Tbilisi. Charity Humanitarian Centre "ABKHAZETI” (CHCA) has released August Newsletter. Key topics of the edition are : New Mechanisms of Communication and Involvement in the IDP Strategy Implementation; CHCA Launched a New Project; Memorandum of Understanding has been Signed; Summer Camp for Children of Small Group Homes; Maintenance Teams are Making Progress on Works; Supporting the Small Groups Homes’ Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation of Public Schools. Newsletter Source:the organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. On 10 September 2013 GSMEA held a general assembly dedicated to the review of an activity report for the 6 month period. The agenda unclouded such topics as: GSMEA’s involvement with the dispute resolution commission of ministry of finance; ongoing and new projects. Source: gsmea.ge

Tbilisi. The EU Delegation to Georgia asks for comments and suggestions by Civil Society for the programming of the:  Civil Society Organisations/Local Authorities (CSO/LA) Programme 2014-2017(which replaces the Non-State Actor and Local Authorities in Development Programme). Consultation for the programming of the European Instrument for Human Rights and Democracy (EIDHR) 2014-17. Source:eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia released a blog post - "Who Owns Georgia: Meet David Iakobashvili, now in control of assets formerly owned by Dato Kezerashvili”.  "In the months following the October 2012 parliamentary elections, David Iakobashvili, a Tbilisi-born, Russia-based businessman with a Swedish passport, has acquired several advertising and energy companies that, we believe, were previously controlled by former Defense Minister Davit Kezerashivli (through offshore shell companies).Iakobashvili has  apparently been Kezerashvili’s business partner in several energy companies since 2011. Due to the fact that these holdings were through anonymous offshore shell entities and because of his very low public profile in Georgia, Iakobashvili’s involvement only became publicly known after the change of government, when he stepped up his activities", says the blog post. For full text Source:transparency.ge

Tbilisi. MDF calls on law enforcers to study statements by Expressnews head.  "thy are calling me from hidden numbers categorically requesting for me to erase the news about Maia Panjikidze circulated by Expressnews.  After I categorically refuse to do so they threaten to break my hands and cut my head off,” Irakli Managadze wrote on his timeline in Facebook".  MDF calls on law enforcing bodies to show interest to journalist’s information and "to immediately react to them; in order to prevent pressure on media and to protect physical safety of journalists". For full text Source:media.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information has released information obtained  from  the Municipal Board of Kaspi. The information posted on the web page includes Balance of the Organization, Bonuses of the Public Officials, Bonuses of the Employees, State Procurement. For full text Source:opendata.ge

Tbilisi. On September 5th, GASW hosted a seminar on Issues of Child Psychiatry. The seminar was conducted by Ms. Cristina Hoven, Director of Child Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Center at Columbia University in New York. Ms. Hoven introduced to participants two important studies directed by herself. One of these studies was related to children's mental health issues after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 in the United States. The second study was related to the influence of parents’ contact with the criminal justice system on the mental health of their children. Source:gasw.org

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia releases a third report on the bonuses issued in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti municipalities. This time the study covers amounts issued from 1 April to 1 July 2013."The statistics show that despite several appeals from NGOs, the situation basically remains the same", says the organization's web-page. Transparency International Georgia offers to local authorities concrete recommendations for regulating the system of awarding bonuses to civil servants. For full text Source:transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia released an article - "Proactive publication of information as a common standard in Georgia”. Article is about a new Government Decree on Electronic Request and Proactive Publication of Public Information. TI Georgia commends the decision of the government to take on the civil society recommendations to enforce the rules of proactive disclosure of public information. "TI Georgia believes that proactive publication of the listed information in open data format, in line with guidelines we have suggested so that users could easily use and process the published data, should be adopted as a common standard not only within the Executive but also across all other different branches of the government. Unfortunately, a number of key government agencies insisted that they want to continue publishing data in PDF and formats that are really difficult to use". For full text Source:transparency.ge

Tbilisi. GYLA Media Legal Defense Center Reacts on the Developments in the Public Broadcaster of Georgia. "Adoption of a decision from the side of the Board of Trustees of the Public Broadcaster (or any other agency), if it is not in line with Georgian legislation and evokes doubts on its political motives is always inadmissible, especially in pre-election period. Further, interference in the activities of the Board of the Public Broadcaster in a given form is absolutely impermissible, notwithstanding the lawfulness of its conduct", says the statement. For full text Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia released a blog post - "GPB’s Chairman should report to Parliament, explain how to resolve Public Broadcaster’s ongoing crisis”. "We recommend the Parliament of Georgia to invite the Chairman of the Board in the coming days, to facilitate a broad discussion and to request a report on the situation at the Public Broadcaster and on how the Board plans to move the GPB out of the current crisis", says blog post. For full text Source:transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia, Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) and International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) released a statement about Georgian Public Broadcaster. "Less than two months ahead the presidential elections, the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), once again, is at the center of politically charged allegations and developments. We believe it is of key importance for the GPB to provide a forum for political debates in the pre-election period where the candidates can present their programs and face the professional scrutiny of reporters. This will allow viewers to make an informed decision about who deserves their vote", says the statement. For full text  Souce:transparency.ge  

The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre has published a brochure highlighting the key priorities of Regional Cooperation in the European Neighbourhood. Brochure Source:cenn

Tbilisi. September 4, representative of 5 TV Companies have signed the Pre-election  Code of Conduct of the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics. Those were: the Georgian Public broadcaster, Adjara Public Broadcaster, Rustavi 2, Maestro and Imedi TV. According to the Code of Conduct, the TV Companies agree to be in compliance with the ethical standards and to provide balanced coverage of pre-election information.  The project which the Charter of journalistic Ethics and Memo 98, a Slovak media monitoring organization, started before the elections scheduled for October 27, is realized with the financial support of Open Society Georgia. The goal of the project is to aid Georgian media to adequately perform their role and provide objective information regarding the presidential candidates during the pre-elections period. Pre-election  Code of Conduct  (geo) Source:media.ge

Tbilisi. On 1st September, 2013,  the Decree N: 219 of the Government of Georgia "About Electronic Requests and Proactive Disclosure of Public Information” dated 26th August, signed by the Prime Minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili went into force.The Decree prescribes, significant initiatives, developed with the coordination of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) by the civil society organizations and the Analytical Department of the Ministry of Justice. Civil Society Recommendations have been widely discussed at the workshops and public discussions with the intensive participation of independent international and local experts. The Final Package of the Recommendations was elaborated in the framework of the IDFI and USAID G-3 program Joint Project "Improving of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Increasing Public Awareness on FOIA.”The Decree contains seven sections, defining standards of Public information disclosure, rules of request of electronic request of public information and the List of Information to be Published Proactively. For full text Source:ogpgeoblog.wordpress.com

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia released a blog post- "Salome Zourabichvili should have been allowed to run in presidential elections”. "We do not agree with this CEC’s decision, as we believe that Salome Zourabichvili should be allowed to run in the presidential elections.Neither the Election Code nor the Constitution of Georgia requires that a presidential candidate must hold only Georgian citizenship", says the blog post. Organization also believes, that not allowing Salome Zourabichvili to run in the elections will have a negative effect on the citizens’ trust towards the 2013 Presidential Elections in Georgia. For full text Source:transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia posted in the organization's page in the social network: "Illegally recorded video materials disclosing information about the private lives of citizens, which are stored in the archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are finally going to be destroyed publicly, in front of the media. The event will be held at the so-called Moduli building at 3:00pm on Thursday, August 5. The decision was made on Monday during an expanded meeting of a special committee set up in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was attended by the Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs". Source:the organization's page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information has released information obtained  from  the Municipal Boards of Shuakhevi and Tianeti. The information posted on the web page includes Balance of the Organization,   Bonuses of the Public Officials, Bonuses of the Employees, State Procurement, Purchases and Maintenance Expenses of Vehicles, Employees Dismissed based on their Own Statement, Employees Dismissed by the Administration.  Information from Municipal Board of Shuakhevi  Information from Municipal Board of Tianeti Source:opendata.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia released a blog post - "What you need to know about the new Personal Data Protection Inspector”.  "Georgia has a new government authority that is tasked with protecting people’s right to privacy. Its powers however may not be sufficient to stop the Ministry of Interior’s unchecked systematic surveillance of electronic communication", says the blog post. For full text Source:transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information has released information obtained  from  the Municipal Boards of Oni, Samtredia and Sachkhere. The information posted on the web page includes Balance of the Organization,   Bonuses of the Public Officials, Bonuses of the Employees, State Procurement, Purchases and Maintenance Expenses of Vehicles, Employees Dismissed based on their Own Statement, Employees Dismissed by the Administration.  Information from Municipal Board of Oni Information from Municipal Board of Samtredia  Information from Municipal Board of Sachkhere Source:opendata.ge

Tbilisi. On the 30th of August the staff meeting of the NEO-USAID project "Developing and Maintaining of IDP Homeowners/Tenants Associations” was held in the CHCA Tbilisi office. During the meeting the participants discussed the past stages of the project and the achieved deliverables. The first part of the meeting was dedicated to the NEO supported online database, which generates the uploaded data in relevant system and provides the relevant online reports. This part of the meeting was also attended by the employees of another NEO-USAID funded project "Income Generation and Business Support Initiative”. Due to the transition to the next stage of the project "Developing and Maintaining of IDP Homeowners/Tenants Associations” the staff designed the schedule of business training series for the project beneficiaries and the monitoring plan for the HOAs established within the project. During the meeting the project staff also discussed the new initiative - design of the HOA common fund registry book, which will serve as a tool for the expense control and development of the culture of monetary contribution to the common fund. Source:the organization's page in the social network

Tbilisi. Documentary film "Preschool Education” made by Civitas Georgica on the importance of Alternative preschool education centers in Georgia. Film