Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) is delighted to invite you to an international hybrid conference -Good Governance Forum 2022 (GG Forum 2022). Date: December 13, 2022 Time: 13:00-18:30 (UTC/GMT+4) The topic of the Forum is Accelerating Decentralization: Best Practices and Innovative Solutions. The event aims to explore global trends, good practices, needs for Eastern European countries, and innovative methods to deal with their challenges in developing democratic principles and implementing decentralization reforms at the local level. Check out the Good Governance Forum panels and speakers. Read more… Conference details... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. December 9 is the International Anti-Corruption Day. Last year, Transparency International Georgia wrote that if left unchecked, corruption was expected to rise, which would cause more and more damage to the country, including creating more obstacles for its democratic development. According to the organization’s assessment, unfortunately, their predictions have come to pass. “The fact that the problem of high-level corruption was included in the 12 priorities set by the European Commission for Georgia is the result of it having gone unchecked for years. That is why the fight against corruption was named as one of the clear prerequisites for Georgia receiving the EU membership candidate status. Despite this reality, no effective steps have been taken in the last year to tackle corruption, especially high level corruption and state capture. On the contrary, we have observed the deepening of kleptocracy, where government officials use their political power to appropriate the wealth of the country. More and more cases of alleged high-level corruption are coming to light and are ignored by relevant authorities”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Since Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Georgia’s application for EU membership and the Commission’s decision regarding the candidate status, anti-Western messages have particularly strengthened in Georgia. Along with pro-Russian and ultra-right groups, members of the parliamentary majority are no longer shying away from attacks on the country's Western partners. Four deputies who left the ruling party in June 2022 founded the public movement "People's Power", which is distinguished with anti-Western messages. The “Georgian Dream’s” improper dissent of former members’ anti-Western statements and, in some cases, the concurrence of messages, raised doubts in public about the formal nature of the movement's separation from the ruling party. In order to study the statements of "People's Power" and the government representatives’ responses to them, ISFED analyzed political posts published on the Facebook pages of the television companies of PosTV and Imedi as the main communication channels of the mentioned actors. The results of the research… Source: isfed.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...

Regions. Supported by the European Union in Georgia, UNICEF conducted information meetings for parents living in the regions of Georgia. 180 parents attended the meetings in Gori, Ozurgeti and Baghdati on positive parenting skills. The video... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. As public is aware, on November 16, 2021, the Public Defender of Georgia, by order No. 157,[1] set up a group of specialists/experts in order to assess the adequacy and timeliness of the medical services provided to accused/convicted Mikheil Saakashvili. In accordance with the mandate of the Public Defender of Georgia, the goal of the group of experts, since its creation, has been to monitor the medical services provided to the patient. The group has not been involved in the treatment of the patient. Since information about the significant worsening of Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition has been actively disseminated in the recent period, the Public Defender decided to carry out another monitoring. Accordingly, on December 4, 2022, four experts arrived at the VivaMedi clinic in order to personally examine Mikheil Saakashvili and check the relevant medical materials, and on December 5, in order to obtain additional detailed information on specific issues, one of the representatives of the expert group met with Mikheil Saakashvili’s doctor at VivaMedi. The purpose of the visits on December 4-5 was to evaluate and describe the patient's condition, complaints and symptoms, as well as to assess the dynamics in relation to the previous visits, within the competence and capabilities of the Public Defender's group of experts. According to the monitoring: After the last assessment (27.04.2022), the patient's condition has deteriorated sharply and should be assessed as severe; Deterioration in neurological status, worsening of anemia, anorexia and gastrointestinal processes are observed. Sharp and rapid weight loss, declining muscle mass, fever. The patient is also suffering from cachexia, which is a condition with a severe prognosis; Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) is delighted to invite you to an international hybrid conference “Good Governance Forum 2022” GGForum2022. Date: December 13, 2022 Time: 13:00-18:30 (UTC/GMT+4) Venue: Zoom, live stream on IDFI Facebook Page The topic of the Forum is Accelerating Decentralization: Best Practices and Innovative Solutions. The event aims to explore global trends, good practices, needs for Eastern European countries, and innovative methods to deal with their challenges in developing democratic principles and implementing decentralization reforms at the local level. The event intends to do this by engaging local and international experts and all relevant stakeholders from various sectors around several key-related issues: decentralization reform, transparency and accountability of local municipalities, public participation in local decision-making processes, digitalization of municipalities, and local service delivery. Read more… Complete your registration (not later than December 12, 2022) through the following link… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. In the scope of the 2022-23 “National Security and Public Policy” program, a week-long module on National and International Security has ended. The lectures were delivered by Tornike Turmanidze, a research fellow at GFSIS.  The “National Security and Public Policy” training program is implemented by the Rondeli Foundation with the financial support of the US government. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On December 1 and 2, the Human Rights Protection and Investigation Quality Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) held a meeting with the Task Force on Ending Violence against Women and Girls (Task Force on EVAWG). The meeting was attended by Aleksandre Darakhvelidze - Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Niko Tatulashvili - adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia on Human Rights Issues and Tamar Sabedashvili - Deputy Representative of the UN Women in Georgia. discussed the outcome of the activities carried out in combating domestic violence and/or violence against women in recent years, the existing challenges and ways forward. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the network

Adjara. On December 2, in Batumi, the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) held a summary meeting within the framework of the project “Master of My House - Capacities to Confidence Building”. The goal of the event was to introduce new services in the field of technical services in Georgia and present the activities and achieved results of the “housemaster” profession, also discussing the importance of vocational education and career orientation, and revealing the challenges in the housing sector. Find out more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Kakheti. HUBs are regional platforms supporting the sharing of information, experience and opportunities. Particularly, the HUBs spread information about the project activities in the region, communicate with the local actors (CSOs, self-government, local business, media, volunteers, youth, and etc.) via consultation, networking, advocacy and monitoring, strengthens local CSOs, CBOs, civil activists and increase public awareness on their role and works. HUBs coordination meeting aims at discussing the project synergies and challenges, strategic overview of the STAR Consortium, and etc. STAR Initiative is funded by the European Union (EU) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). The project is implemented by the Consortium led by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and composed of the following CSOs: Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG), Civil Society Institute (CSI), Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), and Institute for European Politics (IEP). Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

The US Agency for International Development publishes the CSO Sustainability Index every year. Most recently the 2021 index has been released. Picture of sustainable development of CSOs, operating in Georgia, can be seen here...

Tbilisi. Since 1985, every year on December 5, the world celebrates the International Day of Volunteers. The Georgia Red Cross congratulates all volunteers on this day and thanks them for their help. “Volunteers have made a great contribution to the work of the Red Cross. Their voluntary, unconditional, selfless helping and advocacy of people reaches an amazing scale. The Georgia Red Cross has 15,000 registered volunteers, and the world's largest humanitarian network has almost 15 million volunteers”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Brussels. The director of GYLA's Democratic Institutions Support Program, Nanuka Kruashvili, held meetings with the representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European External Action Service as part of his visit to Brussels, Belgium. GYLA's representative spoke with international partners about the European integration and European perspective of Georgia, as well as obtaining the status of a candidate for the EU membership. The discussion also touched upon the reforms to be carried out in the fields of elections and judiciary that are necessary for Georgia's alignment with values and principles of the European Union. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On November 24, 2022, IDFI and the e-Governance Academy (Estonia) held a presentation of project ideas that aim to resolve digital vulnerabilities in Georgia, prepared by several teams of non-governmental organizations. The following CSOs presented their action ideas to resolve various digital vulnerabilities in Georgia: National Cybersecurity Association – Georgia, Data Analysis Laboratory LLC, Innovative Education Foundation / Ilia State University, Civil Society Institute (CSI), Green Alternative, Sapari, Access Foundation, Telecom Operators Association, Parents for Education, and Georgia’s Reforms Associate (GRASS). One of the selected proposals will have a chance to receive financial support to implement it. The winning proposal will be called a civic tech initiative or a pilot project and implemented until July 2023. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Within the framework of the "Partnership Forum 2022" held by the Global Compact Network Georgia, the idea of WIC representatives won and found funding. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. UNICEF in partnership with the Administration of All Muslims of Georgia held a two-day seminar on children's rights for Muslim religious leaders. The seminar covered the development of children's rights, the principles of the Convention, the Code of Children's Rights, vaccination and violence against children. Sessions were delivered by Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF Representative in Georgia. UNICEF continues cooperating with all the religious denominations that are active in 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...

On November 28-30, the Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC), Nino Evgenidze, within the framework of the conference "WECHANGE - Dialogue for the Future 2022: Building Sustainable Civil Societies and Protecting Democracies in the European Union and the Eastern Neighborhood", participated in a panel discussion - “Russian imperial ambition derailing: consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine for the Eastern Partnership Region and the EU”. “I come from a country 20% of which is occupied by Russia, with the Russian troops deployed just 40 kilometers from my city, Tbilisi. Unfortunately, in 2008, the West and the World could not stop Russia in Georgia. So now, it's everyone's responsibility to support Ukraine and provide them with all the financial and military assistance they need. Ukrainians are not only fighting for themselves but also to keep Europe whole, free and at peace. We should be very grateful to them because they are sacrificing their lives to defend your and our freedom." – stated Nino Evgenidze. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On November 29 UNICEF and the International Chamber of Commerce in Georgia signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at mobilizing support for children through ensuring child rights in business practices and empowering young people to become competitive workforce on the labour market. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. A minor will no longer need the consent of an abusive father to get an education upon the request of “Rights Georgia”, the court issued an interim order. On November 25, 2022, the Samtredia District Court fully satisfied the request of "Rights Georgia" and the minor will no longer need the permission of the abusive father to study at school depending on her and her mother's geographical location.  "Rights Georgia" litigates this case before the court with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Program.  “Words cannot describe the emotion and happiness that I had during the hearing when the judge announced the decision. It's a great joy that I don't have to ask permission from an abusive father on matters related to the child's education. I am happy that from today I can provide education to my child independently,” -  the mother of the minor tells us. Read more... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Programs Director of the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) - Levan Avalishvili, conducted a lecture on freedom of information for the participants of the bachelor’s group within the framework of the Certification Program in Fighting Corruption. Levani spoke to the participants of the course about the importance of public information, the legal framework, and the mechanisms for requesting public information established in Georgia. The lecture was held in an interactive mode. Read more… Source: idfi.ge