Fellowship Programme
Country
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| Country | Georgia |
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Updates coming soon!
| Country | Georgia |
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| The budget development decisions | 0 |
Nino Chincharauli never really expected to be a Civil Society Fellow. She spent most of her adult life involved in the creative industries and contributing to the cultural fabric of Georgia and other countries. Her creativity has manifested itself in paintings, iconography, in poems, and in fictional literature, as well as using her Spanish language skills for the publication of Spanish literature translated to Georgian. Between 2013 and 2015 she had been involved in some project work focused on her native Khevsurain culture, for example the internationally-funded ‘Youth for Preservation of the Ancient Khevsurian Authentic Clothes and Crafts’ and ‘Say It, Khevsurian Woman’ initiatives, and in recent years contributed some part-time work as a project coordinator. But it was the challenge of raising two children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)* that led Nino to apply her creativity to civic activism.
There is little understanding of autism in Georgian communities and consequently children with ASD, particularly young children, are excluded from so much of community life. “Parents with autistic kids often remove them from events and activities with other children as they are afraid of how they might be treated” explains Nino, and the owners and managers of public venues “do not make provision for the specific needs of autistic children, such as ensuring quiet and uncrowded spaces”. Furthermore, members of the general public do not always know how to discuss autism and or how to respond to it. It is a much-misunderstood condition.
In this context, Nino was inspired to raise awareness to ASD by using her artistic skills. In particular she thought that murals – wall paintings – would be a great tool for grabbing attention and at the same time could be created in a participatory way, involving community members with and without ASD. So was born Nino’s project ‘I’m Different, Not Less’, and having learnt about the activities of other Civil Society Fellows in Georgia, Nino saw that joining the alumni of Fellows would be both a way to support the implementation of her project and to mobilise solidarity for her cause.
The ’I’m Different, Not Less’ fellowship project involved gathering interest and permissions from various stakeholders in three cities in Georgia: Batumi, Kutaisi, and Tbilisi. The target was to find wall space, ideally on public buildings like schools or libraries, and to mobilise groups of parents with children with ASD to hold events to create and celebrate murals to raise awareness to autism in each city. “It was incredibly hard work, but the reaction to the three murals in the cities was, and still is, fantastic!”
As a result of the murals, produced over the spring and summer of 2023, Nino has secured local TV reporting on autism and many of the 60 parents involved in Nino’s events are engaging in ways that they didn’t think about before. Some parents have been running their own ‘masterclasses’ to improve understanding of autism; some parents have set up safe places and continuing activities to support a better understanding of autism. One parent founded an integrated space for children with disabilities in Tbilisi called “Andio Land” and plans to open similar spaces in other cities. Another parent, who is a single mother like Nino, founded a psychological therapy centre for parents of children with autism.
Nino explains that “Parents feel that they don’t need to hide anymore. And I too feel much more confident in my parenting and my interaction with others on the subject of autism”. Nino and the murals she helped to create have certainly resonated with the local communities in the three Georgian cities, and have demonstrated the importance of using art for stimulating community discussions. The murals have also led to Nino forming a closer bond to other parents with autistic children. She ends with a recent recollection:
“In Batumi, four months after unveiling the mural, a mother contacted me to say that she had spent the last few months trying to find out who had made the painting. Her autistic child came to the school and fell in love with the painting. The mother said her son couldn’t stop talking about. So, I ended up painting a portrait of the child for her mother!”
*‘Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world in varying degrees. More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum’ – The National Autistic Society (UK).
| Country | Georgia |
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Updates coming soon!
| Country | Georgia |
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Tinatin Bregvadze is the Chair of the Board of the Georgian Centre for Strategy and Development, a large, highly-regarded non-governmental organisation based in Tbilisi and operating through projects in Georgia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. She has more than 20 years’ experience working with national and international CSOs, as well as a more recent rewarding experience as Director of the Diplomatic Training and Research Institute under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In taking on the Institute directorship, Tinatin was tasked with reforming and strengthening the institution and applying her academic background, including her current pursuit of a PhD in Education. After 3 years at the Institute Tinatin returned to her role at GCSD and pursuing her passion of creating opportunity for diverse groups in society and particularly the more vulnerable communities.
Tinatin has a long track record in developing and implementing interventions that support a more just and socially equal society, and ‘the community’ is at the heart of her motivations:
“Grassroots is where the ‘real’ life is, so when refugees from Ukraine began to arrive in Tbilisi I knew I had to do something”. That ‘something’ was to formulate a project which would combine an immediate humanitarian response with specific educational methodologies that would support both children and parent refugees. As Tinatin explains, “Ukrainian children who were suddenly ripped away from their normal life of playing with friends, going to school, having fun, and instead subjected to the horrors of being a refugee. Having met some of these refugees I immediately developed some activities to support them. Unfortunately, at that time in Georgia, there was limited access to resources to assist the refugees, so I was delighted to learn about the opportunities of the Solidarity Fellowships, which was exactly what I identified with.”
And so Tinatin’s Civil Society Fellowship began.
Tinatin together with her colleagues developed an approach that would engage the Ukrainian children and youth, and provide support to their parents to integrate into their new surroundings. She formed a team of artists and art educators, and counsellors, and managed to run a summer of art classes involving 50 children, and to organise movie screenings, talks and city site visits. The children’s art classes even culminated in a final exhibition held at Tbilisi’s Centre of Contemporary Art.
“Interestingly, although my fellowship involved a number of carefully structured activities and provision of safe space for Ukrainian children, it was the informal coming together of the mothers of the children which may have had the biggest impact.” By nurturing the involvement of the mothers, Tinatin was able to provide them with opportunities to talk about their experiences and to build up new friendships. This process was the essence of the ‘solidarity’ fellowship.
Of course, as an educationalist, Tinatin is happy that the specific methodologies used in working with the children (and parents) during the art classes were effective and that they will be sustained. The ‘package’ of art classes and methods have been institutionalised within a local parent/artists informal group and during 2023 a revised set of classes will be delivered to other vulnerable children through the organisation ‘Parallel Class’.
“The programme we developed is quite unique as it is more oriented on socialisation and the involvement of children in group activities. This is one of the reasons why ‘Parallel Class’ plans to continue the programme, incorporating into it the lessons learnt throughout this process. They will make it available for Georgian and Ukrainian kids. This is good news and was possible only because of all the hard work of the teachers, artists and other volunteers that helped me make it happen.”
| Country | Georgia |
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| The budget development decisions | 0 |
Updates coming soon!
| Country | Georgia |
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Under the captivating banner of “History Keepers,” Mariam Gersamia spearheaded a transformative Fellowship project aimed at fostering solidarity journalism for peace and security. Her project encompassed a wide array of activities that strengthened the bond between civically minded citizens of Georgia and Ukraine, all while elevating awareness concerning media coverage of vulnerable groups in Ukraine.
One of the notable achievements of this initiative was the creation and implementation of a joint training module and syllabus for universities titled “Solidarity Journalism in a Global Era.” This syllabus, approved and executed at Tbilisi State University’s graduate program “Media Psychology and Communications,” was a resounding success, engaging 15 students in the fall semester, including international students from Europe. The syllabus marks a pivotal step in shaping the future of journalism and nurturing a new generation of journalists focused on solidarity.
The project extended its reach through diverse activities, including webinars, training sessions, discussions featuring renowned journalists and civic activists, and an awarding ceremony for the “History Keepers.” Additionally, Mariam’s team produced podcasts, academic blogs, social media content, and quizzes focused on the history of Ukraine, Russian disinformation, and the essence of solidarity journalism.
The impact of Mariam’s Fellowship project has been far-reaching. Beneficiaries include students, media organizations, educators, and civil society organizations in both Ukraine and Georgia. The legacy of this project is one of increased awareness about solidarity journalism, the history of Ukraine and its people, and the establishment of the “History Keepers” programme. This initiative has fortified networks of support and understanding between Georgian and Ukrainian communities and promises to shape the future of journalism, fostering a sense of unity and collaboration across borders.
Check some of the resources produced by the project:
| Country | Georgia |
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The Interim Monitoring of the Three-Year Reform of the Youth Agency stands as the first research report that evaluates the performance of Georgia’s Youth Agency from the perspective of its beneficiaries. Established in 2019, the Youth Agency had not undergone any external assessment, making Davit’s research a landmark contribution to the youth policy field in Georgia.
Through a rigorous and inclusive methodology, the research engaged almost 50 participants in six focus group discussions, including youth organisation representatives, youth workers, and college representatives from diverse regions, age groups, and gender identities. All participants had direct experience with the Agency’s programmes and welcomed the opportunity to be heard, noting that this was the only space available for them to share their concerns about the development of the youth sector in Georgia.
The findings, compiled in both Georgian and English, were published and made available online and received strong interest from the youth sector and academia further demonstrating the report’s practical relevance. (Download the report in English here and in Georgian here).
An online presentation of the report took place on January 9, 2023, where a representative of the Youth Agency expressed appreciation for the effort and emphasized its potential to contribute meaningfully to youth development in Georgia.
Davit’s work provides an important independent lens into the challenges and opportunities within Georgia’s youth policy framework. He sees the report as a valuable resource for international donor organisations, civil society actors, and researchers working to strengthen non-formal education and advocacy in the youth field.
By giving voice to beneficiaries and producing a structured, evidence-based report, this fellowship project has laid the groundwork for more accountable and responsive youth policy development in Georgia.
| Country | Georgia |
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Tamar Zviadadze’s Fellowship project aimed to illuminate and address the challenges and opportunities surrounding the employment of youth with disabilities in the modern labour market.
A pivotal component of this initiative was the Needs Assessment Study on Employability of Youth with Disabilities (Download the study in English here and in Georgian here). This study not only revealed the current status of youth with disabilities in the labour market, but also identified their needs and challenges. It delved into the labour market’s demands on the one hand, and on the other, it examined the attitudes and perceptions of employers regarding the employment of individuals with disabilities.
Recognizing the importance of increasing awareness about existing employment support services among both youth and employers, the project included a service mapping exercise. This effort led to the creation of a public document that serves as a guideline for those seeking information on available employment support services.
The impact of this project has been substantial. Its beneficiaries encompass youth with disabilities, employers, civil society organizations involved in employment support, and the State Employment Support Agency. A final event on the presentation of research findings brought together stakeholders from the State Employment Agency, the Public Defender’s Office, and local and international NGOs. Through this event, a collaborative spirit was kindled, with the parties agreeing to work more closely on the issues surrounding the employment support of individuals with disabilities.
Significantly, Tamar’s work has bridged a knowledge gap in this vital field. It is one of the few quantitative pieces of research on the employment of people with disabilities in Georgia. The guideline on existing employment support services has also significantly increased awareness among employers and individuals with disabilities. This project has set the stage for greater inclusivity and support for people with disabilities in the workforce, paving the way for a more equitable future.
| Country | Georgia |
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Teona’s Fellowship project transformed the AskGov.ge platform into a dynamic civic tech tool that empowers Georgian citizens to hold public authorities accountable through freedom of information requests. The platform allows users to send official information requests to government institutions and makes both the requests and their responses publicly available, enabling greater transparency and building a growing public database for citizens, journalists, and activists alike.
Teona’s project also strengthened the broader transparency ecosystem in Georgia. She successfully mobilized and expanded the AskGov community, launched strategic partnerships with six leading European civic tech and transparency organizations, and facilitated the formation of a coalition of three Georgian CSOs advocating for access to information.
The platform’s visibility and impact gained international recognition: in May 2023, AskGov.ge was awarded the Tech Award at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, marking a major milestone for civic tech innovation in Georgia.
Through interviews with users and an in-depth analysis of their needs, Teona oversaw both backend and user interface upgrades to improve accessibility and engagement. Her field visit to London in May 2022 provided key insights into how civic tech tools can be used to improve access to public data through innovative, citizen-focused solutions. She captured these learnings in a blog post “Unlocking the Power of Civic Tech: Reflections from My Journey to London”.
Today, AskGov.ge is more than a platform, it’s a movement. It offers a critical pathway for Georgia’s citizens to exercise their right to access public information. With an ever-growing community, improved functionality, and increasing responsiveness from public institutions, AskGov.ge is paving the way for more transparent, accountable governance in Georgia.
| Country | Georgia |
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