Category: Georgia

Georgian Youth Spread Messages of Tolerance

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Liaman Mamedova

Students in Georgia have been working together to find creative ways to raise awareness about the discrimination faced by religious and ethnic minorities and foreigners residing in Georgia. Supported by the EWMI-PROLoG grant, “Promoting Diversity, Enhancing Dialogue and Empowering Minorities and Women,” the Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI) invited students from each region to enter a competition and craft innovative ways to spread a message of tolerance. The student participants prepared blogs, wrote articles, created photo stories, and produced videos that focused on the challenges related to tolerance and cultural diversity in their community.

On March 1, 2019, TDI held an award ceremony for the youth contest winners. Given the overwhelming response and the quality of entries, several winners were selected:

  • Batumi school #16, two students prepared photo story about Roma community in their city and students who study at their school.
  • First Public School of Tbilisi, a student of 11th grade prepared a blog on foreigners residing in Georgia. He described some of the problems and obstacles that foreign citizens face in Georgia.
  • Gori Public School #12, a student prepared a blog post, The Colorful City, in which she described ethnic and religious diversity of her hometown Gori.
  • Tbilisi State University, a student prepared a photo story about Krishna community living in Georgia.
  • American International High School-College Progress, a 10th grade student prepared a blog post about the tradition of tolerance and described her experience as a foreign student living and studying in Georgia.
  • Tbilisi State University, a student prepared a video about Muslim girls from Chela.

The students of Batumi Public School #7 also received an honorable mention for their video, “Sun Shines for Everybody.”

Brian LeDuc, EWMI-PROLoG Deputy Chief of Party, and Eka Chitanava, TDI director, delivered opening speeches at the ceremony. The students were very happy to be recognized for their hard work. Following the awards, TDI also presented and moderated an active and inclusive discussion of three documentary videos (Liaman, Ala, and Tarash), produced by TDI under the same EWMI-PROLoG grant. The documentaries feature individual stories about the challenges ethnic, religious and racial minorities encounter in their everyday lives and discriminatory treatment they receive. Ala, a member of the Yazidi community in Georgia, shares her thoughts about obstacles and challenges that ethnic minorities face in Georgian society and the long history and rich culture of her community; Liaman, a member of the Azerbaijani community in Georgia, speaks about her experience as a representative of an ethnic minority group, and discusses problems related to the integration of minorities into Georgian society, and Tharaka, (called Tarashi by Georgians) who has graduated from Tbilisi State Medical University, shares his impressions about Georgian culture, hospitality, also the problems encountered by foreigners due to state policies and the xenophobic attitudes of some Georgians. Both Ala and Liaman participated in the subsequent discussion, and addressed many interesting questions and observations from the audience.

EWMI’s Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLOG) program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

View the documentaries, Liaman, Ala, and Tarash, below.

Using Interactive Web Applications to Improve Allocation of Judicial Resources in Albania and Georgia

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Tbilisi, Georgia

With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the East-West Management Institute, Inc. (EWMI), a New York-based not-for-profit dedicated to promoting the rule of law and strengthening civil society around the world, has supported the development of two new web applications to help the judiciaries of Albania and Georgia better allocate their resources, resulting in greater judicial efficiencies and improved access to justice as part of the Justice for All project (JFA). These new web-based systems, moreover, emphasize the use of data-driven management techniques and enable counterparts in both countries to independently update their resource allocations, as needed.

In Albania, the country’s High Judicial Council (HJC) asked EWMI to assist in the design of a new judicial map — i.e, to identify where throughout the country courthouses and judges should be located, based on demand and proximity to court-users. This process required the HJC to consider multiple complex questions, including: What impact will a new court district have on travel times and distances? Is the workload of a new court district high enough to sustain a reasonable minimum number of judges? How will changes impact the number of courtrooms per judge? To assist, EWMI helped establish key indicators and designed a software application enabling decision-makers to explore the implications and tradeoffs of various changes to the existing judicial map. The app presents a map of Albania on which the user can hypothetically move the location of courts and immediately see the resulting impact on all the most relevant indicators. In this way the impact of various judicial map scenarios can easily be assessed and compared.

In Georgia, EWMI assisted the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) establish a case weighting system to help it deploy judicial and staff resources where they are most needed. Case weighting requires that all court cases are grouped into a number of case groups and that assumptions are made about the length of time or how difficult it is to decide cases from each group. EWMI decided to apply a new path-breaking methodology, “smart case weighting,” which allows for the development of an accurate metric with considerably reduced time and expense. It does so mainly by allowing for uncertainty with regard to assumptions about weights, but its use relies upon complicated mathematical formulas. To facilitate the adoption of this new tool, a software application was designed enabling users to change assumptions made about case weights and groups, and to immediately see the impact on the recommended allocation of judicial staff among courts. The app also allows users to continuously update the results with new and more recent case data.

Both interactive web applications are low cost solutions, relying entirely on open source software (R and Shinyproxy) that require only a small server hosting fee. In spite of this, they allow for the same advanced features as is common in larger commercial apps, such as multiple users, advanced user control, data security, etc. The apps have so far proven to provide a powerful supplement to EWMI’s effort to support data-driven management in developing judiciaries.

Raising Awareness about Violence Against Children

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Campaign Opening Event in Gori.

Like mirrors, children reflect the society they live in and are images of what happens around them. This is why heart-shaped mirror pins were chosen as the symbol of the regional civic campaign on violence against children. From November 20 to 22, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and volunteers in Telavi, Gori, and Kutaisi carried out the campaign labeled “You’ve Got a Message” to raise public awareness of various forms of violence against children, and the problems related to prevention and elimination of this problem in the country.

Every child has the right to get quality healthcare and education, be strong and secure, and have the same opportunities as other children do. State programs and services in Georgia fail to secure these basic rights. Parents and society at large also violate the rights of children frequently. This is demonstrated by a number of studies conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) over the past few years in Georgia:

  • Violence against children and its prevention: According to a 2016 Survey, 60% of the general public think that harsh parenting is a more effective method of raising a child than using a non-violent method; the Social Service Agency has only 11 psychologists to provide psycho-social rehabilitation services to child victims of violence; the practice of revealing and responding to cases of violence against children is very challenging as well.
  • Poverty: According to the 2017 Welfare Monitoring Survey, every fifth child lives in a household in which household members’ basic needs are not met.
  • Pre-school education: According to 2018 survey data, 62.5% of municipalities spend 10 GEL annually (on average 0.73-1.11 GEL monthly) for developmental toys and educational resources per child in kindergartens. 44% of kindergarten staff does not possess professional competencies.

In order to capture public attention for these and other child-related problems in Georgia, CSOs and activists engaged wider society in a variety of interesting events:

At the campaign opening ceremony on the 20th of November, the public gathered at the central squares of Telavi, Gori, and Kutaisi, where organizers read out the Campaign Manifesto that clearly explained the focus and goals of the event and then invited citizens to write their notes or requests to the local municipality on a special banner. At the same time, outdoor digital screens displayed children’s emotional messages to adults. The messages, excerpts from real-life stories, concerned violent methods of upbringing and humiliating attitudes the children face at schools and kindergartens and in their families. This immediately gained public attention and engagement both at the event and later on social media.

To make the problem more visible, an art installation “Circle of Violence” was staged. Aside from the visual elements, viewers could listen to the sounds of violence and the humiliating expressions that adults use towards children.

The main highlight of the second day was theatrical monologues in which children and adults told real stories of child abuse, bullying, and domestic violence. A lively discussion followed the monologues with the participation of school students, teachers, and parents. On the same day, volunteers distributed information cards entitled “Myths and Realities of Raising Children” to people on the streets. The cards featured the most widespread misconceptions about childrearing and the correct methods to counter them.

A discussion “What would you buy for 73 tetri?” was held on the third day of the campaign to highlight the challenges that children face in kindergartens. 73 tetri is the amount that the majority of municipalities spend on developmental toys for children in public kindergartens. A photo exhibition on the way children see kindergartens was also displayed at the discussion space.

During the campaign, public signatures were collected on a statement requesting that both local and central governments fulfill their obligations imposed by international conventions, and develop and/or improve the appropriate child welfare services. These statements were then submitted to the Telavi, Gori, and Kutaisi city halls. “The purpose of the campaign is to highlight the role of the local and central governments in improving children’s well-being. It’s impossible to achieve any improvement without government intervention” – said Keti Kalandadze, representative of the “Coalition for Children and Youth”.

The “You’ve Got a Message” campaign was carried out with financial support from EWMI ACCESS and Save the Children in Georgia, and organized by “Coalition for Children and Youth” along with its regional partner CSOs: Society “Biliki,” Social Umbrella, Network of Centers for Civic Engagement, Regional Civil Society Network, Civil Development Agency, and PITA project. The campaign involved up to 100 youth volunteers as well.

Civic Activists Secure Recreation Status for a Public Space in Batumi

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Recreational status was granted to the non-agricultural land plots on Javakhishvili Street.

In response to the petition initiated by a group of active citizens supported by EWMI ACCESS Citizen Outreach Grant (COG) recipient Civil Society Institute (CSI), Batumi now has one more recreational area, where local residents can spend their free time. On February 15, 2018, the members of the Batumi Municipality Council (i.e., Sakrebulo) endorsed the petition granting recreational status to three non-agricultural land plots on Javakhishvili Street.

The Batumi branch of CSI began working with civic-minded citizens, including youth, last year. After initial trainings and other capacity-building in civic engagement and advocacy techniques, CSI assisted the group of local activists in organizing open meetings with the residents of all 13 districts of Batumi to identify their most pressing problems. These meetings, held under the slogan Your Voice in the City Council, revealed numerous problems, including a lack of green public spaces and recreational zones in the city.

In response, the civic initiative group developed a petition to the Batumi Sakrebulo requesting granting of the recreational status to the non-agricultural land plots on Javakhishvili Street, so that locals could use this space for recreational purposes.

The group mobilized the local citizens from round the plot-land area, secured the legally mandated number of signatures, and submitted the petition to the Batumi Sakrebulo in February 2017.

The Batumi Sakrebulo took over one year to review the petition. Throughout this period, the Batumi branch of CSI, along with the active citizens’ group, persistently advocated for the positive resolution of the issue through attending all Sakrebulo hearings, working closely with the Civil Advisory Council attached to the Sakrebulo, and using every other opportunity to voice citizens’ strong support.

Thanks to these efforts, in February 2018, the Batumi Saktrebulo approved the petition request and officially upheld the recreational function of the square, thus protecting it from external interventions, including but not limited to an apartment block construction.

The CSI project has thus set an important precedent of a successful citizen engagement in the local decision-making process and additionally, encouraged some of the involved activists to join the Civil Advisory Council at the Batumi Sakrebulo.

Magistrates’ School Unveils State-of-the-Art Website and Portal in Georgia

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Giorgi Tshekhani, HSOJ Head of Administration, explains software content.

On February 6, the High School of Justice (HSOJ) presented its new website and web-portal to the public. The HSOJ leadership explained that the software package, developed by the Georgian company Idea Design with the support of EWMI through the Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP), includes three major elements: 1) a new organization website; 2) an online catalogue of the HSOJ library; and 3) a web platform made up of “portals” for the special use of student judge candidates, sitting judges, and court staff.  The student judge portal allows student judges to see their training program calendar, receive ‘alerts’ regarding class changes, receive class assignments, and view their evaluation results and class ranking. It also allows students to communicate with their instructors, submit class assignments and take examinations electronically.  Sitting judges and court staff will use their portals to participate in the design of their respective continuing legal education programs, sign-up for training events, and evaluate training content. Overall, the software package will allow the HSOJ to communicate with its students and professors with greater ease and efficiency, and make HSOJ operations more transparent.

First Students Graduate from Ilia State University MPA Program

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The MPA Program serves as a focal point for public policy research and an incubator for the next generation of Georgian policy makers and public managers.

On July 12, Ilia State University (ISU) held a commencement ceremony in Tbilisi for the first 29 graduates of its new Masters of Public Administration (MPA) Program. The graduation was the culmination of a four-year joint initiative by EWMI, ISU, and Columbia University to establish a high-quality graduate program to train Georgia’s next generation of public leaders.

In his opening remarks at the graduation, ISU Head of Administration and former MPA Program Director Dr. David Aprasidze congratulated everyone involved in developing and establishing the program in only four years. This includes 17 US professors from Columbia University, the City University of New York, and Arizona State University, who came to Georgia over the course of the project to work with MPA faculty and administrators on program administration, curriculum, and course design.

Jason Swantek, the Public Policy Advisor for EWMI’s Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development Project in Georgia (G-PAC) discussed the program’s major successes en route to becoming the most practical program of its kind in Georgia. Mr. Swantek noted that the program had recruited highly experienced instructors, produced the first publication of Georgia-based public administration case studies, and established the Public Policy Research and Training Center (PPRTC), which has already begun to influence public policy and provide demand-driven training to government and civil society professionals. He identified the high caliber of students the program attracted as a particular success.

New graduate Gigi Katsaridze thanked the program’s instructors and encouraged his fellow graduates to aspire to do great things for Georgia. After his remarks, the students shook hands with program administrators and received their diplomas. The ceremony was followed by refreshments, cake, and live music to celebrate the occasion.

The MPA Program, which began its first classes in March 2012, serves as a focal point for public policy research and an incubator for the next generation of Georgian policy makers and public managers. The program’s instructors draw on their expertise in Georgia’s public, civil society, and private sectors to engage students in developing solutions to the country’s most urgent policy challenges. Students gain “real world” experience through an internship requirement and the opportunity to participate in research projects through the MPA Program’s PPRTC and case study publications. The program also provided students and professors with the opportunity to work with distinguished visiting US experts, who delivered public lectures and participated in MPA classes.

USAID through EWMI G-PAC provided approximately $700,000 to ISU to establish the MPA Program.

Contract Law Textbook Released

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On April 16, 2014, EWMI and the National Center for Commercial Law (NCCL) at Free University held an event to publicly present a newly published, Georgian language, Contract Law Textbook. Georgia’s leading experts in contract law wrote the book over the course of the last year – under the editing direction and with the financial support of EWMI through the Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP). The book is designed to be used in the modern law school classroom. It not only provides law students with explanations of the core concepts of Georgian contract law, but the book is also structured in a way that teaches them how to analyze and solve problems. Each chapter of the book consists of a theoretical section, enriched by relevant practical examples. More than 100 people attended the book release event and the book signing that followed. Both EWMI-JILEP and the NCCL have made the book available online through their websites. EWMI will provide a number of hard copy versions to targeted law school libraries, public libraries, law firms, and relevant government institutions.

Tipping the Scales of Gender Equality in Georgian Courts

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In July 2012, the gender distribution in the Georgian Judicial Administration was 63% male. Several high positions within the court lacked female representation and were entirely made up of male jurists.

To address this issue of gender disparity in the courts, in April 2013, the Deputy Chief of Mission Bridget Brink, Supreme Court Chairman Konstantine Kublashvili, and the Minister of Justice Tea Tsulukiani joined to host a conference, organized by EWMI’s Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project (JILEP), entitled “Gender in the Court: Working Toward a More Inclusive Court System.” The conference aimed to foster the development of a court system that encourages women to play a greater role in the running of courts and the development of the justice system. 

A few months after the conference, noticeable improvements could already be seen. As of July 2013, female jurists moved into court positions which were previously without female representation. The number of female HCOJ Members rose from zero to three, while the makeup of the Disciplinary Committee also shifted to include a female jurist and two female non-judge members. Although the shift towards a more even distribution of gender in the courts is exciting, several positions, including the Disciplinary Chamber and the Judge chairs of the Chambers of the courts, remain entirely male.  EWMI will continue to support initiatives aimed at balancing the scales and encourage further progress.

Sixteen Georgian Think Tanks Sign an Ethical and Quality Standards Document

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New Ethical and Quality Standards document establishes principles to ensure that Georgian think tanks meet the highest possible professional standards.

On May 21, 16 Georgian Think Tanks signed an Ethical and Quality Standards Document. The document presents comprehensive standards to guide the work of Georgian think tanks and establishes principles to ensure that the think tanks meet the highest possible professional standards. The ethical code covers organizational themes such as transparency, accountability and governance, while the quality standards focus on research, analysis, and advocacy processes.

At the signing ceremony, EWMI presented new standards to an auditorium filled with CSOs, the media, and International Organizations. Following the presentation, Georgian think tanks publicly signed the document.

EWMI’s Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development Project in Georgia (G-PAC) assisted Georgian think tanks in developing these standards, using similar documents from the US and Central and Eastern Europe as guidelines. Policy research experts from Arizona State University in the US reviewed the draft standards and provided feedback. Over months of discussion, and with great attention from the Georgian policy research environment, the Georgian think tanks developed, finalized, and adopted these standards.

By signing up to follow those standards, the Georgian Think Tanks have self-imposed principles of excellence and have taken responsibility for following the highest possible standards to guide them through their work. The standards will ultimately raise the profile of Georgian think tanks among the public, as well as enhance the credibility and quality of the policy research.

The following organizations signed the document:

EWMI Grantee Facilitates Greater Collaboration on Sustainable Energy Issues

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Residents of the Kazbegi region protest the construction of the Dariali HPP at the Ministry of Energy in Tbilisi.

Hydro-power will be an important component to developing a sustainable domestic energy supply in Georgia. However, several hydro-power plant (HPP) construction contracts were signed without the input of the communities those HPPs would affect or an assessment of their environmental impacts. To ensure a more participatory process that accounts for community and environmental concerns, EWMI Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development Project in Georgia (G-PAC) grantee, Green Alternative, successfully facilitated greater collaboration between the government, CSOs, the private sector, and the public on the issue.  

Green Alternative focused its efforts on the Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi, and Svaneti regions, which would be affected by several new HPPs. Green Alternative began by meeting with community members to raise public awareness about the potential impact of HPP construction on local ecosystems, geography, and livelihoods. 

At the same time, Green Alternative facilitated communication between these communities and relevant investors and government decision makers. Green Alternative formed two working groups within the Ministry of Energy to address public concerns. The organization also researched the terms of HPP construction contracts and recommended amendments that would promote greater sustainability and economic benefits for Georgia. These recommendations were presented to all stakeholders.

Green Alternative also formed partnerships with local CSOs working on similar issues throughout the country, including some outside of the regions originally envisioned by the project. Stepantsminda, from the Kazbegi region, was one such organization. With assistance from Green Alternative Executive Director Ketevan Gujaraidze arranged through EWMI G-PAC’s Mentoring Program, Stepantsminda helped citizens in its community express their concerns about HPP construction in the Dariali Ravine to policy makers.

Thanks to Green Alternative and their coalition partners like Stepantsminda, three HPP projects (in Dariali, Khudoni, and Namakvani) have been put on hold until concerns about them can be adequately addressed. The Ministry of Energy is now working on a sustainable energy strategy that will account for the concerns Green Alternative’s coalition has raised.

EWMI funded Green Alternative’s project with a G-PAC Partnership for Change (PfC) grant.