Imereti. “Local Democracy Agency Georgia” held a working meeting with the members of the Baghdati  Youth Council. The purpose of the meeting was to present and discuss the municipal program developed based on the needs of local youth. The municipal youth program prepared based on the initiatives of the council members will be submitted to the municipality for further consideration. The Baghdati Youth Council is being strengthened within the framework of the project “Civil Society STAR Initiative,” with the support of the European Union and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia, within the framework of the project “Civil Society STAR Initiative”, provided consultations to the  representatives of civil society and community organizations in Tkibuli municipality. At the meeting: was presented the results of the research conducted by CSI, which related to the tax environment of the civil society organizations; was provided consultations on management issues of the organization in order to strengthen them; was given the information about the grant competitions announced in Imereti region. Similar meetings will be held in the municipalities of Imereti region. The meetings are being organized by LDA Georgia within the framework of the project “Civil Society STAR Initiative”, with the support of the European Union and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Read more…  Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The team of the Social Justice Center celebrated the winning of the 2022 global Max van der Stoel award established by the OSCE’s High Commissioner on National Minorities to honor the contribution to supporting and empowering national minorities. The Max van der Stoel Award, one of the most prestigious titles in the field of Human Rights was established in 2001 for organizations and individuals with an outstanding record of commitment and achievements in supporting ethnic/national minorities in their countries. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. A closing meeting was held on June 11-12 within the framework of the ongoing project “Empowering New Generation of Local Civil Society Leaders in Georgia". "The project is being implemented with the technical support of ISFED and the financial support of the Black Sea Trust, a Project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Young leaders who have attended civic education workshops from different municipalities of Georgia participated in the meeting. The main goal of the meeting was to give the graduates an opportunity to inform each other about the success stories accumulated as a result of participating in the project. Those graduates, who implemented small grant initiatives in their municipalities within the project, shared their successful practices with others, talked about the implemented activities, the achieved results, and the lessons learned. The participants also discussed the ways of further cooperation”. Read more…  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...

In response to Russia’s continuing war of aggression against Ukraine, EU has recently adopted the “maintenance and alignment” package of restrictive measures against Russia. New measures are intended to tighten existing economic sanctions targeting Russia, perfect their implementation and strengthen their effectiveness. See details here... See Q&A here...  Source: www.eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. On July 22, 2022, IDFI and Ilia State University held the awarding ceremony and rewarded the program graduates of the Educational Certification Program. Nino Doborjginidze, Rector of Ilia State University, and Giorgi Kldiashvili, Executive Director, Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) took part in the award ceremony. “It should be highlighted that apart from the lecturing courses, the Program participants have the opportunity to participate in additional activities, such as, taking part in the trainings and workshops organized by IDFI, participate in the international exchange programs and establish the contacts on the local, and international level. The Educational Certification Program provides the unique ability for the employees in public, private and non-governmental sectors and students to develop as experts in fighting corruption, receive the theoretical and practical knowledge, share the international experience and support the defeat of corruption on different levels in Georgia. The program is financially supported by the Open Society Foundations (OSF) under the project “Building Sustainable Human Capacity in Fighting Corruption” and by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) with the scopes of the “Core Support” project”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia and International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy publishes the joint survey: State Resources at the Service of the Ruling Party: Proven Methods of Vote Buying and Illegal Mobilization of Voters in Georgia. The organizations studied the documents allegedly taken from the correspondence of securgd@gmail.com during 2018-2019. This email address was allegedly created by the ruling party - Georgian Dream. The files provided by the whistleblower also included some documents from 2020. Certain data in the documents were verified through public information. “Based on the research, a large-scale scheme of mobilizing voters in favor of the ruling party by illegal means was identified, which is highly likely to prove the use of state agencies (including law enforcement agencies) for election/party purposes. Personal information about employees of budgetary organizations and other citizens was probably collected through these agencies, to put pressure on them in the future. In addition, in exchange for support in the elections, citizens were provided with pre-requested and other types of benefits through various state agencies. The scale of the scheme allows us to assume that as a result of interfering in the election process with these methods, it was possible to mobilize voters in favor of the ruling party on a large scale”. Read more... Source: isfed.ge

Imereti. Within the framework of the project “Civil Society STAR Initiative”, LDA Georgia conducted training on the importance, role, stages, methods and specifics of advocacy for the members of CSOs and active citizens in the target municipalities. The following issues were discussed at the training: What is advocacy?; Types of Advocacy; Basic elements of advocacy; Identifying the problem of advocacy, the specifics and stages of advocacy; The trainings are being conducted by LDA Georgia within the framework of the project “Civil Society STAR  Initiative,” with the support of the European Union and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Rondeli foundation shares the blogpost: Why Is Biden’s Middle East Tour Important? On July 13-16, the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, met with the leaders of the pro-American and allied countries of the Middle East within the framework of his first official tour in the region. “The interest and active involvement of the US in the issues of the Middle East is important for the regions bordering it, including the South Caucasus. The situation in the Middle East’s neighborhood cannot be of non-importance for the United States. This situation, along with many other matters, increases the degree of Washington's interest in Georgia”. Read more…  Source: gfsis.org.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia published the Report on the Performance of the Parliament of the Tenth Convocation. “The post-electoral political crisis and the problems related to the coronavirus pandemic had a negative impact on the first year performance of the Parliament of the 10th convocation. Due to growing political crisis, the Parliament failed to exercise its control mechanisms effectively. The opposition, largely due to its legislative boycott, was not fully involved in the activities of the Parliament. No significant reforms were implemented during the reporting period, including the 19th April agreement between political parties, that envisaged power-sharing within the Parliament.” Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. GCSD within the framework of the project “Towards Better Understanding of NATO”, implemented with the support of the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, conducted a 3-day training-session “NATO Youth Academy”. The course covered topics such as NATO’s current political agenda and NATO’s approach to countering disinformation, aspects of NATO-Georgia partnership as well as NATO’s new strategic concepts. For more follow the link… Source: www.gcsd.org.ge

Imereti. On July 22, 2022, with the support of the European Union (EU), the Imereti Regional Hub - Local Democracy Agency Georgia (LDA Georgia), organised a public meeting on the topic “Causes of Migration and Employment Opportunities in the Imereti Region”. The meeting was held within the framework of the European Union (EU) and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung funded project “Civil Society STAR Initiative”. 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. On July 19, the Rondeli Foundation organized a conference for graduates of the educational program "Youth for Changes". During the meeting, young activists, representatives of non-governmental organizations, media, and political parties from Kakheti, Adjara, Shida Kartli, Samtskhe-Javakheti, and Tbilisi discussed the results of the research "Youth Values and Political Activism in Georgia" published by the Rondeli Foundation and CRRC. Within the framework of the meeting, the graduates of the project presented and discussed such topics as the importance of civic activism among young people in the regions, challenges and opportunities in the educational system, problems faced by young people living near the occupation line, and the importance of youth involvement in equality issues. The program is supported by National Endowment for Democracy and aims to enhance youth activism and contribute to the development of youngsters into knowledgeable professionals. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the UNIICEF, on July 20, the educational resource on positive parenting “Parents ABC” was released at the Dedaena Park as part of the communication for social change campaign “Be a Positive Parent” which has been carried out by UNICEF with the support from the European Union in Georgia. The publication provides useful tips to parents on how to handle challenges in relation with their children and how to build positive communication with them. Find out more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. Georgian Civil Society Organizations appeal to Carl Harzell, the EU ambassador in Georgia. “On behalf of the civil society of Georgia, we would like to thank you for many years of successful work in Georgia and for the support that our homeland and civil society have always felt from the European Union – and you personally. We are certain that our friendship flourished in Georgia will continue in the future and that you will remain a firm supporter of our country. Thank you for your service and the support that you have personally extended to our country, citizens and civil society”. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Imereti. According to the TI Georgia’s survey, tenders in the municipalities of Zestaponi, Terjola, and Baghdati are won by Borani LLC, a company with links to the Georgian Dream, whose main activity is the arrangement, maintenance, and repairs of road surfaces. From 2013 to July 12, 2022, the company obtained tenders and simplified procurement contracts worth GEL 34,970,860. “In the opinion of TI Georgia, the involvement of Borani LLC in the public procurements of the municipalities of Zestaponi, Terjola, and Baghdati raises doubts regarding the lawfulness of the process. Therefore, we call on the Anti-Corruption Agency of the State Security Service to study each procurement and establish whether or not they contain possible signs of corruption”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. “Thanks so much for inviting us to be a part of Georgia, Georgia will always be a part of us”. - after 4 years as the EU Ambassador to Georgia, Carl Hartzell is completing his diplomatic mission here. Watch the video message of the Ambassador and his spouse, Mette, below. Video… Source: EU’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the decision of Human Rights Center, from July 18, 2022, all offices of HRC shall be open from 10:00 to 14:00. “The decision was prompted by the desire to increase the motivation of the officers so that after a stressful work week they can have a proper time for rest, while the engagement in the work from the new business week would be much more productive. HRC takes due care of improving the working conditions of the employees. For many years, HRC includes a one-hour lunch break in the 8-hour working time”. Read more… Source: www.hrc.ge

Tbilisi. The Transparency International Georgia’s present study brings together the information on N(N)LEs established by the municipalities of Zugdidi, Poti, Abasha, Martvili, Senaki, Khobi, Tsalenjikha, Chkhorotsku, and Mestia, as well as on only those LLCs that receive subsidies from local budgets. The reporting period includes the years 2020-2022. “Ninety-two legal entities of the nine municipalities of the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Region have increased the number of employees and their salaries in 2022 – the salaries of 8,406 people working in the non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities (N(N)LEs) and limited liability companies (LLCs) – those already paid this year and to be paid until the end of the year – amount to GEL 52,237,836 in total, which is 24% of the total allocations of the budgets of the region’s municipalities”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Kakheti. On July 14th, 2022 the graduation ceremony for the project participants was held in the village Jokolo, Pankisi Gorge. Along with certificates, the successful participants revealed based on the quiz results conducted within the framework of the projects received awards. Graduation ceremony was attended by the students, parents, teachers and principals of the schools of the villages: Duisi, Jokolo and Omalo. The project “Pankisi Youth School” is being implemented by the Georgian Foundation of Strategic and International Studies and is founded through the Alumni Grants Program by the US Embassy in Georgia and aims to raise civic awareness and informal education among young people (14-18-year-olds) in Pankisi Gorge. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network