Imereti. Organized by Imereti Regional HUB – Local Democracy Agency Georgia (LDA Georgia) and Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), Akaki Tsereteli State University hosted a Civil Society Regional Forum in Kutaisi. The main purpose of the forum was to promote a culture of volunteerism, to attract potential donors and to strengthen civil society in the Imereti region. The forum was attended by local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), students, donors, representatives of self-governments and media outlets. The forum was organised within the framework of the project "Civil Society STAR Initiative: CSO's as Sustainable, Transparent, and Accountable and Resilient Development Actors in Georgia", supported by the European Union (EU) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Adjara. UNICEF Representative in Georgia, Ghassan Khalil delivered a public lecture on “Children's Rights - An Imperative on the International Agenda” at Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University as part of the international conference “Early Education and Care”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On June 3-4, IDFI and The University of Georgia (UG) will hold the conference: “The World Finally Sees It”: Hybrid Warfare, Disinformation and History in CEE. The conference will engage the leading experts in the field with regional expertise and the keynote speaker. Registration is required. Please register here... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Adjara. According to the information of the UNICEF, the first International Conference on Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), organized in Batumi on 2-3 June, aims to facilitate academic discussion and knowledge sharing on quality, access, and inclusion in early childhood education and care considering local and international practices. Find out more… Source: www.unicef.org

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Based on the appeal of Transparency International Georgia's Committees of Concerned Citizens, the Ninotsminda Municipal Assembly (Ninotsminda Sakrebulo) approved the documents required for filing and registering the petition. Despite the requirements of the Self-Government Code, Ninotsminda Sakrebulo has not yet developed these documents. According to the TI Georgia, Ninotsminda is the second municipality in Akhaltsikhe after Samtskhe-Javakheti, where the forms for filing and registering petitions were approved after our organization's advocacy. We welcome the decision of the Ninotsminda Municipal Assembly because the petition is one of the essential instruments for citizen engagement. 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 June 8, from 10:30 to 14:00, an employment forum will be held at the Ozurgeti Folklore Center in Guria. The aim of the forum is to facilitate the employment of young people, IDPs, people with no work experience, long-term unemployed and other vulnerable groups. Job seekers will have the opportunity to participate in the interactive Workshops on the topics: Readiness for work and volunteering. Up to 30 small and medium companies will present the existing vacancies for employment and internship at the forum. More than 300 job seekers will take part in the event and will have the opportunity to meet a potential employer, talk about the desired vacancy and demonstrate their skills through direct communication. The Employment Forum is funded by the European Union and is organized by the Institute for Innovation and Change (ICI), the project "Skills for Employment and Cooperation - Perspectives for the Regions of Georgia (SECTORs)"; Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) Project “Learning, Training, Achieving and Building Employment (Learn for employment!) LEARN "; United Nations Association of Georgia (UNAG) Project " “Local Investments in Networks for Knowledge and Skill-share” LINKS,  State Employment Service Agency (SESA). If you are a job seeker and want to participate in the forum, register at the link. Source: una.ge

Adjara. Transparency International Georgia's Committees of Concerned Citizens, On May 14, applied to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Adjara with a request to rehabilitate the public school building in the village of Bodzauri Khulo Municipality. According to the TI Georgia, the school needs to renovate the gym, equip a reading space and a comfortable ramp for people with disabilities, and upgrade the school computer room and laboratories. On May 27, the organization received a letter from the Ministry stating that they will take the needs of the Bodzauri school into account in the 2023 budget. “We welcome the position of the Ministry and call on the school administration and the local community to be involved in the process of preparing the project proposal to solve the identified problems”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. June 1 is International Children's Day, which has a special significance in the process of raising awareness of the rights of the child. According to the statement of the Public Defender of Georgia, in order to ensure proper protection of children’s rights in the country, it is necessary to: Increase the effectiveness of child welfare support programmes and services, develop additional targeted programmes and ensure their geographical accessibility; Ensure timely and effective management of the deinstitutionalization process, in order to provide each child with safe and family-like Read more... Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Georgia’s civil society and grassroots movement “Step Towards Europe”, met with Carl Hartzell, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia and handed over a letter addressed to the President of the European Commission. “We, the authors of the letter, ask the President of the European Commission Dr. Ursula von der Leyen for the support for Georgia’s application for candidacy for EU membership. Granting the candidacy status would be a recognition of the European aspirations of the people of Georgia and a way to accelerate the country’s progress in the policy areas of crucial importance. We genuinely hope that in June, Georgia, along with Moldova and Ukraine, will earn the status of a candidate country of the European Union. Granting Candidate status would open a new chapter in the history of the three nations”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Mtskheta-Mtianeti. On May 30, members of the Taso Foundation team held a working meeting with Dusheti Municipality Mayor and City Hall representatives. The aim of the meeting was to select new target communities/villages in Dusheti Municipality and to determine future plans for gender budgeting. The project is implemented in partnership with UN Women Georgia , Kakheti Regional Development Fund (KRDF), and CARE Caucasus. The Project is supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia and the Austrian Development Agency. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Albaneti. On May 23-27, 2022, the first meeting of the Platform for Dialogue Between Historians was organized by the European Union and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berat, Albania. “Topics discussed on meeting included the role of the historian as a medium between society and government during the transitional justice period and in countries with a traumatic recent past. Participants discussed international projects and researches that aim to understand past in the regional and international context. Representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia spoke about revision of history textbooks in there and neighboring countries and the issue that there is no common agreement around this topic in these countries. Anton Vatcharadze delivered a speech at the meeting – “Archival openness in the former Soviet republics and the countries of the Eastern bloc”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Imereti. Within the framework of the project "Civil Society Initiative", LDA Georgia conducted training on the importance, role, stages, methods and specifics of advocacy for the members of CSOs and citizens in the target municipalities.  The trainings are being conducted by LDA Georgia within the framework of the project "Civil Society 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. According to the 2021 Open Budget Survey (OBS), conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), Georgia got 87 points out of 100 in state budget transparency. This is an improvement compared to the 2019 survey’s result (81 points). With this indicator, Georgia took first place in the world ranking of 120 countries, while according to the results of the 2019 survey, Georgia was 5th. The entire research process took approximately 18 months. The OBS 2021 assesses only events, activities, or developments that occurred up to 31 December 2020. Transparency International Georgia has been conducting this research for International Budget Partnership and assessing Georgia’s progress since 2012. According to the TI Georgia, Georgia still has challenges in terms of citizen involvement in the budget process. In particular, out of 100 possible points, Georgia received 44 points (4th place in the world) in terms of ensuring citizen participation in the budgetary process, and 74 points (21st place) in terms of budget oversight. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Samagrelo. Transparency International Georgia’s Committees of Concerned Citizens and Samegrelo branch have registered a petition demanding the construction of roads and lanes on David Jikia Street and the construction of drainage channels on Borjomi Street in Zugdidi.  “The pavement on these streets is wholly damaged, and due to the lack of a drainage system, the road and yards are flooded in rainy weather. We call on the Zugdidi Municipality Sakrebulo to support our petition, and the Zugdidi City Hall to find all the necessary resources to meet the demands of Davit Jikia and Borjomi Street citizens within a reasonable time”. Read more…  Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On May 27, 2022, the Public Defender’s Consultative Council for the Promotion, Protection and Monitoring of the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities held its 30th meeting. Newly elected members of the Council participated in the meeting, which was chaired by Deputy Public Defender Ekaterine Skhiladze. The participants discussed issues relating to the rights situation of persons with disabilities, including: challenges relating to the deinstitutionalization process, the possibility of blind people to sign documents in an appropriate format within the framework of reasonable accommodation, problems with the realization of the right to inclusive education of blind and partially sighted schoolchildren, including access to educational resources, importance of raising public and private sector awareness of issues relating to persons with disabilities and strengthening the organizations of persons with disabilities. The meeting of the Consultative Council was supported by the EU and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. Members of TI Georgia’s Committees of Concerned Citizens in Akhaltsikhe identified 42 problems in 24 settlements of two municipalities - Akhaltsikhe and Adigeni in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. The majority of them concerned the drinking water supply, irrigation, central and internal motorways, outdoor lighting, sports grounds and waiting points. As a result of advocacy efforts by the Akhaltsikhe Office and CCCs, 12 problems were resolved in Akhaltsikhe and Adigeni. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Regions. UNICEF in partnership with the National Association of Local Authorities and with the support of the European Union in Georgia, a local needs research methodology trainings were held for the representatives of Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Orzurgeti, Ambrolauri, Akhaltsikhe, Kareli, Dusheti, Marneuli and Telavi municipalities. During the training, the representatives of the municipality got acquainted in detail with the needs research methodology and tools, research stages etc. The aim of the project is to assist municipalities in developing social programs tailored to the needs of the child. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Take a Step Towards Europe! - Public figures with this slogan presented a campaign at the Stamba Hotel and declared their vision in a manifesto. “Therefore, today, we - the people of Georgia stay firm in our shared conviction – our future is in the European Union and with the free world that delivers its promise of security, peace and dignity for every citizen. With this choice we honor the struggle and sacrifice of many generations of Georgians who have fought for freedom, statehood and a better future. As this is a moment of truth for Georgia, future generations will judge us for what we have done –what you have done – when the fate of the country had been decided. Free country has always been earned but never granted, and it has been a destiny and privilege of those who despite differences and disagreements all agreed that it is their irrevocable birthright and they won’t ever settle for less”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

The CSO Meter supports regular and consistent monitoring of the environment in which civil society organizations (CSOs) operate in the Eastern Partnership countries. It consists of a set of standards and indicators in 10 different areas to measure both law and practice. It is based on international standards and best practices. “The CSO environment has not deteriorated since the last reporting period, and it largely remains the same. The country still struggles with issues that were addressed in previous recommendations, such as the revision of the Code of Administrative Offences to eliminate unjustified interventions into the right to peaceful assembly, the adaptation of regulations which will make public participation obligatory during the process of elaboration of draft laws or strategic documents by the government, the addition of municipalities to the list of grant-issuing entities, the development of unified legislative standards for state funding, and improvement of the internet infrastructure, competition and quality to ensure that Georgian citizens equally exercise digital freedoms and use new technologies for meaningful engagement in development processes”, is noted in the report. Read more…

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. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the report: Assessment of the Quality of Public-Private Dialogue in Drafting Normative Acts - 2020-2021. “The purpose of this report is to assess the quality of involvement of the private sector in the drafting of laws and regulations having a significant economic impact. The report includes an assessment of the quality of dialogue between the public and private sectors in the process of drafting 18 laws and regulations adopted between January 2020 and September 2021. 8 laws and 8 subordinate normative acts were selected for evaluation at the central level, along with 2 normative acts adopted by local self-government bodies. The selected municipalities were Ozurgeti and Zugdidi”. Read more…  Source: idfi.ge