Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia held consultations in the Sachkhere municipality with civil servants responsible for NGO relations as well other public servants.  The consultations were conducted as part of the project "Civil Society Development Initiative". The meeting focused on the challenges posed by COVID19 and identified topics in which civil society organizations continue to work actively. The Project ”Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” was developed and is implemented by the consortium led by the Konrad ­Adenauer­ Stiftung in cooperation with four Georgian Civil Society Organizations: Civil Society Institute (CSI), Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) and Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC).The project is funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. Read more... Source: The organization's page in the social network

Shida Kartli. An inter-agency commission on prevention of violence against women and/or domestic violence is going to be established at the City Hall of Gori Municipality. The commission will be headed by Paata Ivanishvili, Deputy Mayor of Gori. The project, which made it possible to implement this idea, is initiated by the Women's Information Center. As Elene Rusetsky, the head of the organization, explains, this is an unprecedented case when a group composed of representatives of various institutions is involved in the process of resolving similar issues at the municipal level. Prior to Gori, an inter-agency commission was set up in Zugdidi. It is intended to facilitate establishment of similar groups in other cities of Georgia as well. Read more… Source: ginsc.net

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) published the statement.  “Based on the appeals of “Institute for Development of Freedom of Information” and “Media Development Foundation” the Constitutional Court of Georgia, by its decision of June 7, 2019, ruled that the provisions of the Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, specifically Article 5 and paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 6 were unconstitutional as they prohibited access to the full text of court decisions delivered within the scope of public hearings by Common Courts of Georgia. According to the constitutional court, any decision rendered in the process of adjudication should be open unless there is a substantiated necessity to restrict its accessibility. The Court declared the disputed norms void from May 2020 and thus gave the Parliament of Georgia time to harmonize existing legislation with the requirements of the Constitution, but the Parliament has not adopted appropriate legislative amendments within the prescribed time frame. Although no changes have been made to the legislation to date, from May 1, 2020 the provisions of the Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, that restrict access to the full text of court decisions delivered within the scope of public hearings by Common Courts of Georgia, are abolished”, - is mentioned in the statement, - “IDFI requested the full text of the judgments rendered in May 2020 from several common courts. In response to our requests, courts stated that they are obliged to protect the personal data contained in the judicial acts from disclosure, therefore, they cannot provide us with the full texts of court decisions (without personal data being redacted)”.  Read more…  Source: idfi.ge

Racha-Lechkhum-Kvemo Svaneti. LDA Georgia is still holding meetings with the members of Civic Advisory Councils and public servants in Tsageri and Lentekhi municipality within the framework of the grant “ Racha-Lechkhumi and lower Svaneti Regional Development Initiative”. All the main inter-municipal initiatives which can be implemented by neighboring municipalities were discussed at the meeting.  „Racha-Lechkhumi and lower Svaneti Regional Development Initiative” is undertaken within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) “Fostering Regional and Local Development-Phase 2” project, with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and the Government of Georgia.  Read more…  Source: Page in the social network

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. The importance of civic engagement, Civil Society Organizations, International volunteering platform "Time Bank" – That’s issues Local Democracy Agency Georgia talked to youth in Baghdati municipality. The information meeting, which is implemented within the project, "Civil Society Development Initiative", was held at the youth center of the village Rokhi.  The project „Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” is implemented by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in cooperation with the Civil Society Institute (CSI), the Consultation and Training Center (CTC), the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG), and the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC). The project is funded by the European Union (EU) and co-funded by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS).  Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes analysis of legislation and practice of secret surveillance in Georgia. “Under the current regulations, there is little trust that in the conduct of secret investigative measures state interference in private life would be proportional to its legitimate aim. Lack of trust towards the government is dwelling from its reluctance to address the challenges, which are being highlighted by various international as well as domestic organizations”, is noted in the analytical document. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. According to information that Civil.ge releases, Facebook, a social media giant, is going to enact a fact-checking program in Georgia from next week. “The program will be launched on the basis of a partnership of Factcheck.ge and “Myth Detector” projects of “Georgia’s Reforms Associates” (GRASS), a non-governmental organization, and the “Media Development Foundation” with Facebook. It aims at revealing fake news and disinformation disseminated on the platform”. Read more… Source: civil.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. Get acquainted with a publication “Specifics of development of civil society in Georgia”. It contains an analysis of stages of development of civil society in Georgia from the XIX century topresent. Oliver Reisner,the author, Jean Monnet Professor in European and Caucasian Studies at Ilia State University reviews in the publication the role and function of civil society on the way tomodernization of Georgia. The publication is part of a book about modernization of Georgia, created by Ilia State University (Editor Giga Zedania). The publication: Specifics of development of civil society in Georgia (Eng)…

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...

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...

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. On August 14, the Civil Society Institute (CSI) conducted its 16th meeting and, thus, concluded awarding of winners of a high school seniors competition “This Country is Yours” as well as meetings with young people in regions. Awarding of winning teams from Tbilisi is going to be held in September. The last stage of the competition is a super final, in which one team from each region, including Tbilisi, will take part. The super finale envisages gathering for 2-3 days, interesting meetings, as well as quizzes and will be planned in accordance with the epidemic situation. The competition “This country is yours” was carried out throughout the country and about 150 teams participated in it. The winning students and their curator-teachers were given laptops, face masks, maps, notebooks, and an almanac “Freedom, Justice and Democracy in Georgian Thought” as gifts... Public meetings with young people were conducted by well-known writers, publishers, journalists and education experts. They talked about civic values, activities of civil society organizations, civic responsibility, activism and education. The social campaign “This Country is Yours” is carried out within the framework of the “Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” project, implemented by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in collaboration with the Civil Society Institute (CSI), the Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) and the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC). The project is funded by the European Union and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia held a consultative meeting with representatives of civil society organizations, in Bagdati and Oni Municipalities. The meeting held within the framework of the project "Civil Society Development Initiative" and it’s purpose of the meeting was to provide these groups with information about the project activities as well as consultations. The project "Civil Society Development Initiative" is implemented in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), Civil Society Institute (CSI), Training and Consulting Center (CTC), Georgia's Strategic Research and Development Center (CSRDG) and the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC). Read more…  Source: The page in the social network

Kakheti. In Pankisi, Jokolo village, Rondeli Foundation organized an award ceremony for the "My World" project participants. The students, who actively participated in the project, read magazines, took quizzes and engaged in the discussions were given special prizes.  The project, My World has been implemented by GFSIS since 2013 aimed at increasing development opportunities of youth from vulnerable communities and strengthening the affiliation with the Georgian State. The project is implemented in the vulnerable communities of Georgia - Pankisi, Mountainous Guria and Adjara, IDP communities of Zugdidi and Tserovani.  Read more…   Source: The web-page if the organization

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. “Myth Detector” releases material about disinformation spread by the “Georgian March” in regard to the “Open Society Georgia Foundation”. “The ”Georgian March”, an anti-liberal political union, continues its campaign against the “Open Society Georgia Foundation”. Members of the “Georgian March” made two statements against the foundation in the air of TV “Obiektivi”: 1. Soros allocated 4 million to fight against Orthodoxy. 2. The Office of the Public Defender is a state institution and getting funded by the Soros Foundation is ”bribery”, while feasibility of the funding itself is doubtful. Besides, Sandro Bregadze, one of the leaders of the “Georgian March”, stated that they would address the Parliament demanding to restrict funding non-governmental organizations by foreign countries”, - is noted in the material, - data, disseminated by the “Georgian March”, is disinformation. 1. To respond to the pandemic, the Foundation has been allocated 1 million as an additional funding, not 4 million, and the purpose of this funding is to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and not orthodoxy. 2. The Office of the Public Defender is not a state institution, it is an independent body, which has the right to control the state, as stipulated by the Constitution, and it receives funding from the Soros Foundation to protect rights of prisoners. Read more…  Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. From March to July 2020, the Open Society Georgia Foundation additionally released up to 900 thousand US Dollars for Georgia in order to prevent spread of the COVID-19 infection and mitigate impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable citizens. Support, provided to combat consequences of COVID-19, covered several areas, including protection of labor rights of citizens, socio-economic assistance, empowerment of health care institutions and medical personnel, awareness raising of ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and regional population, free legal and psychological services for citizens, facilitation of students in the online training process. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association responds to presentation of the third phase of an anti-crisis plan, launched by the Government on August 6, 2020 against the impact of CODVID-19, and considers that focusing attention on Bidzina Ivanishvili while conducting presentation serves pre-election campaign goals. “In communication with public, draw a clear line between support of the state and party initiatives. It should be apparent that development of social programs is a responsibility of the state and not a good will of the ruling party; It must convince public that steps taken by it in the pre-election period are part of a long-term anti-crisis plan and not manipulations aimed at winning hearts of voters. Unfortunately, in this circumstance, the Government failed to pass this test, mainly due to its constant emphasis on the role of Bidzina Ivanishvili. An example of this is information published on the official Facebook page of Prime Minister, according to which such a large-scale social assistance was made available at the “StopCov Foundation”, including through the support of Bidzina Ivanishvili. Before that, he had stated it personally too. In fact, Minister of Finance had the same position when he said that this large-scale campaign was financially supported by the main donor of the foundation (Chairman of the ruling party was meant)”, - is stated in the information released by GYLA. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. EWMI ACCESS provides public with information about developments it has supported. In particular: Poti City Assembly extended its support to a petition of citizens in regard to monitoring of quality of air in the city; With a voluntary initiative, co-financed by citizens, popularization of villages of Racha is going to start; Activists celebrated the 100th anniversary of return of Adjara into boundaries of Georgia by distributing an anti-propaganda newspaper in Batumi; Legal analysis of a state program for assistance to victims of COVID-19 and respective recommendations were published; “School for Mothers” helps young mothers in Marneuli villages to improve their knowledge; Professional burnout prevention training was conducted for civil activists. Read more… Source: ewmiaccess.createsend.com

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...