Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia held an introductory meeting with members of the Baghdati Youth Council. “At the meeting, the board members shared their expectations regarding the activities of the board. LDA Georgia presented the vision on the further activities of the Council and its involvement in it. The Baghdati Youth Council is being strengthened 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. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a blog post about the Economic Growth Overview of Georgia for 20201. “In 2021, the Georgian economy surpassed the 2019 level by 3%, despite significant growth in foreign debt and high inflation. In 2020, the Covid-19 Pandemic had a negative impact on economic growth, in Georgia and in other countries. Despite the -6.8% decline in 2020, GDP increased by 3% in 2021 compared to 2019. External debt Increased by GEL 10.5 billion (+ 50%) in the last two years. Total inflation exceeded 15% in the same period. Georgia's economy is expected to grow by 6% in 2022[1]. This does not significantly exceed the US (5.2%) and EU (4.2%) averages”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Adjara. On February 9, 2022, Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) completed the process of exhumation in Adjara and the mass grave №6 of the victims of the Great Terror of 1937-1938, discovered in Khelvachauri, near Batumi, was fully examined. “According to research conducted by IDFI , a total of 1,050 people were shot dead in Adjara in 1937-1938. The study found that among these 1,050 people, 311 were from other provinces in the Russian Empire, as well as from Central European countries: among them, about 30 ethnic Poles were shot in Adjara. Based on the information provided by IDFI, the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) became interested in discovering the fate of its own citizens and taking appropriate measures for their exhumation and subsequent identification. Experts from IPN examined the grave for two weeks, after which they discovered skeletal remains of 29 victims”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. UNDP Georgia and the Bank of Georgia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support the up-and-coming generation of women business leaders. “This unprecedented partnership is expected to create game-changing opportunities for over 200 women-led startups and growing companies across the country”. Read more… Source: www.ge.undp.org

Tbilisi. According to the information of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, after being removed by Facebook (Meta) several times, having moved to other platforms and creating a TV channel, Alt-Info became active again on Facebook. “This time, the pro-Russian group has found an easier and more stable way to reach Facebook audience, as live broadcasts from the main page of the organization „Alt-News“ are now disseminated by pages, groups and Facebook profiles associated with the Conservative Movement party”. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Shida Kartli. On February 11, IDFI held an information meeting with Gori Mayor Vladimer Khinchegashvili on the project “A New Identity for the City of Gori”. “The project has been running since January 12 and aims to raise awareness of the alternative history of Gori / Shida Kartli and replacing the figure of Stalin as an element of pride; In doing so it aims at identifying, analyzing, interpreting, and visualizing historical and archival materials concerning the history of the region/city”. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On February 10, 2022, the students of Disinformation and Propaganda Studies, the joint program of IDFI and the University of Georgia, as well as to the students of the School of Social Sciences, UG had a chance to attend the workshop. “The workshop was devoted to the matters such as debunking fake news spread by the governments and the military on the frontline. Fact-checking mainstream media and the outlets of Russian proxies in the “Grey zones” from Crimea to Abkhazia”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On February 9, 2022, the Public Defender of Georgia participated in an international online event, where a Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) for Protecting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) was presented and discussed. “The handbook presents key legal and policy standards related to the protection of IDPs, analyzes the role and activities of NHRIs in the protection of the rights of IDPs, and provides an overview of good practices”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Un Women Georgia publishes 'The Country Gender Equality Profile' (CGEP) a guide to assess the existing situation regarding women’s empowerment and gender equality.  “The CGEP describes and analyses the present situation in Georgia mainly based on the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while at the same time considering the BPfA and CEDAW frameworks”. Read more… Source: georgia.unwomen.org

Tbilisi. On 11 February 2022, training was held for the personnel of the State Inspector’s Service within the frame of the joint project of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the State Inspector’s Service - "Promoting Personal Data Protection in Georgia”. The training was related to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union on personal data protection. Learn more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Civil Society Organizations call on the Constitutional Court to Consider Londa Toloraia’s claim on time. Read more… Source: rights.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia defends the interests of 18 employees illegally dismissed from the Ministry of Justice while Thea Tsulukiani was the minister. “The state budget has already lost 332, 172 Gel in compensations due to these illegal dismissals”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On February 3rd and 7th, in the framework of the training program “Georgia's future civil service leaders,” the Rondeli Foundation organized a series of lectures. The meetings were conducted by Mamuka Komakhia, a Research fellow at GFSIS. The discussion was held on the following topics: Who forms and Who implements the Kremlin’s policy in the occupied regions of Georgia; energy security in the Post-Soviet space. The discussion was very interactive. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia and International society of Fair Election call upon the Parliament of Georgia not to support the early termination of powers and decide the issue on the basis of the country’s interests and political expediency. “We also call on the Parliament of Georgia to start deliberating on the possibility of restoring the so-called withdrawn lists by parties, which will help avoid a political crisis. The existing reality also shows that the practice of withdrawing the lists is problematic and poses a danger of abolishing seats in the Parliament, decreasing the number of MPs in the 150-member legislative body, and the ineffectiveness of the Parliament”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in South Caucasus presents the publication: From Independence to Freedom: How the state and society are changing in the new Georgia. “In the publication eleven Georgian authors attempt to analyze Georgia's democratic state-building process from different perspectives: the establishment of state institutions, the relationship between the church and the state, rethinking and overcoming of the Soviet legacy, the transformation of values and political culture. Different chapters in the publications are based on lectures publication authors gave within the scopes of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's lecture series - “In the footsteps of democracy.” Read more… Source: The Stiftung’s page on the social network

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Tbilisi. On February 8, the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) held a virtual round table discussion titled “How to Define Georgian National Interests Amid Ukraine Crisis?”. Participants of the roundtable discussion formed the discussion around the following topics: What are the significant challenges that the crisis around Ukraine poses to Georgia? How could we explain official Tbilisi’s low-key foreign policy amid increasing tensions in the region, and how could it affect its foreign relations? Do the main political actors in the country perceive Georgian national interests in the same manner? The roundtable discussion was moderated by Levan Tsutskiridze, Executive Director of the Eastern European Centre for Multiparty Democracy (EECMD). Read more… Source: gip.ge

Tbilisi. On February 9 Rooms Hotels Tbilisi hosted a presentation of the results of the monitoring of the implementation of the April 19 agreement by 4 non-governmental organizations. “We assess that no progress has been made on the distribution of power between parties in the parliament, nor the ruling party has expressed the political will to increase the role of the parliamentary opposition”. Full monitoring report… Source: The TI Georgia’s page on the social network

Mtskheta-Mtianeti. Within the framework of the project "Community Youth Engagement in the Regions of Georgia" - lecture was held for the high school students of Tserovani Public School. Giorgi Bilanishvili, a research fellow of the Rondeli Foundation discussed Russia's foreign policy and Russia-Georgia relations. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samegrelo. Transparency International Georgia's Zugdidi office and members of committees of concerned citizens have applied to the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure and Khobi City Hall with a request to build a water supply system, rehabilitate internal roads, drainage canals and outdoor lighting in the village of Torsa-Dgvaba in Khobi. The request statement is signed by 47 local residents. TI Georgia calls on the Khobi City Hall and the Ministry to study the problems of Torsa-Dgvaba locals in detail and in a timely manner. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samtskhe-javakheti. According to the information of the USAID Georgia Mania Zalalyan is a 26-year-old teacher and civic leader in Ninotsminda. “With USAID support, she opened a language school where she teaches the Georgian and English languages to local residents, contributing to the civic integration of her community”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Taso Foundation offers you to join the global campaign dedicated to International Women's Day - Break The Bias. “Copy this post and as a sign of solidarity, upload your photo with crossed arms, or share a poster created specially for the campaign. Tag five friends and challenge them to join the campaign”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network