Fund "Sukhumi" started working on the project “Bridging the Gap: People to People Initiatives for Conflict Resolution”. According to the project, Women and Youth Initiative Groups have been formed in Kutaisi, Tskalutbo, Khoni, Senaki, Zugdidi and Tsalenjikha municipalities. Each group is composed by 20-25 members.
Women and youth groups will work in parallel and will be involved in the activities envisaged under the project - studying the needs at local level and advocating for problems. The members of the group will pass special trainings, educational seminars, which will serve to increase their competence and strengthen civic activism. The work of the initiative groups is an important component of the project, which will create an opportunity for the implementation of new initiatives and will contribute to improving the level of tolerance in society.
The Fund "Sukhumi" in partnership with the Association "Peaceful and Business Caucasus" and with the support of the USAID is implementing the project “Bridging the Gap: People to People Initiatives for Conflict Resolution”.
The project has been actively started since February and includes civil, educational, medical and economic areas.
Numerous activities are planned during two years on both sides of the conflict dividing line. Youth clubs and councils will be established in 11 municipalities, trainings and meetings will be held, exchange programs will be organized, small grants will be funded, etc.
All of these activities are based on a trilateral strategy: overcoming mistrust through personal contacts, identifying common topics, finding and supporting ways of reconciliation.
The project is implemented with the support of the USAID
The meeting of Bagdati working group was devoted to the discussion of the provisions of ethics of the municipality. The meeting was also attended by invited guests who are competent in this issue. The meeting was held on the backdrop of active discussions. It was decided to accept the identified recommendations and to post the final version on the municipality's website in a week. Thus, the document will be available to everyone so that they can express their proposals before approval.
The work is carried out in the framework of the project “A common forum for CSOs from Guria, Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi for PAR Roadmap monitoring”.
These 12 children live in Saberio and study in Georgian school of Pakhulani (Tsalenjikha Municipality). Saberio and Pakhulani are the villages on both sides of Abkhazian conflict dividing line, which was closed during pandemic.Education was continued remotely. 12 children became isolated, as they didn’t have telephone, internet. Situation in families became tense due to conflict and violence.
Pakhulani Women Initiative Group (WIG) identified this problem. Advocacy was successfully finished: Fund "Sukhumi" found an opportunity, gave smartphones to children, paid money for the Internet.
Advocacy was continued at the central level. According to decision of the Ministry of Education of Georgia, children living in Saberio were given the opportunity to use available internet and 12 pupils continue to study remotely.
“I am passionate about contributing to a peaceful, just, and progressive society, in which women, together with men, are able to make a difference through their activism. I firmly believe that peace and security cannot be sustained unless women have an equal and active role in political, economic, and social policy formulation.”
This is an excerpt from Ekaterina Gamakharia's speech.
On March 25 Ekaterine Gamakharia, Head of the Tbilisi office of the Fund "Sukhumi", participated in an online discussion, held within the framework of the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65).
In her speech, Ekaterine spoke about the devastating impact of the pandemic, revealed as a result of the rapid response research carried out by the Fund "Sukhumi", as well as about the economic situation of IDPs and conflict-affected women. She stressed the role of women and their participation in policy-making, which plays a critical role in overcoming the crisis.
Familiarization with local and central services, identification of problems for advocacy - these issues were discussed at mobilization meetings in March.
An active communication was held with members of local governments in order to receive information. The meetings were conducted by mobilizers of the Fund "Sukhumi" Women Support Centers in Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Terjola, Senaki, Poti, Zugdidi, Ozurgeti, Lanchkhuti and Kobuleti municipalities. The meetings were also attended by a lawyer, a psychologist and a conflictologist of the organization, who provided the participants with information on the mechanisms for the elimination of violence.
March was an active month for the forum-theater: casting, rehearsals, performances...
After the casting, new actors appeared in the group, who have already joined the work.
After a long pause, the first trip was in one of Kutaisi parks - the performances were held in the open air.
A new initiative of the Fund "Sukhumi" will be implemented soon - a puppet theater will be created. The scenario on the basis of Georgian fairy tale "Gvriti" (turtledove) is already written ...
Forum-theater, shadow theater, puppet theater – this is a variety, offered by the young actors to the audience.
"Young leaders for peace, tolerance and non-violent culture" - this is the name of new project of the Fund "Sukhumi".
First of all, schools and participants under the age group envisaged in the project - pupils of the eighth-eleventh grades were selected.
The project includes 8 schools of Kutaisi, Zugdidi and Tsalenjikha municipalities.
At the first stage of the work envisaged the survey on: how tolerant, sociable and peaceful adolescents are and how they contribute to the formation of a non-violent culture.
Fifty questionnaires are filled in, they are in the process of adaptation and in parallel, preparation for the next project activities is underway.
The newspaper "New Education" actively publicizes the work of the Fund "Sukhumi". The first article, published in March, presents a mini-film "Gender stereotypes and the role of schools in their elimination."
The second article "Online Conference - Conflict Management and Violence Prevention" is dedicated to the final conference of the five-month work with the youth of Western Georgia.
Collaboration with the newspaper began in February and 4 articles have already been published. The wide audience of “New Education” got acquainted with the direction of work with youth and saw the importance of non-formal education in the process of breaking stereotypes, managing conflicts and preventing violence.
The Fund "Sukhumi", with participation of members of Gender Equality Council of Sanaki municipality, held a round table on: “Strengthening the role and functions of the Gender Equality Council in the process of introducing local gender policy”.
The meeting discussed the strategy and various initiatives that will give more effect to the work of the Gender Equality Council. Particular attention was paid to planning of the existing resources for implementation of the plan for 2022, as well as to the issue of maximum involvement of the units responsible for the implementation of the plan.