Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia analyzed the business interests of Tbilisi City Assembly members. It revealed cases of alleged political corruption, incomplete declaration of business activities, and other essential facts that may be of interest to voters. “15 of the 29 public officials in the Tbilisi City Council filled in the asset declarations improperly; 16 members of the Georgian Dream faction in Tbilisi City  Council donated an identical amount of money (5-10 000 GEL) to the party on the same day (October 12, 2021), amounting to a total of 115,000 GEL; 23 of the 50 members of the Tbilisi City Council have business ties. 12 of them are public officials; TI Georgia urges Civil Service Bureau of Georgia to review the violations found in the asset declarations of public officials below and respond in accordance with the law”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender submitted alternative report on enforcement of rulings taken against Georgia by European Court and UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women to Parliament of Georgia. “The alternative report reviews the general measures taken by the State to enforce the rulings delivered by the European Court of Justice against Georgia in the following cases: Tsintsabadze Group, Identity Group, N.Ts. and Others v. Georgia, Amiridze v. Georgia, and Merabishvili v. Georgia. In addition, the report assesses the general measures taken against Georgia by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in the case of Khanum Jeiranova. The document analyzes the adequacy of the steps taken by the State for the enforcement of the rulings”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Social Justice Center,s report envelopes the administered cases and their respective analyses within the framework of the project "Legal Aid Network for Activists" in the period from the beginning of 2021 through March 2022. see more... source: socialjustice.org

Guria. On May 4, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Georgia Helene Sand Andresen and UN Women Representative in Georgia Kaori Ishikawa, together with representatives of Taso Foundation, visited  former participant of the Women's Economic Empowerment Project, Keti Tsilosani in Lanchkhuti. “Keti Tsilosani told the guests in detail how she founded the social cafe "At Keto’s" as a result of her participation in the project, which is one of the most famous gathering places in Lanchkhuti today”. 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 May 1, 2022, the amendments defined by the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia came into force. The amendments provide for the alteration of the service fee rates provided by the National Agency of Public Registry, including the increase of the costs of services relevant to entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities. The amendments include but are not limited to the following: The fee for the registration of an entrepreneurial and a non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entity, as well as changes to and termination of registered data, is set at GEL 200 (instead of 100 GEL) if given within one working day, whereas the fee for an accelerated procedure (task completion on the same day) is set at GEL 400. (Instead of 200 GEL)  For non-commercial legal entities, the fee for the registration of the entity's e-mail address and telephone number, as well as changes to already registered data or its termination, is 26 GEL (Instead of 20 GEL) within one working day, or 75 GEL (Instead of 50 GEL) if the service is to be provided within the same working day.  Changes in the subject of the right and the object registered in the register of entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities are free of charge within one working day, and the fee for accelerated receipt of the same service (within the same working day) has been increased to 75 GEL (instead of 50 GEL).  The cost of preparing the extract from the public registry within one working day is 20 (Instead of 15 GEL) GEL, whereas the rate for the same service is 13 GEL (instead of 10 GEL) if the request is submitted electronically over the Internet. The cost of the service in an accelerated way is 75 or 52 GEL (instead of 50 or 40 GEL) respectively. More information on these and other amendments (geo)...

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center publishes the analytical document: The Implications of the Second Karabakh War on Georgia's Non-Dominant Ethnic Groups. “On September 27, 2020, the second Karabakh war broke out between the countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The military conflict lasted for 44 days and ended with the signing of a trilateral agreement between the President of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, and the President of Russia on November 10, 2020, after the takeover of the city of Shushi by the military forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This war had significant ramifications not only on the countries involved in the war but also on the region as a whole and impacted the balance of power in the region. The presented document aims to investigate the effects of the Karabakh war on Georgian citizens”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Check out Transparency International Georgia's blog on a new draft of government-initiated changes to parliament. “The reflection of the new changes proposed by the government in the legislation unjustifiably increases the power of investigative agencies to obtain the confidential information of persons by bypassing judicial control”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day, the EU and ISFED hosted a conference for media representatives to assess the Georgian media landscape and discuss existing challenges and possible solutions. One of the highlights was a keynote address from Peter Stano, Spokesperson for External Affairs of the EU. Check out some photos from the conference… Source: The EU’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. With the Legal Assistance of “Rights Georgia”, the Iranian Citizen Won the Dispute in the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. “Mariam Magradze, a lawyer of "Rights Georgia", represented the beneficiary interests before the Tbilisi Court of Appeals within the framework of the IOM project -“COVID-19 and Needs of Migrants in South Caucasus”, implemented with the support of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM)”. If you are a Migrant in Georgia and need legal counseling, please contact "Rights Georgia": (+995) 577 28 22 77  Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Imereti. Within the UNICEF and Helping Hand project supported by USAID Georgia, adolescents have established youth clubs in 63 municipalities of Georgia with the main goal of promoting hygiene issues and volunteering in local communities, as well as prevention of COVID-19 among adolescents.  On May 2, an educational event and exhibition was held in Kutaisi, the aim of which was to show the activities of the hygiene clubs established within the project. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Guria. On May 3, within the framework of the Women's Economic Empowerment Project, the representatives of Taso Foundation donated books to a women's self-help group formed in the village of Ozurgeti, Ozurgeti Municipality. “Some of the books are from various editions of Taso Foundation Library, and some were sent to the women's group by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Georgia, Helene Sand Andresen, in support of their initiative to establish the first library in the village of Ozurgeti. The women's self-help Group intends to apply to the Director General of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, Giorgi Kekelidze, for support of the initiative and to enrich their library with books”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the article “The Overview of the Censorship of the Georgian Press and Print Media”. “In contemporary Georgia, in fact, the censorship on print media does not exist. Nowadays, there is a growing tendency of coordinated disinformation campaigns and hate speech in print media. There are a number of publications that use the above-mentioned methods on purpose. Through spreading the fake news and the usage of hate speech, they enhance the polarization in the society. Also, there is a problem of pressure on different media sources, their bribing for distorting information, using them for political objectives and the decrease of the level of their freedom. According to the research carried out by the international organization Reporters without Borders in 2020, considering the global index, Georgian press holds 60th place. The conclusion emphasizes the case of Adjara TV, which experiences the pressure from the representatives of particular party, as well as the case of Afgan Mukhtarli”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell awarded the winners in six categories covering print, broadcast, online, and photo journalism. Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission awarded the winner of the Special Prize for conflict-sensitive journalism contributing to confidence building and peace. Meet the winners: Tamar Babuadze, Anastasia Slovinskaia, Zurab Modebadze, Khatia Ghoghoberidze, Tinatin Nachkebia, Giorgi Shengelia, Zviad Mchedlishvili. Read more… Source: eu4georgia.eu

Shida Kartli. Up To 10 Journalists Visited the women green entrepreneurs of Gori Municipality within the framework of the EU-supported media tour "Discover Social and Green Entrepreneurs in Gori". The Aim of the media tour was to introduce local green and social business initiatives to the general public and to highlight the results of EU and CENN activities in the municipality. Read more here… Source: environment.cenn.org

Tbilisi. TI Georgia has studied the expenses of 9 administrations of State Representatives in 2021, which amounted to GEL 5,567,583 in total. “It should be noted that the institution of State Representative does not fulfill any critical functions for the functioning of the state, while the existing practice shows that the influence of State Representatives on municipalities is high – they often interfere in the activities of mayors and city councils elected directly and considerably limit their independence. In a situation where the level of decentralization is low, the institution of State Representative is an important lever for the central authorities for exercising formal or informal control over municipalities”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Guria. On May 2, UN Women and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Norway to Georgia Helen Sand Andresen visited the Women's Self-Help Group in the Chkhakaura village of Chokhatauri Municipality as part of the Women's Economic Empowerment Project. “The guests heard from rural women about the benefits of being involved in the project and the needs at the local level, which they are working together to address. At the end of the meeting, they viewed traditional handicrafts and tasted local dishes”. Taso Foundation is implementing the project in Shida Kartli, Samegrelo, Guria, Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi regions with the support of the United Nations Women (UN Women) and the Government of Norway. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Kakheti. According to the information of Georgian Young Lawyers Association person fired due to reorganization has won a dispute with the Telavi Municipality City Hall. GYLA represented and protected the person's interests. “The court of all three instances found that the dismissal did not comply with the requirements of the law; therefore, Telavi Municipality City Hall was instructed to reinstate the dismissed employee to the equivalent position and reimbursement of the outstanding salary from January 30, 2018, until the day of reinstatement in service”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Meet Ozzy, a cute hamster who cares for the environment, and the face of a new campaign to help children save energy. The awareness-raising campaign, organised by EU4Energy in collaboration with EU NEIGHBOURS east, will run between 28 April and 8 May 2022, and revolves around Ozzy the Hamster, one of the main characters of a new comic book on energy efficiency entitled ‘Lightbulb’. The comic focuses on increasing younger generations’ understanding of energy efficiency and simple energy-saving measures – like switching off unused devices or turning down the heating – as well as of the negative impact of wasting energy on nature and the environment. ‘Lightbulb’ tells the story of four friends and their pets who discover an old cabin in the woods, where animals help Professor Slate find alternative methods of generating energy to avoid inflicting damage to the environment. Professor Slate shows the children the horrible things that could happen to the planet and its population if humans do not start using energy efficiently. United in the idea of saving the planet by cutting down on energy waste, the children – together with Ozzy the hamster – manage to transform the life of one town. To reinforce the energy saving tips highlighted in the comic book, EU NEIGHBOURS east is launching a social media campaign featuring Ozzy the Hamster, targeting children via different social media platforms and through school activities. The comic book was developed in the framework of the EU4Energy Programme Phase II – Promoting the Clean Energy Transition in the Eastern Partnership Countries, which is funded by the European Union and aims to contribute to the development of sound legislative and regulatory frameworks for energy, to support the region’s transition to clean energy and the liberalisation of its energy markets. Read more… Source: euneighbourseast.eu

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the blogpost: Celebrating May 9 in Russia. “The Kremlin continues to build a national narrative about the great victory of 77 years and the defeat of Nazism. IDFI's blog will analyze how attitudes towards May 9 have changed over the years, what forms the main parade dedicated to this day took in the modern Russian Federation, and which symbols or narratives dominated this day”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Over 30 Civil Society Organizations address to the Prime Minister of Georgia to provide argumentation for refusing publicizing answers to EU questionnaire. “Given the high public interest in Georgia’s accession to the European Union, we urge you to make public the answers to the EU questionnaire or to present an argument on the basis of which you make information confidential under Georgian law. In case the information provided to the EU truly contains professional, personal, commercial, or state secrets, the relevant parts should be encrypted and the rest should be made public, as required by the standards of Freedom of Information of Georgia and the EU. According to the latest survey, 88% of the Georgian population supports the country’s accession to the European Union. With this in mind, the government should ensure the transparency, openness, and involvement of stakeholders in the process”.  Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. UNICEF, in partnership with Media Development Foundation (MDF) and with the support of USAID Georgia is launching a series of media literacy trainings for children, young people and teachers. “The slogan of the campaign is “Do not get infected with misinformation!” and aims to provide young people with information and skills to enable them to identify, verify and disseminate their knowledge about misinformation about COVID-19. The first meeting was held in Akhaltsikhe”. Find out more… Source: www.unicef.org