September 2011

Seminar on FCNM Implementation and Reporting Procedures in Georgia
12-13 September, 2011

From September 12-13, 2011, a seminar on FCNM implementation and reporting procedures in Georgia was held as part of Denmark's Georgia Programme 2010-2013 “promotion of judicial reform, human and minority rights in Georgia in accordance with Council of Europe Standards”. The seminar was organized with cooperation from the Council of Europe and the National Security Council. The seminar, which was facilitated by international expert and member of the FCNM Advisory Committee Mr. Francesco Palermo, was arranged to assist working group members responsible for drafting the FCNM second State Report with reporting methodology and technical procedures. The seminar aimed to provide practical inputs on the upcoming State Report, both in terms of structure and procedure as well as content. All procedural and substantive issues regarding the State Report have been addressed and discussed in depth, both in a comparative perspective and with particular attention given to the situation of minorities in Georgia.

June 2011

Problems of the Kakheti region national minorities
29 June, 2011

The round table meeting “Problems of the Kakheti region national minorities” was held from 28-29 June in Grogoleti. The aim of the meeting was to discuss major problems faced by national minorities in the Kakheti region. This region, located in eastern Georgia, is home to a number of national minority groups that live in both dispersed and compact settlements. Yet, unlike other regions such as Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli, very little attention is given to national minority integration and protection. This round table meeting was the first event in Georgia devoted exclusively to minority problems in the Kakheti region. The meeting was attended by representatives of all national minority communities residing in Kakheti, including Azerbaijanis, Ossetians, Avars/Dagestanis, Udins, Roms, Kists/Vainakhs and Chechen refugees, as well as representatives of the Kakheti local government and members of the Council of National Minorities under the auspices of the Public Defender.

During the two-day event, representatives from each community presented detailed descriptions of the problems and challenges faced by their respective ethnic groups. By the end of the meeting, participants had developed a set of recommendations and possible measures that local government could implement to solve these problems. Finally, the representatives decided to officially present these recommendations to relevant decision makers and officials from the central and regional governments.

Round table meeting “National Minority Cultural Heritage of Georgia”
17 June, 2011

The round table meeting “National Minority Cultural Heritage of Georgia” was held on 17 June in Tbilisi. The aim of the meeting was to discuss problems related to the protection of national minority cultural monuments located in different regions of Georgia. The meeting was attended by members of the Council of National Minorities as well as representatives from the Public Defender’s Office, the Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection, the State Minister’s Office on Reintegration, and various international organizations.

The first session of the meeting was devoted to presentations by national minority community leaders, who provided an overview of national minority cultural heritage protection in ethnic Russian, Azerbaijani, Jewish, and Armenian communities in Georgia. It was revealed that a considerable number of national minority monuments in Georgia still lack official status as cultural monuments, and thus do not enjoy official legal protection. Another urgent issue raised by ethnic community leaders was the status of the “sirotski dom,” a cultural site for the Russian/Dukhobor community in Ninotsminda district that, despite repeated promises, has still not been granted the status of museum.

During the second session of the round table meeting, a representative from the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection presented the government program on monument protection, highlighting the government’s general strategy as well as elaborating on previously planned initiatives.

May 2011

Roma Festival
May 21, 2011

Since 2008, the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) has made efforts to enhance the social inclusion of Romani in Georgia. As an initial step, ECMI sought to map Georgia’s Romani communities and identify their most pressing issues. Based on this research, ECMI has been able to develop a number of action oriented projects focused on empowering Romani communities through an emphasis on civil engagement and access to elementary education for Romani children.

On May 21, 2011, the Roma Festival was held as a joint initiative of ECMI, the Innovations and Reforms Centre, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Georgian National Museum. The festival was primarily intended to raise Romani’s awareness of both their rights and the importance of possessing documentation and birth certificates. To this end, the Innovation and Reform Centre used the event as a platform for legal consultancy and assistance to potential beneficiaries. Simultaneously, ECMI, with its close relations to Romani communities, presented Georgian Romani culture to the broader Georgian public in order to enhance inter-ethnic relations and foster tolerance in Georgian society.

Deputy Minister of Justice Giorgi Vashadze was among the 250-300 attendees at the festival. At the opening ceremony, Vashadze issued Romani with ID cards and birth certificates. Additionally, the event included a photography exhibition, a video slideshow, a bazaar, and Romani music and dance, all of which highlighted the cultural richness of various Romani communities from across Georgia.

April 2011

Seminar “Minority Governance in Georgia and Experience of Visegrad Countries”
29-30 April, 2011

The seminar “Minority Governance in Georgia and Experience of Visegrad Countries” was held from 29-30 April in Tbilisi. The seminar aimed to share V4 countries’ experience in the field of minority governance with Georgian authorities and representatives from Georgian civil society. During the seminar, international experts Dr. Michal Vasecka (Center for Research of Ethnicity and Culture) and Mr. Dusan Ondrusek (Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia) gave a presentation on the experience of V4 countries in minority governance and highlighted important aspects of interethnic relations and conflict resolution mechanisms in the V4 area. The presentation was followed by discussions. Georgian officials also presented on the Georgian model of minority governance. Activities, mandates and the structures of all relevant ministries and bodies responsible for implementation of civil integration and minority protection policy were discussed and analyzed by relevant officials.

During the second day of the seminar, issues of civil society development in both V4 countries and Georgia were discussed. Dr. Vasecka summarized the general situation of civil society in V4 countries during the post-socialist period, while Mr. Ondrusek focused on Slovakia’s experience in national minority civil society organizational development and provided examples of conciliation commissions. The last session of the seminar was devoted to civil society development issues in Georgia and focused on national minority networks. Specifically, activities of and challenges for the nationwide national minority network – the Council of National Minorities under the auspices of the Public Defender’s Office – were discussed. Regional national minority stakeholders also discussed problems and activities of civil society networks on a regional level, particularly in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region and the Tsalka district. The seminar was attended by 45 participants from various governmental structures and civil society organizations.

July 2010

Commencement of Integration Classes for Roma Children
Location: Public School No. 5, Kobuleti, Adjara
Date: 5 July 2010

With 21 children, together with their parents, in attendance, ECMI Caucasus' staff held an opening meeting on 5 July for the start of integration classes for the Roma community. With an enthusiastic atmosphere the children, ranging from 6 to 14 year-olds, were presented with school books and supplies. The main aim of the integration classes is to instruct the children in basic Georgian as well as arithmetic so they may attend the local school starting in September. In attendance was also the school director and staff as well as the local authorities. The importance of education in the development of a free civil society was discussed amongst general concerns about the starting school year. These integration classes will continue for two months.

June 2010

Training for Local CSO Representatives
Location: Kutaisi, Imereti
Date: 23 June 2010

On 23 June, members of ECMI Caucaus conducted a training in Kutaisi for local CSO representatives. concerning project proposal writing. The main goal of the training was to introduce to participants standard methodology of project proposal writing, budgeting and reporting. Suitably, local representatives were very satisfied and pleased with the training and the information received.

April 2010

Ensuring Transportation of Roma and Georgian Schoolchildren
Location: Public School No. 2, Dedoplistskaro, Kakheti
Date: 12 April 2010

On 12 April, ECMI Caucasus’s staff together with Civic Integration Foundation members the Dedoplistskaro district to hold a meeting with representatives of the local Romani community and the director of Dedoplistskaro Public School No. 2. At the meeting, a grant of 400 litres of diesel petrol was presented to the school, which will ensure the transportation of Roma children from the nearby village of Leninovka to the school together with ethnic Georgian children residing in the same village. This initiative was implemented by the Civic Integration Foundation under ECMI Caucasus’ mini-grant programme. The director of the school is planning to develop a project proposal which will target local Romani community concerning vocational training for adult community members. Furthermore, a series of consultations are planned by ECMI Caucasus for the upcoming months with the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia as well as other international and local organizations that may be ready to continue supporting this initiative from September 2010 onwards.

March 2010

Meeting with Minority Community Representatives
Location: Kutaisi, Imereti region
Date: 18-19 March 2010

On 18-19 March, ECMI Caucasus conducted meetings with minority community representatives in Kutaisi in the Imereti region. On the first day, meetings were held with Mr. Nugzar Andghuladze, vice-president of the Georgian-Ukrainian association “Friendship,” and Mr. Tengiz Bitkasha, a representative of Assyrian community in Kutaisi. On the second day, Mr. Giogri Tomash, chairman of the Russian Society “Compatriots,” was met with. All three community representatives expressed their willingness to cooperate with ECMI Caucasus within the framework of its civil society development initiatives and agreed to the need of engaging more youth representatives in trainings and other capacity-building programmes. During these meetings, the possibility of establishing a regional umbrella organization to unite minority community organizations was discussed.

February 2010

Awareness Meeting concerning Educational Reform
Location: Public School No. 3, Akhaltsikhe, Samtskhe-Javakheti
Date: 2 February 2010

On 2 February, the ALPE Foundation together with ECMI Caucasus and the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia conducted a meeting at Akhaltsikhe Public School No. 3 with the school principle, board members, teachers, chairman of the District Education Resource Centre and over a hundred pupils attending. The organizers presented the recent amendments to the Law of Georgia on Higher Education, which provides comparatively favourable conditions for national minorities to enroll in higher education institutions in Georgia. In particular, graduating students for the school year 2009-10 will have an opportunity to enter higher education institutions by only having to pass the General Abilities Test in Armenian or Azeri languages (Ossetian and Abkhazian-language tests will be introduced in the upcoming years). After having successfully passed the General Abilities Test they will be enrolled in higher education institutions and will have to take intensive Georgian language courses during the first year and upon successful completion will continue studying other courses from the second year onwards. Meetings such as these are especially important owing to fact that awareness among minority communities on these recent legislative reforms is rather low. Furthermore, with the fast approaching deadline of 22 March 2010 for applying for entry exams, it is pertinent to inform the minority youth.

January 2010

Civil Society Development in Batumi
Location: Batumi House of Friendship, Batumi, Adjara
Date: 17 January 2010

On 17 January, ECMI Caucasus’ representatives conducted a meeting with members of the Batumi House of Friendship as well as representatives of Batumi Mayor’s Office to introduce ECMI’s new programme on civil society development. and the potential involvement of representatives of minority communities of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. As a result, both the local authorities and members of the House of Friendship expressed their desire to be involved with and benefit from ECMI’s new programme.