Advocacy is one of the segments during the prevention of violence, this is the theme of the newsletter of the Fund "Sukhumi" in August.
The word "advocacy" comes from the word "advocare" and means "call for change, their support."
As the publication states, advocacy is: to activity protect one's own and others' interests, actions in order to achieve change, influence public opinion, unite, support for implementation of changes
There are cases of successful and unsuccessful advocacy in the publication. There are also tips on what you should know before the start of the campaign.
The bulletin is published in the framework of the project "Strengthening of Women's Rights in Western Georgia".
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt – Evangelischer Entwicklunsdienst (Germany)
When fund "Sukhumi” started to work on the stories of women peacemakers within the framework of Georgian-Abkhaz women’s joint peacemaking project, we were not fully aware how to form it. One thing we knew for sure – they would not be dry and impersonal stories about women and women’s organizations fighting for peace. Our main target was not only the provision of information, but also the motivation of new women groups to increase the rows of peacemakers.
As it turned out, there are numerous examples of confrontations, bloodshed and destruction. We see split-up societies, millions of refugee families. It is rather hard to find true life stories of women behind the dry reports of historians, Human Rights’ Defenders, and International Institution.
Gradually, we started collecting the stories.
The first one was the story of Malala Yusufzai- a girl from Pakistan, whom Thalibs tried to kill because of her thirst to freedom.
Then there was Sharm Thong from Burma – a sixteen year-old girl, whose evaluations were heard from the high UN tribune by the world authorities.
Mother Hawa from Galkayo was an ardent defender of refugee women.
Visaka Dharmadasa, whose story might be Familiar to mother, who lost their kids.
. . . And other names, who were defined by the one of the authors as "women, fighting until their last breath”.
This collection consists of only eight stories, different eight problems, faced by women of different age, social status, and race.
Our beneficiaries, groups of refugee women, had the possibility of getting acquainted with the collected stories. At one of our meetings, the oldest participant lady expressed the common idea, "Today I made sure that women all over the world are united by the similar problems. I have seen myself in these stories many times-I recognized my pain, my dreams. Honestly I felt envious toward the women who are brave, so true to their own nation.”
We hope that this spirit will be shared by those, who will read our collection of stories. It is only the first collection of women-peacemakers stories that will be enriched with new names and experiences.
The Fund “Sukhumi” prepared the research” “The role and involvement of representatives of medical institutions in the process of identifying, responding and referring violence against women and domestic violence”. It shows the attitude of the medical staff towards violence against women / domestic violence, their vision of the ways out and the recommendations developed as a result of the research.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt – Evangelischer Entwicklunsdienst (Germany)
The first publication of the Fund “Sukhumi” was "Women's Voice", a newsletter of small format, published at Kutaisi printing house on November 29, 2001. "Women's Voice" has been a periodical printed publication of the organization for years, with different print-run, which covered many directions of our work.
In parallel with magazines and newspapers, within different directions of its activities the Fund "Sukhumi" publishes reports, methodological handbooks, analytical articles, policy documents, manuals and guides.
Working with youth is one of the priority areas of the Fund "Sukhumi". The activities carried out by the organization, imply the provision of non-formal education to young people and the development their specific skills and competencies. It mainly pertains to promoting unacceptability of violence against women and spreading the culture of non-violence and tolerance, building capacity in conflict management and prevention, which is implemented with the active cooperation with the schools and educational institutions.
There is little space in the country that can be used by young people for informal education, communication and entertainment; this is a serious challenge in the regions, especially for the youth, living in villages.
Conflict Management Groups and Youth Clubs were functioning under the auspices of the Fund "Sukhumi" in 12 municipalities of Western Georgia for three years. On their basis, Youth Centers are created, which contribute to the development of youth, raising their leadership and creative capacities. In this regard, the Fund has extensive experience: under its leadership, the School of Leader Girls has functioned for many years, which has empowered and motivated many IDP girls and became a stepping-stone for their personal and professional growth and success.
It is proved that in the early age, young people develop archetypes of behavior that can affect both their life and society. Therefore, the Fund "Sukhumi" pays particular attention to work with youth, especially with boys - to contribute to the formation of non-violent behavior and self-awareness.