Tbilisi. Myth Detector shares the blogpost: How was Putin’s decision to lift ban on airline flights with Georgia covered in the Russian Media? “On May 10, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued two decrees; one revoked the 2019 decision to ban direct flights to Georgia, and the other allowed Georgian citizens to enter the Russian Federation without a visa for 90 days. The decision was actively covered in the Russian media. Kremlin propaganda journalists, politicians and representatives of the tourism sector welcomed Putin’s decision, while Russian news agencies, quoting Petre Mamrade, the head of “The Strategic Institute of Management” and Lali Moroshkina, the host at “Radio Imedi,” announced that Putin’s decision was welcomed by the Georgian people as well”. Read more… Source: mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. The European Union (EU) co-founded the programme EU4Youth and created a Telegram chat-bot game Fair Employment. The game’s primary goal is to raise awareness and promote a better understanding of fair labour practices and standards that must be ensured before and after signing the contract for both young people and employers. “This game, among other EU4Youth initiatives, corresponds to the European Year of Skills 2023 activities aiming to increase people’s skills and empower them to navigate the labour market and its changes successfully and to engage in society and democracy fully”. Read more… Source: eu4georgia.eu

Tbilisi. Civil Society Organizations release the statement: Russian Plane Does Not Lend Itself To EU. “The decision by the Georgian authorities to allow direct flights between Tbilisi and Moscow is a deliberate act of sabotage against Georgia's aspirations for EU candidate status. The European Union has explicitly stated that flights to and from Russia are not permitted by its members and partners, and this action by the Georgian government raises concerns about Georgia's commitment to adhering to EU regulations in foreign policy, as stipulated in the Association Agreement. Contrary to the will of 89% of the Georgian people and in conflict with Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution, the Georgian government continues to shift its foreign policy course. Prior to determining the candidate status for EU membership, such a demarche goes against the Georgian people’s foreign aspirations, which have provided benefits such as visa-free travel and direct flights with the EU, rather than Russia. Our people are already experiencing adverse effects due to the government's foreign policy, resulting in a significant influx of Russian immigrants to Georgia. This has contributed to soaring prices, placing an additional financial strain on Georgian citizens. We call on the Georgian government to halt actions that sabotage the attainment of EU candidate status and immediately reverse the decision to start direct flights with Russia. Continuing down this path will only further damage the interests of Georgia”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on 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...

Tbilisi. This joint statement is issued by the United Nations system in Georgia, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, the Embassies to Georgia of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, the European Investment Bank’s Regional Representation for the South Caucasus, and the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia. “We call on Georgia, a country aspiring to become an EU candidate country, to align state policy and practice with Georgia’s international commitments to safeguard the rights of LGBTQI+ persons and to promote an inclusive society. Exclusion of any member of society perpetuates social, economic and political inequality and injustice for everyone, thus hampering further development of Georgia’s democracy. We call upon Georgian state, political, civic and religious leaders to stand up and speak out against hate, discrimination and violence and to work together with the LGBTQI+ communities to ensure full enjoyment of everyone’s rights”. Read more… Source: www.eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. The non-governmental organizations involved in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) process in Georgia express their concern regarding the flagrant violation of the fundamental values and principles of OGP by the Government of Georgia. “In recent years, the actions of the Georgian government have consistently demonstrated a clear misalignment with the OGP core values by endorsing the Russian-inspired law on "Foreign Agents," undermining the independence of the judicial system, launching direct attacks on civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and critical media representatives, as well as making attempts to restrict their operations, infringing on fundamental freedoms, notably freedom of association and expression, and the right to privacy, restricting access to information. The national OGP process is stalled for the fourth year already, the country has not implemented a single reform within the framework of the OGP at the national level. Georgia acted contrary to the OGP participation and co-creation standards for two consecutive cycles, by not delivering OGP National Action Plan since 2019. Regrettably, the almost three-year process of developing a new action plan has reached an impasse again… In light of the above, Georgia’s Open Government Interagency Coordination Council (and Forum) member CSOs addressed the OGP Steering Committee with a Letter of Concern to trigger the Response Policy. The policy seeks to foster a greater engagement of the OGP’s international Secretariat (Support Unit), partner donors, and international organizations in effectively addressing the ongoing crisis”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia has studied the guilty verdict delivered against Nika Gvaramia, a former director of Rustavi 2 TV company and the founder of Mtavari Arkhi, on May 16, 2022, which fails to meet the criteria of lawfulness, substantiation and fairness. “Judge Lasha Chkhikvadze of the Tbilisi City Court found Nika Gvaramia guilty of abuse of powers (on two counts) under Article 220 of the Criminal Code of Georgia and sentenced him to three years and six months of imprisonment. Considering the neglect of legitimate questions regarding the impartiality and objectivity of the judge, poor legal reasoning in determining the guilt and sentencing of Nika Gvaramia, dearth of systemic analysis of facts presented in the form of evidence and lack of use of corresponding court practice, legal literature or academic materials, we can conclude that the decision delivered against Nika Gvaramia is unsubstantiated”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

The CSO Meter 2022 report is now available. Georgia is a medium-risk country for public groups, activists, and human rights advocates, according to the findings. The existing environment in Georgia has been allocated 4.8 points out of a maximum of 7 points (the legislative environment is evaluated with 5.2 points and practice with 4.4 points). The report examines and analyses events that occurred between January and November of 2022. As a result, the CSO meter of 2022 enables us to grasp the environment "yesterday" and compare it to the current situation.  CSO Meter: Country Report, 2022 Despite the fact that there were no events in the reporting period of 2022 that significantly changed the living environment of CSOs in comparison to the previous year, the report highlights the increased rate of verbal attacks against the public sector and the accompanying initiatives, which, in turn, indicate the livelihood of CSOs and the potential for environmental degradation. The doubling of the registration price for organizations, major changes in Georgian law affecting enterprises, and challenges detected at the stage of creating a bank account had a negative influence on the environment, hence scores declined in the following directions when compared to the previous period: Freedom of association (scoring in the legal component reduced from 6.2 to 6.1) The Right to equality (The score for the practical component fell from 5.4 to 5.3), and the right to privacy, score of which in practical component fell from 3.1 to 3.0. The report was created by the Civil Society Institute (CSI), Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), and Freedom of Information Development Institute. As part of the project "Guide to Strengthening Civil Society Organizations and Creating an Enabling Environment," The European Center for Non-Commercial Law (ECNL) is implementing the project, which is funded by the European Union (EU).

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the Newsletter for quarterly political donations. “From January 1 up to March 31, 2023, all the parties have received donations of GEL 640,569 in total. Almost half of this amount – GEL 300,000 – went to the ruling party, Lelo for Georgia ranked second with GEL 201,000, and European Georgia – Movement for Liberty ranked third with GEL 84,299”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. According to the TI Georgia, Four companies linked with a member of the Parliament of Georgia, Zaal Dugladze, have received a total of GEL 8,562,573 through the State Agrocredit Program in the years 2013-2022. “Along with Zaal Dugladze, a brother of Bidzina Ivanishvili, Alexander Ivanishvili, has business interests in the companies. One of the beneficiaries of the preferential agro-credit program is Dugladze Wine Company LLC, which has benefited from the program more often than any other physical and legal persons – 45 times in total – and received GEL 4,335,895 as cheap financial resource”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

On May 8, 2023, the Anti-Violence Network of Georgia and its partner organization – “LELI,” held an introductory meeting with the Mayor of the Lagodekhi Municipality, Mr. Jondo Mdivnishvili , within the framework of the “Accelerated Rural Development in Imereti and Kakheti” program. Participants in the meeting expressed their willingness to work together and acknowledged the value of coordinated work. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on 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...

Tbilisi. UNICEF, in partnership with seven state universities and the CRCs, initiated the research on mental health among university students to gain in-depth understanding of students’ mental health needs and their access to the respective services as one of the fundamental child rights. “According to the survey conducted by UNICEF, young people comprise one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of mental health. One out of four young people experiences moderate or severe anxiety symptoms, one in three suffers from signs of depression”. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. "Transparency International Georgia” has submitted a legislative proposal to the Parliament of Georgia to amend the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament. The legislative proposal is intended to achieve power-sharing in the Parliament and strengthen the role of the opposition. Read more… Source: transparency.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...

Kakheti. On April 26th, USAID representatives, together with staff from MAC Georgia, conducted a monitoring visit to the Lagodekhi Independent Living Center. The Lagodekhi ILC Leaders informed the guests about the center operations, current initiatives, and general achievements. Since its establishment in May 2021, the Lagodekhi ILC has served more than 490 persons with disabilities and their family members, offering peer support, referral provision, awareness raising, needs assessments, and advocacy/rights protection. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) shares with you the annual report 2022. The annual report contains information regarding the activities and achievements of IDFI in the following thematic areas: Open Government, Fighting Corruption, Economic and Social Policy, Rule of Law and Human Rights, Local Government, Media and Freedom of Expression, Internet and Innovations, Memory and disinformation studies. Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. As part of the World Immunization Week, UNICEF and International Chamber of Commerce in Georgia held a meeting on vaccination led by the Doctor of the Center of the Allergy and Immunology Bidzina Kulumbegov. The conversation touched on the role of vaccination in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Imereti. On May 1, The Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) held a training session for facilitators in the Baghdati Municipality City Hall. The goal of the meeting was to introduce the innovative model of participatory budgeting and inform the participants about the methodology of holding the forum. The training participants learned about important organizational issues when planning and organizing forums. The organizing committee selected the facilitators. Lika Kiladze, the chairperson of the board, and Natia Namichheishvili, the executive director of EDEC chaired the meeting. Find out more... Source: edec.ge

Guria. On April 28, 2023, the Institute for Changes and Innovation, in partnership with the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), held a thematic meeting in Ozurgeti within the framework of the EU-supported “Learn for Employment” project, the aim of which was cooperation between sectors to overcome problems in the field of education and employment, to discuss current challenges and ways to improve the situation. Representatives of local self-government, non-governmental organizations, the State Employment Promotion Agency, media, and educational and business sectors attended the event. Read more… Source: edec.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. A new nationwide poll conducted in Georgia by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research (CISR) shows strong support for EU membership, disapproval of Russian citizens within the country, and a lack of faith in political parties. “Taking into account both the low public trust in political parties, as well as the high desire for youth in political leadership, IRI is pleased to continue its work supporting multi-party democracy in Georgia – that is, the ruling party, opposition and emerging movements – in order to ensure that citizens have a diverse range of political options available both in governance and at the ballot box. This survey was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network