Tbilisi. In celebration of World Down Syndrome Day, the integrated theater "Azdaki's Garden" will be showcasing the play "Hellados" as part of their promotion.  In the mystical realm of the theater, where dreams come alive, the power of inclusivity shines bright like a blazing star.  A diverse troupe, united in spirit, rises above all odds, battling against the chains of societal norms and stereotypes. Their strength knows no bounds as they pave their own path to victory.  More… Source: Georgian Down Syndrome Association

Save the date! Zero Waste Day awaits on March 30.  Ready to take part? Begin by making a conscious effort to minimize the use of single-use plastic items. Kickstart your journey by eliminating plastic straws from your daily routine and replacing them with eco-friendly, reusable alternatives if needed.  Source: CENN

Tbilisi. On March 6, TDI held a public discussion “Freedom of Religion or Belief and Women’s Rights in Georgia” at Ilia Chavchavadze Literary-Memorial Museum.  The speakers at the public discussion were Anna Chernyshova, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Georgia, Rusudan Gotsiridze, bishop of the Evangelical-Baptist Church in Georgia, Hurie Abashidze, the representative of the 'Solidarity Community' and Tozu Gulmamedli, the representative of 'Sapari'.  The event was moderated by Eka Chitanava, the Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI). The speakers and participants discussed the issues of intersection of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and women’s rights; global context and international standards; common misunderstandings and interpretations related to the exercise of FoRB and gender equality; attitudes within religious communities; the issues of autonomy of religious institutions and women’s roles and rights; the challenges faced by Georgian ethnic Azerbaijani and Muslim women in different fields, their access to education and employment, discrimination and marginalization issues; the role of different stakeholders in promoting the protection of FoRB, women’s rights and respect for diversity and inclusion.  More…  Source: tdi.ge

Tbilisi. To mark Open Data Week, IDFI publushed Open Data Toolkit.  The practical toolkit provides the definition and basic principles of open data, as well as modern techniques and tools for data collection, processing, analysis and visualization.  More…  Source: IDFI

Tbilisi.Transparency International Georgia has identified three major categories of violence against journalists out of approximately 45 incidents involving media professionals in 2023. These categories include: Instances of overt assaults against media representatives; threats and alleged intimidation attempts against media representatives;  violence against journalists during protests, arrests and imposition of fines.  The trends from 2023 have continued this year. More... Source: Transparency International Georgia  

Tbilisi.With International Women's Day approaching, we want to emphasize once again the need to empower adolescent girls and protect them from the risks of early marriage. Early marriage has an extremely negative impact on girls' lives. Not infrequently, as a result, they are left without education, employment prospects and social connections. Early marriage may also lead to complications during pregnancy and childbirth.  Also, girls often become victims of violence from family members. More... Source: UNICEF Georgia

Tbilisi.At the initiative of UN Women, the French Embassy in Georgia visited a shelter for victims of violence, where they held a meeting on the economic rehabilitation of victims of violence. The meeting was attended by representatives from various sectors, including business associations, the Anti-Violence Network of Georgia, signatory organizations of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), the business federation Women for Tomorrow, the European Business Association, and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry France - Georgia (CCIFG). It was highlighted at the event that an effective fight against gender-based violence requires the engagement of various sectors, including the government, non-governmental or donor organizations and businesses.  It is through such unified approaches that substantial changes in social norms and behaviors can be achieved. More... Source: UN Women Georgia

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...

Imereti.On March 6, 2024, the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), in partnership with NGO Abkhazintercont (AIC), held a presentation within the framework of the project “Citizens for Local Development” in the village of Tsutskhvati.  The purpose of which was to introduce the goals and objectives of the project to the representatives of the Tsutskhvati community and local self-government. The meeting was attended by representatives of the local self-government, residents Tsutskhvati community, and various interested parties. More... Source: Education Development and Employment Center

Tbilisi.The DEP team has finalized working on the report for the study "Barriers to Accessing Higher and Vocational Education for Youth from Non-Dominant Ethnic Groups in Georgia." Due to the complex research design, we had the valuable opportunity to explore the challenges encountered by both ethnic Armenian and ethnic Azerbaijani youth in the process of receiving education from various perspectives. The research was carried out from March to October 2023 across seven municipalities in Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli. More... Source: DEP

Tbilisi.The Civil Society Foundation publishes the appeal of public organizations to European Commissioner Oliver Varhei. "We are pleased that in December 2023 European Union decided to grant Georgia Candidate status.  It is an important step forward on the way towards EU membership for our country, which should be accompanied by speedy reforms in 9 priority areas identified by the EU Commission.  The involvement of civil society in the legislative and policy-making process still remains one of the key components across these nine steps. The undersigned organizations express readiness to play an active role, contributing to the European Integration and democratic transformation of Georgia, ensuring that the aspirations of the majority of the Georgian citizens to join the EU are adequately reflected in state policies." More... Source: Civil Society Foundation

Guria.on March 2, 2024. Chibati village public school hosted the "Explore Europe" event within the International Republican Institute project, BUILD Georgia. The series of events is a joint initiative of around 35 pupils and teachers from three municipalities from Guria region, which aims to raise the awareness of local youth in regarding Georgia's integration into the EU. Within the framework of the project, EU Alley and EU Hall were established by students in Chibati Public School. The project "Build Georgia" aims to involve successful leaders and leading experts in various fields in the ongoing processes in Georgia in order to jointly develop ways to solve the problems in the country. More... Source: IRI Georgia

Tbilisi.On March 5, Human Rights Center welcomed Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Georgia, H.E. Bergljot Hovland in its office. During the meeting, HRC representatives and Ambassador Hovland discussed the state of human rights and challenges in the work of the civil society organizations in Georgia. HRC members informed the Ambassador about their cooperation with local and international organizations, about ongoing projects.  The perspectives of future cooperation with the Embassy was also discussed. More... Source: Human Rights Center

Tbilisi.Georgian Down Syndrome Association intend to launch this year's World Down Syndrome Day campaign with creative, educational, and captivating posters. Within the context of the campaign, the Association of Communication Agencies of Georgia showed their support and cooperation.  The message of this year, which is to put an end to stereotypes, was developed collaboratively by eleven of their member creative companies. More... Source: Georgian Down Syndrome Association

Tbilisi.CHCA is thrilled to share the outcomes of recent meeting within the project, "Building the Inclusion of Vulnerable and Marginalized Communities in Georgia", where guiding principle is "Leave No One Behind" (LNOB).   The primary focus of meeting was to delve into the upcoming project, which is dedicated to improving the lives of those who are in need.   Through this initiative, we aim to develop comprehensive guidelines for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across various fields, equipping them with the tools and resources needed to effectively support vulnerable communities.  Additionally, we discussed plans to conduct tailored trainings for CSOs, empowering them with the knowledge and skills necessary to make a tangible difference. More... Source: CHCA

Tbilisi.Learn more about social entrepreneurs in a video prepared by the Education Development and Employment Center. What is social entrepreneurship and what opportunities does it create for entrepreneurs?  What is a social enterprise?  More... Source: Education Development and Employment Center

Tbilisi. The right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) has often been understood to involve contradictions with women’s rights.  The fact that there is no inherent conflict between FoRB and women’s rights does not mean that the relationship between the two is always straightforward. However, in practice, most challenges seem to involve violations of both rights, rather than a clash between the two.. TDI will bring forward the issues of protection of gender equality and freedom of religion or belief for all with human rights defenders, academia, religious leaders and other representatives of civil society. More... Source:TDI 

Tbilisi.The Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) organized a training of trainers for selected representatives from twenty educational institutions in Georgia. The training aimed to promote the first volunteer digital web platform www.volunteer.ge, to encourage interested individuals to join the volunteer system and enable them to implement volunteer initiatives using the platform.  During the training, participants were introduced to the goals and rules of the platform www.volunteer.ge, which will enable them to carry out various volunteer activities with students in their regions. The training was conducted by the executive director of EDEC, Natia Namicheishvili, and web administrator, Nata Kapatadze.  The training was organized within the framework of the European Union (EU) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) funded project “Civil Society STAR Initiative: Sustainable, Transparent and Accountable Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) for the Development of Georgia” (2021-2025). More... Source: The Education Development and Employment Center

Imereti.On March 1, 2024, Rights Georgia, with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Program, held an informational meeting with pupils from various schools in Chiatura at the Chiatura Legal Aid Center. The meeting was held in a discussion format. Participants emphasized the importance of preventing violence against women and providing qualified legal assistance.  They also discussed the protection of minors who are victims of domestic violence and their need for psycho-emotional support. Special attention was paid to the discussion about the causes of femicide and gender stereotypes. More... Source: Rights Georgia

Samcxe-Javakheti.On February 29, 2024, a meeting with representatives of the private sector held in Akhaltsikhe within the framework of Society Biliki’s project Development of Local Employment Policy – Improvement of Disabled People's Rights”. At first, Victor Baramia, the representative of the European Foundation, welcomed the participants of the meeting, and then Marika Mgebrishvili, the head of Society Biliki spoke about the activities carried out within the project and the future plans. Social entrepreneur Nino Giorgadze shared the experience of successful practices and social responsibility of the business sector with the participants of the meeting. The project “Development of Local Employment Policy – Improvement of Disabled People Rights” is supported by the project "Advocacy for the Implementation of the Law on the Rights of People with Disabilities", which is implemented by the Coalition for Independent Living in cooperation with the European Foundation and the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley. More... Source: Society Biliki

Samegrelo.The central park is now offering a multifunctional adapted space to citizens, fostering inclusivity and sustainability, and applying system thinking for urban transformation. The new infrastructure features a large digital screen, decorative constructions and installations, and a playground and chess tables accessible for persons with disabilities. Thanks to the EU and UNDP support under the EU-funded #Mayors4EconomicGrowth #M4EG Facility, Poti Municipality created this vibrant space using a system-thinking approach and human-centred design to reimagine the city and make it more attractive for citizens. More... Source: UNDP Georgia

Tbilisi.Get ready to celebrate Europe Day at our public event in Expo Georgia, Tbilisi on 11 May, 2024! Stay tuned to our page for all the details and be sure to join us on 11 May! Check out last year’s Europe Day activities here. More... Source: European Union in Georgia