research process took approximately 18 months. The OBS 2021 assesses only events, activities, or developments that occurred up to 31 December 2020. Transparency International Georgia has been conducting this research for International Budget Partnership and assessing Georgia’s progress since 2012. According to the TI Georgia, Georgia still has challenges in terms of citizen involvement in the budget process. In particular, out of 100 possible points, Georgia received 44 points (4th place in the world) in terms of ensuring citizen participation in the budgetary process, and 74 points (21st place) in terms of budget oversight. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Samagrelo. Transparency International Georgia’s Committees of Concerned Citizens and Samegrelo branch have registered a petition demanding the construction of roads and lanes on David Jikia Street and the construction of drainage channels on Borjomi Street in Zugdidi.  “The pavement on these streets is wholly damaged, and due to the lack of a drainage system, the road and yards are flooded in rainy weather. We call on the Zugdidi Municipality Sakrebulo to support our petition, and the Zugdidi City Hall to find all the necessary resources to meet the demands of Davit Jikia and Borjomi Street citizens within a reasonable time”. Read more…  Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On May 27, 2022, the Public Defender’s Consultative Council for the Promotion, Protection and Monitoring of the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities held its 30th meeting. Newly elected members of the Council participated in the meeting, which was chaired by Deputy Public Defender Ekaterine Skhiladze. The participants discussed issues relating to the rights situation of persons with disabilities, including: challenges relating to the deinstitutionalization process, the possibility of blind people to sign documents in an appropriate format within the framework of reasonable accommodation, problems with the realization of the right to inclusive education of blind and partially sighted schoolchildren, including access to educational resources, importance of raising public and private sector awareness of issues relating to persons with disabilities and strengthening the organizations of persons with disabilities. The meeting of the Consultative Council was supported by the EU and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge