Tbilisi. On November12, the First Lady of Georgia Sandra Roelofs has visited Caritas Georgia and got familiar with the organization’s health and social protection program. The guest was greeted by the Director of Caritas Georgia, Padre Kshistov Koval and the Manager of the Health and Social Service Nona Piraeva. They have briefed the First Lady of Georgia about ongoing programs and future plans.Sandra Roelofs has visited Caritas for the second time. She met with the beneficiaries and invited one of them, musician Liana Megrelidze to Radio "Muse” to talk about the professional experience and classical music. For full text. Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Adjara. On November 15, the representatives of the youth organization "Art Way” met with the members of the Batumi-based volunteer club "Batusi” and the students of the Shota Rustaveli State University in the Batumi Civic Engagement Center.The meeting aimed to select the participants for the activities planned as part of the project "Re-Animation”. Discussed at the meeting were the protection of rights of the blind and the organization of city-wide theatrical events, flash mobs and other activities by the youngsters focused on the solution of problems of the blind.Persons interested in participation in the project can send their personal data by e-mail at – ngoartway@gmail.com. Registration of interested persons will last until November 25.

Tbilisi. The organization "Identity” plans to deliver a cycle of trainings in the discussion facilitation skills and invites 8 interested persons to participate. The event will be held as part of the gay-straight alliance project. After the training the participants will lead 16 meetings planned within the framework of the same project, aimed at social integration of the LGBT group representatives and rehabilitation of these persons in the society.The training is designed mainly for the representatives of psychologist, social worker and pedagogical professions, however, the persons of any profession and age can submit the application and participate in the project, who is ready to work in the future on the social integration of LGBT persons. Facilitators selected within the project framework will be reimbursed for the undertaken work.Deadline for filling in the application forms is 21 November 2012. For full text. Source: identoba.com

Samegrelo. On November 15, the Civil Society Institute (CSI) has summarized the 5-year results of the "Poverty Reduction Models in Rural Areas” program in Zugdidi, in the conference hall of the regional administration.According to the Project Manager Ia Gabunia, the project was implemented in Samegrelo and Adjara with the financial support of international organization "Oxfam”. She also said that the key objective of the project was to improve the living conditions of the population living in extreme poverty in the rural areas. As part of the project, 150 families were provided with all necessary means in form of a production capital to launch their own production."Initially 100% of the production capital was funded for the farmers’ groups, and afterwards our participation was reducing by 25% on a yearly basis. After five years the beneficiaries became able to fully fund their own economies”, – Ia Gabunia said.The documentary depicting the activities carried out as part of the project was shown at the meeting. Representatives of local self-government and NGOs have attended the meeting.

Adjara. On November 15, the LEPL Children and Youth National Center functioning under the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs of Georgia has held the information meeting in the conference hall of the Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University with the representatives of Adjara-based NGOs and students, where the project "All Youth Services in One Space” was presented. The web portal was developed as part of the project, through which the youngsters will be able to obtain and search for the necessary materials in a simple way. This project is implemented with the support of the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF. The Web Portal.

Tbilisi. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its regional organization, the European Federation of Journalists calls on the Parliament of Georgia to prioritize the reformation of the broadcasting sector, which has ended up in a post-election chaos. For full text. Source: media.ge

Adjara. The "East-West Management Institute” held the presentation of "Open Day Grants” on November 14 in the Batumi Civic Engagement Center. The meeting aimed to provide to the students of the Batumi University the information on these grants and explain the principles of filling in the project proposals. The meeting rolled out in a question-and-answer mode and the students could ask questions and receive exhaustive answers from the competent persons.

Tbilisi. The civil society organization "Tiflis Hamqari” addresses the Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia Guram Odisharia and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Education, Science and Culture Ivane Kighuradze with an open letter. The letter states that in order to solve the problems in the field of cultural heritage it is crucial to declare the moratorium on the new large-scale constructions in the historical part of Tbilisi, as well as to establish with the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia the commission consisting of qualified staff, which will assess the expediency of objects or projects that attract huge public interest.The organization offers to the Ministry of Culture to start working on the amendments to the Law on Cultural Heritage based on consultations with the field professionals, as well as calls on the authorities to secure public discussions prior to the approval of large-scale projects. Further, the organization finds it equally important to correct the historic-cultural back-up plan of Tbilisi and approve it afterwards."Tiflis Hamqari” is ready to actively cooperate with respective agencies in relation to the above-described issues.The Open Letter.Source: the page of "Tiflis Hamqari" in the social network.

Adjara. On November 14, the youth organization and the "Civil Advisers’ Committee” functioning with the Sakrebulo of self-governing city Batumi have organized in the Batumi Civic Engagement Center the public discussion on the "Protection level of rights of the persons with disabilities, and the blind in particular, in the Adjara Region”. The discussion aimed at highlighting the problems of this segment of society and carrying out the dialogue between the Ministry of Health, the Social Protection Office of the City Hall, local governmental agencies, NGOs and the blind in order to solve the problems of persons with disabilities and to develop various recommendations.The meeting was attended by the members and Chair of the Union of the Blind, Deputy Minister of Health, staff members of the City Hall and the representatives of CSOs working on the rights of persons with disabilities and the media.

Samtskhe-Javakheti. The "International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy” has organized a press-conference on November 14 in the Akhaltsikhe Civic Engagement Center. Attending public was informed about the events carried out since January 2012 until present for engaging the public in the work of local self-government, and what were the post-advocacy results.It was noted that several important problems of the city were resolved with assistance of the initiative groups consisting of local active youngsters. Initiative groups, which have researched these problems and addressed the self-governments with recommendations afterwards, were set up as part of the project – "Participation of the Civil Society in the Local Decision-Making Process”. The project is implemented by the organization ISFED, with the financial support of the Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) and the Swedish Agency for International Development and Cooperation (SIDA). The project aims to enhance the transparency and responsibility of local self-government authorities in the process of solution of local problems, and to improve the skills of local community organizations and media in terms of monitoring of the self-government authorities.ISFED was implementing the similar project in six municipalities of Georgia. The organization will hold the final conference at the end of November in Tbilisi.

Imereti. The training in HIV/AIDS was delivered on November 10 in the Kutaisi Civic Engagement Center for the members of the civic clubs established as part of the Civic Education and Teacher Training Program. The US volunteers participating in the Peace Corps program have acted as trainers. 45 schoolchildren have participated in the training, who will also deliver the trainings of this content in their own schools. For full text. Source: kedec.ge

Adjara. The Memorandum of Mutual Cooperation was executed on November 14 between the association of the elderly "Deserving Old Age” and the Kobuleti Cultural Center. The Memorandum foresees the organization of joint business meetings, planning and implementation of the new projects, as well as holding the celebrations, events and charity initiatives.It was decided at the very first meeting that the Kobuleti Cultural Center will host the New Year’s events for the elderly beneficiaries planned by the Association. For full text. Source: awa.org.ge

Adjara. On November 13, the Civil Society Institute and the Batumi Civic Engagement Center have organized a public discussion in the Batumi Civic Engagement Center on the "Challenges of local NGOs and participation in the formation of ongoing policy in the region”. The meeting aimed to identify the problems and challenges facing the CSOs, to share the experience among each other in working with the state agencies, as well as to develop the mechanisms of partnership/participation between the local organizations and the government within the framework of formation of the region’s policy.Local NGOs and media representatives have participated in the discussion.

Tbilisi. On November12 the office of the Caucasus Institute has hosted the workshop on the students’ debates. During the meeting the students of various Tbilisi-based universities got familiar with the rules and topics, under which they will debate on November 25.The meeting was organized by the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development. Student debates are organized as part of the project "Civil Society for Development: Decentralization and Participation in Georgia”, with the financial support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For full text. Source:participate.ge

Samegrelo. The meeting hall of the Zugdidi Sakrebulo will host a meeting at 12 pm on November 15, organized by the Civil Society Institute and Oxfam on "Poverty reduction models in rural areas”. Presented at the meeting will be the book and documentary on the poverty reduction models in rural areas approbated by these organizations.In 2007-2012 the Civil Society Institute has implemented the project in the area of poverty reduction, which covered 2 regions (Samegrelo, Adjara) of Georgia, and the key objective of which was to promote the poverty reduction. The families living in extreme poverty, which were selected in advance, were provided with the production capital, were trained theoretically and practically in potato-growing, vegetable-gardening, cattle-growing and bee-keeping. In parallel, the individual consultations and advice were also delivered. As a result, the volume and quality of production grown by the beneficiaries, and therefore their income has increased.Representatives of the local authorities and international and local CSOs operating in the region will be invited to the event.

Kakheti.The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the CSO "Media Center Kakheti” and the Gmina Pluzhnitsa Development Association – Poland on the cooperation in Gurjaani.According to the Director of "Media Center Kakheti” Maia Mamulashvili, pursuant to the memorandum executed between the organizations, the organizations will exchange information and share their experience on the implemented and planned projects:"Signing the Memorandum is extremely important, as this will result in close contacts with one of the strongest NGO networks of Poland, Pluzhnitsa. In the future we will initiate and implement joint projects.”According to the Head of Gmina Pluzhnitsa Development Association Miroslava Tomashik, they will support various initiatives.

Kakheti. The meeting was held on November 12 in the Telavi Media Cafe with the support of the "Community Development Center”. At the meeting, the laboratory researching the Soviet past has presented the documentary "Great Soviet Terror: Human Stories”. The discussion took place after the movie with participation of the Director of the Literature Museum Lasha Bakradze and the researcher Irakli Khvadagiani. According to Lasha Bakradze, similar meetings with participation of the youth are extremely important.The students, lecturers, journalists, NGO sector representatives and the interested citizens have attended the meeting.The meeting was held as part of the project "Regional Platform – Comprehending the Soviet Past”. The project is supported by the "Open Society – Georgia” Foundation and is implemented by Sovlab.

Samtskhe-Javakheti.On November 13, the introduction meeting was held between the Chair of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality Sakrebulo and the local CSO representatives.The NGO sector representatives have initiated the meeting, main topic of which concerned the local budget related issues.The Chairman of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality Sakrebulo Malkhaz Gikoshvili has left the office last week. Member of the faction "Georgian Dream” Oleg Sandroshvili was elected as the new Chair of the Sakrebulo, who will soon answer the population’s questions in the traditional online-conference mode.

Kvemo Kartli. The training was held on November 10 and 11 in the Marneuli Civic Engagement Center and the Bolnisi Public School #5 for the Azerbaijani teachers in the use of supplemental textbook in civic education. 27 civic education teachers from the Azerbaijani schools involved in the Civic Education and Teacher Training Program from the Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti Regions have attended the training. For full text. Source: civics.ge

Adjara. On November 8-9, the CSO "Borjghali” met with the Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia MurmanDumbadze, the Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Refugees and Accommodation of Georgia Davit Darakhvelidze and the Head of the Department for Migration, Repatriation and Refugees ZazaImedashvili. At the meeting they have discussed the problems in the process of accommodation of eco-migrants and the concrete measures that need to be taken in the future to fill the gaps in the field of eco-migration.It was also agreed at the meeting that the united coordination group will be set up, which will include the representatives of the state structures responsible for the accommodation of eco-migrants and their social protection and NGOs working on this topic. Special focus will be made on the preparation of legislative initiative for determining the status of eco-migrants and the development of the draft state strategy on eco-migration.CSO "Borjghali”, in partnership with the Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN) and with the financial support of the East-West Management Institute (EWMI), implements the project: "Advocacy for the Interests of Eco-Migrants”, which aims at protecting the interests of eco-migrants in Georgia and promoting the improvement of their socio-legal state. For full text. Source: ecomigration.ge

Tbilisi. From July 1 on for four months, the expert group of the "Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information” (IDFI) and the "Center for Post-Soviet Studies” (CPSS) has monitored the official Facebook pages of the 19 public institutions of Georgia, 10 political entities and 6 media outlets. The study covers the situation in the social networks from July 1 until October 16.The study aims to identify the degree of effective communication among the citizens and governmental agencies, political parties and media outlets on the social networking pages. The study focuses on the role of the social network Facebook in the communication of citizens with the state institutions, political parties and media outlets, how effectively can one get familiar with the activities through the social networks; how effectively is the communication established through Facebook; to what extent are the citizens of Georgia ready to get involved in the process of political planning, discussion and decision-making, and how diverse are the applications and services offered by the state institutions, political parties and media outlets to the citizens for them to express their ideas.The primary results of the study were released in September and they included the monitoring results for the pre-election period (July-August), while the present study summarizes the monitoring results as for the period before the parliamentary election, as well as for the polling day itself and after the announcement of the election results. The Study. For full text

Tbilisi. The second seminar dedicated to MerabMamardashvili will be held at 6 pm on November 14, Wednesday in the office of the "Open Society – Georgia” Foundation (10 Chovelidze Street), on the topic "Difficulty and necessity of being a human – variation on the philosophic topic of MerabMamardashvili”. Co-Chair of the Strategic Research Center, political analyst NikoMelikadze will deliver the presentation.Attendance at the seminar is free.The seminar is held as part of the project "Dedicated to MerabMamardashvili2”, which is implemented by the Strategic Research Center with the support of "Open Society – Georgia” Foundation since April 2012.The cycle of seminars has launched in the "Open Society – Georgia” Foundation on October 31. Topic of the first lecture was: "Heritage of Homo Sovieticus and MerabMamardashvili”. Source:osgf.ge The Lecture: "Heritage of Homo Sovieticus and MerabMamardashvili".