Tbilisi.The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has released the staff lists of the self-government units for 2012 and the 10 December reports submitted to the President and Parliament. IDFI has disseminated information on the staff lists of 15 municipalities of Georgia and the 10 December reports received from 18 municipalities. Staff lists. 10 December reports Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Samegrelo. The Strategy and International Relations Research Fund and the NGO "Imedi" (hope) have presented on February 25 in Zugdidi the results of study on the problems of the local population living along the administrative border of Abkhazia. Interviewing was carried out in 11 settlements located along the administrative border, and total of 500 persons were interviewed.

Tbilisi. Transparency International – Georgia has released another podcast of parliamentary news. You can listen to the topics such as the amendments to the Law on the Common Courts, a dialogue between the majority and minority on the constitutional issues, new Ambassadors, discussion on the regulation of national garment. Podcast of parliamentary news: 25 February. Source: transparency.ge

Batumi. On February 22, the Heinrich Boll Foundation has organized another discussion in the Batumi Civic Engagement Center on the topic "From center or to center". According to the deputy of the Adjara Supreme Council Aleksandre Chitishvili, the legislative body works in this direction and specific initiatives are being prepared. In the experts' opinion, increasing the functions of self-government and the strong local governance are the determinants of the state's degree of democracy. The civil society and media representatives and students have attended the meeting.

Svaneti. As part of the Zemo Svaneti Project of the Consultations and Training Center, at the initiative of the German volunteers, the English language club was set up in the Mestia Resource Center, where the youngsters from Zemo Svaneti have the opportunity to discuss with them topics of interest, as well as to improve their English skills through games, movies and songs.The volunteers will work in the project for one year. They have arrived as part of the volunteer program of the German organization EED, which provides for the secondment of German youngsters to partner organizations to do volunteer work for the period of one year.Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. Students of the 18th intake of the weekend multiethnic school of the Caucasian House have visited the well-known Gari Davtiani family theatre in Tbilisi. Following his death, is spouse and children continue with the activities. A toy theatre located in the small house of the old Tbilisi yard turned out to be extremely impressive for children. There each item, picture or accessory breathes with art, and seems that the toys are alive.The weekend multiethnic school project is funded by the European Fund "Horizon". Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Kakheti. On February22-23, the workshop was held in the Telavi Media Cafe concerning the presentation of the project "Terror Topography - Soviet Telavi".In addition, the preparatory meeting for the project was held with the interested groups.Irakli Khvadagiani, researcher of the Soviet Past Research Laboratory: "These days we meet with the target group and the population interested in this issue.We would like to set up a group that will obtain the information on Soviet Telavi independently and provide it to us. We hope to see high involvement and with this step these people will preserve history. There are people that are live examples of that period and also the families, whose ancestors were the victims of repressions.""Terror Topography - Soviet Telavi" is a joint project of the Community Development Center and the Soviet Past Research Laboratory.

Kakheti. On February22, the amendments to be made to the Labor Code were discussed in the Telavi Office of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association.Interested persons, NGO and media representatives have attended the discussion. According to the meeting participants, to improve the Labor Code, it should be amended in a way that the rights of the employed are protected to the maximum extent.

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information has released information on the number of dismissed staff from the Public Broadcaster. After 20 October 2012, 164 employees were dismissed from the Public Broadcaster, while the contracts were executed with only 22 new employees. Majority of recruited staff was appointed on the same positions, from which the employees were dismissed in previous months. "Unfortunately, to the question on the reasons of dismissals the Public Broadcaster has explained in the letter that "labor contracts were terminated for various reasons in accordance with the procedure established by law", however, the letter does not refer to the specific reasons of dismissal", says the organization's web page. For the full text. Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information has released another video "Change the Law". The video is designed for those interested in being involved in the legislative process and achieving the changes. The web page of the Legislative Herald of Georgia provides a possibility to search for a document of concern, express an opinion in respect of the law or draft law, initiate the amendment, and approve and support other comments. Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. The Executive Director of "Open Society - Georgia" Foundation KetiKhutsishvili and the Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia SozarSubari have made a joint statement on the development of "C" Hepatitis prevention, diagnostics and treatment program in the penitentiary system.Three experts will be selected through competition with assistance from "Open Society - Georgia" Foundation, who will start working on the program document by the end of March.The document drafted by the experts will be discussed by the NGOs and experts working on public health issues, following which it will be submitted to the government and donor organizations for funding. Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. The book "Who Owned Georgia in 2003-2012” was presented on February 22 in the bookstore "Ligamus”. A book is a joint work of Transparency International – Georgia and journalist Paul Rimple.The book "tells the stories of businessmen and companies that owned or still own significant shares in sectors such as television broadcasting, communications, advertising market, oil import and distribution, pharmaceutical market and minerals. The book in addition discusses the links of these companies with the representatives of former authorities or persons in close relations with them.” The Book – Who Owned Georgia in 2003-2012. Source: transparency.ge

Imereti. The Women’s Information Center and Association "Dea” have organized a meeting between the members of the Parliament’s Council for Gender Equality and representatives of the Women’s Development Committee of Zugdidi and Poti. One of the key topics of the meeting concerned the increase of women’s political activities and broader involvement of women at the decision-making levels. Leader women got familiar with the work of the Council for Gender Equality, listened to the Council’s action strategy and raised the issues of concern to them in the field of gender equality and women’s rights.Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. The Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia has published the manual of social entrepreneurship. The book includes information on social entrepreneurship and the business plan, objectives and tasks of a social enterprise. The publication is designed for the persons interested in social entrepreneurship and the CSOs. The manual was published with financial support of the "Open Society – Georgia” Foundation. The Manual. Source: cse.ge

Tbilisi. The Soviet Past Research Laboratory has released the documentary "Stories Told Alive – Memories of Repressed Women”. Key heroes of the documentary are women and their families who became victims of mass repressions carried out in Georgia. Stories are told by individuals who went through repressions themselves, as well as their offsprings who know these stories from narration. The documentary was produced as part of the project "Lost Story – Memory of Repressed Women”, with financial support of the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Association of Public Universities.The Film.Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. The organization Georgian Democratic Initiative has released a legal opinion on the amendments to be made to the Labor Code. In view of the draft law published on the official web site of LEPL "Legislative Herald of Georgia” of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, the document released by the organization states: "novelties presented in the draft law should be in general assessed positively, as they aim to better protect the rights of the employed. Nevertheless, several provisions of the draft law do not improve the state of the employee, and to the contrary, while a part of provisions is contradictory and vague.The document describes in detail all vague articles and comments referred to by the organization. The Opinion. Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. On February22, the Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia SozarSubari and the Executive Director of the "Open Society - Georgia" Foundation KetevanKhutsishvili will make a joint statement in the Foundation's Office dedicated to the development of the "C" Hepatitis prevention, diagnostics and treatment program in the penitentiary system.Three experts selected by the Foundation through competition will start working on the program by the end of March.The event will be held in the office of "Open Society - Georgia" Foundation at 14:00. Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. The Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development has released another video as part of the project "Civil Society for Development". In the video, representatives of regional civil society discuss the importance of citizen participation in local self-governments based on their own beliefs. Video: Importance of Citizen Participation. Source: partipate.ge

Adjara. On February 20, a public discussion was held in the Batumi Civic Engagement Centre on the economic development strategy of Batumi in 2012-2015. Representatives of the state, non-governmental organizations and media have attended the meeting. A strategic plan was presented but holding a discussion over it became impossible due to the harsh debates on the issue. This document was drafted with the financial support of "Good Governance in Georgia Program / G3". The Program foresees the development of socio-economic development strategies for 10 self-governments/municipalities of Georgia.

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information has released the study "Public Relations Strategy of Public Institutions". According to the study, 21 out of 23 public institutions do not have a special document for public relations. Only one public institution - the Ministry of Defense of Georgia has developed an action plan for public relations in 2012."It is crucial that each public institution develops the communication strategy and the detailed action plan, which would write out not only visions and priorities, but also the concrete activities to be implemented for achieving the set objectives by the specific dates, including the persons responsible for their implementation. Such document would simplify communication between the public and the government, make the work of a state institution more fruitful and the state services available to a broader pool of persons", says the organization's web page. For the full text. Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Samtskhe-Javakheti. On February 20, the World day of Social Justice was celebrated in Akhaltsikhe. The event was organized in the city's central park at the initiative of organizations "All for All" and the "Union of Democrat Meskhetians". During the event the organizers have offered to the employees of public agencies to move around the persons with disabilities in wheelchairs. Such an experiment aimed to demonstrate the problems experienced by the persons with disabilities in Akhaltsikhe and the extent of city's adaptation to them. Representatives of local self-government have also attended the event.

Tbilisi.Article 42 of the Constitution has released a statement concerning the shots aired by the televisions on February 19. The statement says that "along the right to disseminate information, television companies and individual journalists bear an important responsibility – to treat with extreme caution the broadcasting of materials that may infringe upon the human rights and freedoms."In its statement the organization focuses on specific circumstances, which make it believe that the "disseminated shots are incomplete and inconsistent with reality." The Statement. Source: the organization's page in the social network.