Mtskheta-Mtianeti. Bulachauri Green Center hosted the second Green Camp for Young Leaders and Innovators.  The EU-supported camp was organized by CENN in partnership with Caritas Czech Republic. The camp participants were selected via an open application process from Keda, Khulo and Tsalka municipalities.  The intensive educational program of the Green Camp aimed at raising the awareness of the young generation about environmental protection, sustainable development, science and technology and creating new possibilities for future leaders.  Read more Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. “Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center” (EMC) publishes an analytical document – “What will proportional system change for democracy”. “Introduction of proportional system will certainly be a positive development in Georgian politics. Furthermore, its existence will inevitably contribute to the advancement of democratic processes. However, in regard to a zero barrier there are certain questions and risks, which need to be further analyzed and reviewed”, - is stated in the document. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Kakheti. On 24 June 2019, Association Rural Development for Future Georgia (RDFG) organized an opening of the EU-supported youth camp for the members of the RDFG Young Farmers Centers (YFC).  The camp aims to increase knowledge in agriculture field from theory and practice, also, to emphasize the importance of the vocational education as a career choice for youth. Within the three-day youth camp, the members of the Young Farmers Centers (YFC) will have an opportunity to attend the training sessions about veterinary, viniculture, bee-keeping and fruit-vegetables processing, as well as receive information about the benefits of the vocational education. The event is hosted by the Vocational College AISI located in Kachreti, Kakheti.  Read more Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. On June 24, there was held awarding of students, winners of the 2018-2019 academic year online Olympiad of the “Civic Education for All” electronic resource (www.civiceducation.ge). “A representative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Georgia awarded the winning trio and handed them personal computers along with their certificates”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Public defender is responding to the Prosecutor General's readiness to engage the Public Defender of Georgia with the supervisory power in the investigation of cases of alleged abuse of power by police during the June 20-21 protests.  „The Public Defender has been demanding access to the materials related to the abuse of power by law enforcement officers for a long time. According to her, it is necessary that amendments be made to the draft law submitted to the Parliament of Georgia so that the Public Defender is granted access to the cases of special category. In addition, the above should not be a one-time action or should not depend on the good will of the Prosecutor's Office in exceptional cases. Every citizen should have equal hopes and expectations of the Public Defender“, - The Public Defender mentions.  Read more Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Holding the next parliamentary elections under proportional system is essential for democratic development of Georgia, for votes to be proportionately translated into seats and for fair political representation. However the initiative to introduce the so-called zero threshold is risky. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. Non-governmental organizations respond to the ruling party’s initiative and call on it to satisfy the remaining demands. “We consider the resignation of the Parliament Speaker, whose actions/inaction largely sparked the public protest to be an important development. At the same time, reports have been disseminated about Irakli Kobakhidze’s possible nomination to the Constitutional Court, which, if confirmed, would mean that the legitimate public protest will have been ignored. We also welcome the ruling team’s decision to hold the next parliamentary elections based entirely on the system of proportional representation. The proportional system with a so-called natural barrier (0.67 percent) is the best option to ensure political diversity and that the voters’ will is translated into parliamentary mandates. It should be noted here, however, that such a low barrier, as a rule, complicates the formation of the parliamentary majority and the government and increases the risk of fragmentation of political parties. We would also remind the public that the Venice Commission’s recommendation that the barrier in the proportional system should be preferably set at 3-5 percent”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Comments by EU Ambassador Hartzell Conclusions of today's meeting of EU Member States Ambassadors.  “Events of recent days have shown the need for dialogue, consultation and compromise in addressing the challenges Georgian society is facing, - mentioned EU Ambassador, - “In this context, we welcome today's statement by the Georgian Dream leadership on initiating constitutional changes for holding fully proportional elections in 2020. This presents an opportunity for all stakeholders to come together to agree a way forward that strengthens parliamentary democracy and pluralism in Georgia. We expect a broad and consultative process and call on all sides to engage in good faith”.  Read more  Source: https://eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. The Georgian Center for Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT) offers crisis intervention and psychological rehabilitation to individuals affected during the protest rally on June 21. Read more… Source:    The website of the organization in a social network

Samegrelo-zemo Svaneti. Mestia hosted the official launch of two large development projects and a public event under the motto “EU in Svaneti”.  The projects are designed and supported by the European Union, the Embassy of Sweden and the Austrian Development Cooperation.  “The European Union is proud to launch two large development projects today together with our Member States, Austria and Sweden. In the coming years we aim to contribute towards sustainable rural development and the creation of long-lasting jobs in Svaneti. Our final goal is to improve citizens’ lives in this mountainous region.” noted Head of Cooperation of the European Union, Vincent Rey.  Read more Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) evaluates an electoral system proposed by the ruling party and considers that it has both weaknesses and strengths. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender responded to the request of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, to assist in the protection of the rights of Russian citizens in Georgia.  “Despite the Russian occupation, no violence has ever taken place against any citizen of the Russian Federation in Georgia on ethnic or national grounds. Georgia has maintained the status of a safe country and there is no ground that would change this reality. Amid the active anti-occupation protests, Russian citizens are able to peacefully move and equally enjoy all services without any obstacle in Georgia”, - The Public Defender mentioned, - “If necessary, the Public Defender of Georgia will protect the rights of all citizens regardless of their citizenship or ethnicity on the territory of Georgia and will react to each incident”.  Read more Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics publishes an address of journalists to the government of Georgia and diplomatic corps. “We demand to reveal immediately and launch criminal prosecution against those law enforcers who directly targeted journalists that could be identified, though still suffered body injuries and were hindered from performing their professional activities”. Read more... Source: www.qartia.ge

Tbilisi. Civil Society Organizations release a statement on the 20 June Events. “We, the undersigned organizations, would like to express our grave concern over the events that took place on June 20. To our greatest regret, the public has once again witnessed the disproportionate use of force by the police against a large-scale civil protest, which resulted in the arrest of tens of individuals and instances of severe injuries”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The public defender calls on demonstrators: If you have information regarding alleged human rights violations, please contact the Public Defender's Office of Georgia via hotline: 1481. “Representatives of the Public Defender are actively studying each incident that took place during the rally. They are also working to establish the location of the detained and missing persons. In addition, they will observe trials and visit the injured at hospitals", is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Coalition for Euro-Atlantic Georgia responds to Russia stepping up hybrid warfare against Georgia. “The Coalition for Euro-Atlantic Georgia would like to respond to the particular intensification in the recent period of the hybrid warfare waged by Russia against Georgia, assessing it as a vigorous attack on the interests of our country. The Coalition considers the government to be responsible for the events that have unfolded in the past few days and calls for its immediate response”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group releases a statement in regard to violence publicly encouraged during past few days against LGBTQI people living in Georgia. “We urge means of media to not facilitate promotion of hate speech language and more stigmatization of LGBTQI people; We call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to eliminate immediately hate-motivated crimes or incidents, including threats related to such crimes”. Read... Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Imereti. Meeting held in Kutaisi about strategies and challenges of decentralization reform in Georgia. „The purpose of the meeting was to convene interested parties for a discussion on the challenges and prospects of regional development and to discuss mechanisms of cooperation between different stakeholders (government, civil society organizations, business)“, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: Social page of the LDA

Kakheti. Within the framework of the EU-supported project “Promoting inclusive and participatory local development in Akhmeta Municipality”, Action Against Hunger and the Kakheti Regional Development Foundation hosted a Youth Camp.  The camp brought together 20 young people from different communities of the municipality to receive training on youth leadership, personal development and communication skills. Above all, the Youth Camp served as an ideal platform to promote youth engagement in the Local Action Group (LAG) that will be formed in Akhmeta in the coming months. Encouraging youth involvement in the Local Action Groups and decision-making processes is one of the key challenges and is extremely important for the success of the project and locally-led development initiatives.  Read more Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary responds to the commencement of the selection of Supreme Court Justices and calls on two members of the High Council – Tamar Oniani and Zaza Kharebava, of Justice (the Council) to recuse themselves from the next stages of the review.  “The selection of Supreme Court Justices consists of several stages where each of the Council members’ votes is important. Participation of certain members of the Council in this process while lawfulness of their engagement raises legitimate questions in the society makes it difficult to carry out an objective, fair, and impartial selection of Supreme Court Justices. This may undermine the public trust in this process”, - is mentioned in the Coalition’s statement.  Read more Source: https://www.gdi.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Civil Society Regional Forum held in Akhaltsikhe, at Samtskhe-Javakheti State University. The goals of the regional forum are to demonstrate the activities of local CSOs and to promote volunteerism. Lika Kiladze, Chairperson of Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), Temur Jaliashvili, the representative of the project ”Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative” and Maka Beridze, the Rector of Samtskhe-Javakheti State University delivered speeches during the forum. Up to twenty local CSOs participated in the forum. Their focuses are ethnic minorities, supporting formal and informal education, empowerment of persons with special needs. They also work on gender-related issues and support small businesses. During the event, guests were provided with the opportunity to become familiar with the activities local CSOs are involved in. The participants got introduced with the bilateral volunteerism platform “Time Bank". They were able to choose the activity considering their interests and skills and voluntarily participate in it. Speakers of the forum Lado Apkhazava, the winner of Teacher's National Award and writer Tatuli Gvinianidze discussed the importance of volunteerism. The forum is organized in the frame of the project  ”Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative”. The project 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

Tbilisi. On 19 June 2019, Public Defender held Round Table on Legal Status of Refugees and Aliens in Georgia in connection with the World Refugee Day. The efforts made by the Public Defender in the direction of studying the situation of refugees and aliens in Georgia was introduced at the event.  Since 2015, Public Defender's representatives have been actively studying the human rights situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Georgia, as well as carrying out intensive monitoring of access to asylum procedures at the state border of Georgia, as well as the center for asylum seekers and the procedure of determination of the refugee status in order to check the quality of the asylum procedure, with the support of the UNHCR Representative in South Caucasus; in addition, trainings are held within the framework of the project, both for the employees of the Office and representatives of state agencies with regard to asylum issues and legislation.  Read more Source: The web-page of the organization