Georgian law mandates the universal right to early education for all Georgian residents, but research conducted by EWMI grantee, Center for Civic Activities (CCA), showed that for residents of mountainous and ethnic minority populated areas, this type of access proves to be the exception rather than the rule. CCA went door to door in more than 30 villages in these areas, engaging local activists and meeting with residents to help them advocate for their children’s right to early education. In many of these areas, CCA and the CSO Platform Salam helped locals use petitions – a first in the history of the municipalities – to assert their rights. After this campaign, the state announced in early 2023 that it would allocate 1.3 billion GEL for the renovation of 555 kindergartens and the construction of 330 new ones – including some in ethnic-minority populated villages that had previously lacked access to their own kindergarten.

Photo by Laura Rivera