Tbilisi. According to information released by EWMI-ACCESS, an Orbeliani Meti platform mobilized half of funds necessary to implement 6 projects through donations of citizens. While the second half of the total amount will be filled by “Orbeliani Georgia” via the EWMI ACCESS grant. “Very soon: A traveling library will visit high mountainous villages of Adjara and take children on a journey into the world of books. In the village of Apeni in Lagodekhi Municipality, young people will arrange an open movie theater. A room at one of the schools in Gori will be equipped with books and modern equipment. Environmentalists will turn yards in Rustavi and Tbilisi into urban squares, as well as teach gardening to children. 7R, a social enterprise, will create a new collection using secondhand fabrics and fabric leftovers so as to promote sustainable fashion”.                Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a study: COVID-19 and the Georgian education sector. According to the assessment made by the organization: “Current value of losses caused by disruption of the learning process to the economy of Georgia is about GEL 55 billion. In 2020, 11% of teachers and students did not benefit from TEAMS, a distance learning program, at all. Despite risks of the COVID pandemic, 75% of students living in rural areas, while just 46% of those residing in cities returned to classrooms. According to our estimates, up to GEL 100 million is needed to provide computers and internet to socially vulnerable families in order to make sure they have access to the distance learning platform”... Read more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. President Charles Michel releases a statement on the political situation in Georgia. “I remain convinced that this agreement is the best way to advance a reform agenda which would strengthen the democratic institutions of Georgia and help bring about prosperity, jobs and growth - all much needed to the benefit of the people of Georgia. I see no alternative to continued in-depth electoral and judicial reforms, and free and fair local elections. I call on all parties to put the interests of the citizens first and to commit to advancing Georgia’s political discourse within the framework of the country’s democratic institutions. Consultations with a number of political actors in Georgia are starting. Yesterday I met with President Zourabichvili to discuss the situation and EU-Georgia relations”. Read more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center introduces a document, which represents a methodological framework for examining all the structural factors that prevent people from accessing justice institutions. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. With the support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, the Georgian Democracy Initiative, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Social Justice Center, Rights Georgia and the Human Rights Center have launched a joint project – “Activists support network”. “A short-term goal of the project is to protect civil activists from unlawful persecution, which in turn provides more conducive environment to exercise civic activism as well as freedom of assembly and expression”. Read more... Source: The website of Rights Georgia on a social network

Tbilisi. A booklet reflecting principles of the new Labor Code has been prepared in the framework of the PIN-run project: “Advocacy for Labour Rights Action in Georgia”. “In the handbook “Fundamental Rights and Responsibilities of Employees and Employers”, the laws governing labor relations are set out in a plain and easily understandable language”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. TDI releases the report: The Legal Status of Migrants in Georgia - Amid and beyond the Covid pandemic. See full report in English… The report covers the period of January 2020 - May 2021. Main topics of the report: Migrants’ Rights and Challenges amid the Covid-19 Pandemic; Issues, legislation, and practice of obtaining a residence permit; State policy towards asylum seekers in Georgia; Problems of the State Security Service’s Competence to Investigate Crimes of Racial Discrimination; Statistics on the refusal of a state residence permit; Statistics on crimes committed with racial intolerance;  Read more… Source: tdi.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by Myth Detector, Beka Vardosanidze, a blogger supporting Alt-Info, posted on Facebook, where he referred to a document published on a social network Telegram and wrote that among people infected with COVID-19 in the UK, the death rate of those vaccinated is higher than that of non-vaccinated ones. "The post of Beka Vardosanidze is misleading and does not provide the full picture of coronavirus infection and vaccination statistics in the UK. In reality, more than a half of those infected with COVID-19 during the last six months were unvaccinated, while the death toll of vaccinated people exceeded the mortality rate of those unvaccinated only within the 50+ age category, where the risk of death is higher due to characteristics of the virus”. Read more… Source: mythdetector.ge

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...

Tbilisi. The undersigned civil society organizations, would like to react to the statement by the Chair of the ruling party Georgian Dream, Mr. Irakli Kobakhidze, on the withdrawal from the EU brokered so-called “Charles Michel agreement” signed by the Georgian Dream on April 19. “We believe that this decision by the authorities constitutes a straightforward rejection of Georgia's Euro-Atlantic course and the peaceful development of the country through democratic reforms. The decision of Georgian Dream is a way to deepen the pre-election political crisis and polarization and only serves a desire to retain the power, for which the “Georgian Dream” is ready to sacrifice the country's prosperity, Western orientation, democratic development and friendly relations with strategic partners”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. On July 28, 2021, a Report on the Rights Situation of Aliens and Stateless Persons in Georgia was presented as part of the joint project of the Public Defender's Office and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “The report reviews the situation of aliens, including migrants, asylum seekers, internationally protected persons and stateless persons in Georgia and reflects the findings of the monitoring conducted by the representatives of the Public Defender of Georgia, as well as the positive trends and challenges identified during the monitoring”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Through USAID/Zrda support and initiative, a tour guide training program has been established and now takes its last step of the state authorization. Zrda also handed all the requires equipment to the partrer vet colleges. Vocatuonal Education programs last for several months and are aimed to deliver and develop the field specific competencies. The successful graduates will receive state approved certificates.                        Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the information of the Transparency International Georgia the ruling Georgian Dream party, bypassing the Charles Michel Document, adopted a regulation that simplified the possibility of electing the CEC Chairperson and members by a simple parliamentary majority - 76 votes. “It looks like the process will end next week and three candidates backed by the ruling party will be selected by a simple parliamentary majority. This is not in line with the spirit of the so-called Charles Michel Document and shows that the ruling party does not aim to select persons for these important positions based on political consensus. Therefore, the lack of trust from the wide range of political parties and the public in the CEC will remain a problem”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. UNICEF Georgia is calling all interested civil society organizations, international and national non-governmental organizations having a focus on children and adolescents, to register and build their profiles at www.unpartnerportal.org. A newly launched “United Nations Partner Portal’, is a platform collectively used by UNICEF, UNHCR and WFP globally to manage partnerships. All civil society organizations, international and national non-governmental organizations that wish to be considered for partnership opportunities with UNICEF need to register and create a profile in the UN Partner Portal. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. Are you a foreigner and need legal assistance in expulsion and non-refoulement procedures? Download brochure and get to know the available legal services… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. People in Need is starting an online educational course: "Digital transformation Media School" on Moodle educational platform. “The program will enhance the adoption of digital technologies for fighting against disinformation and advance their media literacy skills. The training program offers participants training videos and interesting reading materials”. Find out more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samtxkhe-Javakheti. A two day seminar was conducted for Georgian media representatives in Borjomi. “The seminar was attended by 20 journalists. Participants reviewed the gender statistics and indicators produced and disseminated by Geostat. They also discussed how to use such tools in practice. At the same time, Geostat representatives listened to the journalists’ feedback, which can be used to improve accessability of gender statistics in the future”. Read more… Source: georgia.unwomen.org

Tbilisi. Charity Humanitarian Center “Abkhazeti” (CHCA), with the financial support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), launches a project in support of the IDP community at 100 collective centers for IDPs in Samegrelo, Imereti and Shida Kartli.                     Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), the Parliament of Georgia has approved the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan for 2021-2022. The organization notes that the vast majority of commitments stipulated by the Action Plan are the result of a civil society initiative. "The Open Parliament Action Plan consists of 19 commitments, implementation of which is planned within 2021-2022 years. The action plan aims to facilitate implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals by the Parliament of Georgia, improve access to information and activities related to oversight of the Parliament of Georgia, enhance citizen involvement in the activities of the Parliament of Georgia, and promote parliamentary openness and transparency”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On July 25, Georgian Cheese Fest took place in Mtatsmina Park, Tbilisi.  „The festival featured Georgia cheese, honey, tea verities from all over Georgia including USAID/Zrda target municipalities. The Cheese festival was organized through USAID/Zrda support by Georgian Cheese Makers Union and its founder Ana Mikadze“.                                                   Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Advocacy Network for Migration Issues (ANMI) to Be Established. “Vladimer Mkervalishvili, Executive Director of Rights Georgia, Project Coordinators Ani Mukhigulashvili and Ana Gudadze and the representatives of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) held an online meeting with the aim of establishment an advocacy network for migration issues. During the meeting, representatives of various non-governmental organizations discussed the goals of the network, future plans and network membership issues”. Read more... Source: rights.ge

Adaja. UNICEF continues informational sessions on COVID-19 vaccination. This time prominent health experts held a meeting for the teachers of mountainous Adjara (Khulo, Keda and Shuakhevi in particular) about the COVID-19, the importance of vaccination and the immunization trends in Georgia.                          Source: The organization’s page on the social network