Imereti. Some 40 problems/needs were identified by Committees of Concerned Citizens in four municipalities of the Imereti Region (Tkibuli, Kutaisi, Khoni and Tskaltubo) and advocated to local authorities. As in previous years, the emphasis was placed on infrastructure improvements: rehabilitation of internal village roads and water supply systems, liquidation of chaotic garbage dumps, upgrade of municipal transport system, installation of outdoor lighting, etc. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. GYLA applied to the Constitutional Court on behalf of Giorgi Gogoshidze and Indiko Abashidze. The impugned norms set the retirement age for academic staff who reached the age of 65 in state-based higher education institutions. According to the GYLA’s position, the disputed norms are the prevailing norms over the Judgment of the Constitutional Court N2/2/863, which is why they should be declared unconstitutional regarding the right to equality before the law without substantive consideration. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. According to the European Union for years the pro-Kremlin disinformation surrounded aggression with lies. See the timeline of Russian aggression against Ukraine by EU vs Disinformation… See the timeline infographic here… Source: www.eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Center for Social Sciences publishes the recording of the CSS online panel discussion on “Russia-Ukraine War: implications for Georgia and the EaP countries”. Learn more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. International Society for Fair Elections (ISFED) publishes the blogpost: TOP 10 Accusations Against Lugar Lab. “For years, the laboratory has been accused of making biological weapons, spreading viruses and performing health-damaging trials. Alongside with false accusations, Lugar laboratory was linked to intelligence services of the USA. Once again, those narratives have become actual when Russia invaded Ukraine. This time, Ukraine has become the main target of propaganda and is accused of working on a dangerous infection pathogens in laboratories. Although, propagandists have not forgotten about Georgia and Lugar laboratory, which was defined as the danger by Russia”. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. On March 27 the closing ceremony of the School on Party Politics was held. The spring session of the School on Party Politics is the first, theoretical part of the project “Strengthening sustainable political culture among Georgian political parties”. Read more… Source: gip.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia published the survey report: Simplified Public Procurement during COVID-19: The analysis of basic data and risks of corruption. “From June 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021, Georgia’s government agencies signed up to 21,000 large simplified public procurement contracts with a total value of up to GEL 1.7 billion. Simplified procurements on Covid-19-related needs amounted to about GEL 715 million. Out of the GEL 1.7 billion, GEL 1.2 billion was spent on the grounds of holding an event of state and public importance and urgent necessity. Out of the simplified public procurements of GEL 1.7 billion, donors of the Georgian Dream and the presidential candidate supported by the party, Salome Zurabishvili, obtained contracts worth GEL 156 million. This amount was distributed among 210 companies and 11 natural persons that donated more than GEL 14 million – directly or through their affiliates – to the Georgian Dream in the years 2013-2021, including up to GEL 5 million after the start of the pandemic”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Partnership for Human Rights publishes Sophie Menabdishvili’s blogpost: Gaps in the production of statistics on sexual violence against women with disabilities. Read more… Source: phr.ge

Tbilisi. This report of the Coalition for Equality is a critique of social protection programs and social protection policies administered by central and local governments concerning various vulnerable groups. The Social Justice Center, together with partner organizations, identified the main challenges that exist in the field of social protection of persons with disabilities and prepared relevant recommendations for government agencies. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia assessed parliamentary oversight of the Government's performance related to the management of the pandemic during the period between 21 March 2020 and 31 December 2021, and the results of the decision to delegate power restricting fundamental human rights from the legislature to the Government. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Parliament of Georgia failed to carry out effective control of the Government’s performance. The report identified all the shortcomings of the parliamentary oversight over the executive in Georgia.  Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Rondeli Foundation publishes the document: Georgia-Japan Perspectives for Economic Cooperation. Read more… Source: gfsis.org.ge

Tbilisi. Civil Society Institute (CSI) published the book on Communication Strategy for Participatory Budgeting.  Communication Strategy for Participatory Budgeting…

Tbilisi. In the framework of the training program “Georgia's future civil service leaders,” the Rondeli Foundation organized another interesting lecture. The meeting was conducted by Amb. Alex Petriashvili, a research fellow at the Rondeli Foundation. The discussion covered topics related to the role of NATO in containing large-scale aggression by Russia in Ukraine. The training program is supported by the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to Georgian Young Lawyers Association (Gyla) the following document legally assesses this legislative initiative of the Members of Parliament, in particular, discusses the essence/purpose of the dispute over the competence between the bodies and the mandate of the Constitutional Courts in this part. The assessment is based on the legislation of Georgia, as well as the experience of other countries (including the case law) and various doctrinal sources. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Samegrelo. With the support of the UN Women and FAO Georgia, at the Zugdidi Botanical Garden, an event was held dedicated to the economic empowerment of women living in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region. The main goal of the event was to strengthen the economic empowerment of rural women farmers, promote the products of dairymaid farmers, and introduce their products to the local market and the existing business for further partnership. The event was held within the framework of the project “Fostering economic empowerment of women farmers by supporting homemade dairy production in Georgia through the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) approach”. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Read more… Source: the organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the report: Anatomy of Georgian Neo-Nazism. “This report by Transparency International Georgia aims to identify the Neo-Nazi groups and associated persons that have recently expressed aggression and exerted violent behavior towards liberal groups. It is difficult to identify them and come up with an exhaustive list since most of these persons belong to informal and unstructured groups. While it is true that it’s not possible to identify the direct funding source of the Neo-Nazi organizations, individual leaders have a direct connection to the Russian government and local political organizations”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. With the support of the UN Women and the Georgian Stock Exchange, the international and local banking and financial sectors have come together to empower women. The annual global initiative Ring the Bell for Gender Equality was held again in Georgia. The event focused on the vital role of the banking and financial sector in achieving gender equality. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Social Justice Center responds to the violence perpetrated by the supporters of Alt-Info and pro-Putin extremist political party Conservative Movement against civilians gathered in Kutaisi to express support for Ukraine. The Social Justice Center protects the interests of the victims and calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia to ensure a timely investigation into the incident, identification of the attackers and imposition of criminal liability. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International-Georgia appeals to the Public Defender of Georgia to establish a possible discrimination and obstruction of labor activities against members of the Public Broadcaster's “Akhali Kvira” program, Imeda Darsalia, Sopho Zedelashvili and Tamta Janadze. “The Georgian legislation guarantees the independence of the Public Broadcaster from political and commercial influence. It is important that the journalists are able to carry out their professional activities in an environment free from censorship”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The series of trainings on the topic: "Women's Rights and Gender Equality ”, which was attended by more than 200 women involved in the Women’s Economic Empowerment project have ended. The trainings covered issues such as: gender, gender identity, gender norms and socialization, gender stereotypes and sexual harassment. The project is implemented by Taso Foundation with the support of the UN Women and the Government of Norway. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Over the recent period, ISFED has investigated various types of technics designed for spreading disinformation and propaganda in social media. “One of the mentioned tactics includes information-boosting by pro-government and false media outlets, based on backstage sort of information firstly shared as Facebook posts by certain figures positioned as experts. Some media platforms never recheck facts before publishing articles. Along with that, involved agencies and experts often remain unchanged. These tendencies make us suppose that there is a purposive spread of disinformation. Moreover, this process can clearly be linked with an organized scheme, which can itself include other independent actors, that do not work this way on purpose”. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia held a meeting with the members of the Baghdati Youth Council. “At the meeting, council members were informed about the importance and role of local government, types of authority, forms of citizen participation”. 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