Georgia Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Fellows eapcivilsociety.eu

School Management in Georgia

The fellowship aimed to conduct qualitative research to identify the perspectives of school headmasters on key solutions regarding bullying in schools and report to the decision makers (e.g. Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of Georgia). To explore the bullying prevention instruments and mechanisms, George organized five consultation meetings with the mentors and did desk research; he conducted interviews with the 35 school headmasters from different regions of Georgia and five interviews with the field experts. The research findings (objectives, outcomes, and recommendations about the school management in Georgia) were published in the School Management Journal, which was distributed to the local public schools. Also, George held two regional meetings (a conference in Senaki, Journal presentation in Telavi) and two presentations in Tbilisi (event at the Tbilisi Classis School, a final presentation of the research deliverables). To discuss the bullying prevention tools on a global scale, George attended two International events: One in Kathmandu – The Global Campaign for Education conference and the other at Cambridge University – The London International Conference on Education.

The project produced a research paper introducing the perspectives of school principals, mentors, and field experts on bullying and suggesting a joint action to identify and tackle the issue. The academic document revealed the challenges faced by the secondary educational system, including a lack of a common strategy, action plan as well as a communication platform with partner organizations and school community members. The research findings evolved high interest in the professional circles affiliated with the educational field and stimulated policy discussions with the decision-makers. Apart from developing research-based expertise on bullying at schools, George brought the problem at the forefront of the public debates through the meetings on the local (presentations in Tbilisi), regional (events in Senaki and Telavi), and international (conferences in Kathmandu and London) levels. After the fellowship completion, George started a collaboration with his Azerbaijani colleagues to share the lessons learned and come up with a policy that would suit their environment.

Country	Georgia
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Civil Society Involvement in Monitoring Tbilisi City Hall

The project studied the enforcement of Georgia’s political priorities (youth and women empowerment, environmental protection) by the local public administration. Through policy-monitoring research, Mariam assessed the budget and strategic documents of the Tbilisi City Hall from the perspectives of gender equality, environmental mainstreaming, and youth participation. The project also aimed to scrutinize public administration performance, accessibility to public information, and transparency of electronic governance. To investigate the local agendas in-depth, she applied different methodologies (desk research, interviews and content analysis). To raise awareness of the local administration, recommendations were then shared with the relevant departments.

The study produced a bilingual report researching the local agenda of the Tbilisi City Hall in terms of gender, youth, and environment. In retrospect, the project delivered significant tangible results in the field of environmental protection. To address the current climate challenges, Mariam recommended a list of transport regulations. Within two years after the fellowship completion, the Georgian Government introduced mandatory technical inspections on the personal vehicles. Thus, the local authority initiated a new transport policy and sustainable mobility program in compliance with her recommendations. The newly-initiated program promotes the sustainable and green development of the city. Therefore, all ongoing infrastructure projects have to follow the recommendations proposed by the international field-experts.

When given the opportunity by the EU-funded Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility to replicate some of these achievements at a larger scale, Mariam initiated a regional action to research the local environmental agenda of six municipal administrations of Georgia (Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi) and Ukraine (Kyiv, Lviv, Kriviy Rig) in 2020. The regional project was implemented in collaboration with Bohdan Dyachenko (EaP Fellow from Ukraine) and Tea Turashvili (EaP Fellow from Georgia).

Report in English:

Report in Georgian:

Country	Georgia
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En/Countering Stigma of Terrorism: The Case of Pankisi

The project En/Countering Stigma of Terrorism: The Case of Pankisi was a research implemented in the frame of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Fellowship. Through conducting a number of in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions with the young women and men residing in Pankisi gorge, Mariam analyzed their views about the stigma of terrorism, the factors triggering religious radicalization and young peoples’ outflow to Syria, and the role of the State in maintaining peace and security in the gorge. To finalize the research analysis Mariam met field-professionals at the Central European University in Budapest and accessed the CEU Library for two weeks.

The project produced the research paper reflecting concerns of the young Pankisi residents regarding the stigma of terrorism, their religious preferences, and attitudes towards the Syrian armed conflict. This study is valuable as it introduced an insider’s perspective on the changing social landscape in Pankisi, based on the collected narratives of local young women and men. Furthermore, the research findings discussed the harsh and reactive policy employed by the Government towards the Gorge and its residents that need to be substituted by preventive measures and proactive CVE (Countering Violent Extremism) policies.

Country	Georgia
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Capacity Building of Regional CSO and Local Stakeholders in the EU Affairs

The project comprised the field visits and interactive seminars in the nine regional cities of Georgia, including Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Batumi, Telavi, Gori, Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe, Lagodekhi, and Lanchkhuti. The training aimed to equip the target audience with necessary empirical and theoretical knowledge and understanding to grasp, explain and analyze the dominant topics on the European Union from the prism of the EU-Georgian relations. Hence, the above field-visits contributed to the promotion of Georgia’s successful convergence with European values. Finally, in cooperation with the NATO-EU Info Center, Giorgi developed a brochure on Ten Myths and Realities About the European Union in Georgia.

The project increased awareness about the European Union and promoted the European values in the nine regional cities of Georgia. Therefore, meetings facilitated networking among the local civil society organizations. During the seminars, the project participants discussed the insights about EU-Georgia relations, including past experiences, future cooperation perspectives and challenges at the policy level. In total, more than 400 people attended the training delivered in all target cities. Also, the brochures about 10 Myths and Realities About the European Union served as a tool to overcome prejudices related to the perceptions of the EU in the Georgian regions and bust most widespread EU-related myths through educated, well researched and argumentative responses. Overall, 11,000 copies of the brochures (6000 in Georgian and per-1000 in Russian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Abkhazian and Ossetian) were printed and disseminated during the EU days in May 2018.

Country	Georgia
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Promoting for Cycling as a Transport in Tbilisi

The project aimed to promote cycling as popular transportation in Tbilisi. To achieve that, Lika organized two large-scale cycling marches in the city center during the Christmas holidays. The volunteers actively distributed the information leaflets on safe transportation at both events. All participants received safety accessories as the necessary attribute for safe cycling. Both campaigns engaged influencers, activists, local authorities and media representatives. Apart from the community outreach activities, Lika held collaborative roundtables with the local decision-makers from the Tbilisi City Hall. To enhance the cycling environment in the city, policy recommendations were shared with the local authorities.

Through the offline meetings and campaigns, the project increased public awareness of safe cycling in the city. Thus, the civic activists shared their perspectives about road safety and infrastructure with the local government. Apart from the promotion of cycling as sustainable transportation, the project delivered outstanding institutional changes. Tbilisi City Hall just initiated a new transport policy that puts sustainable mobility on top of the political agenda. The latter includes the safe cycling regulations in the city.

Country	Georgia
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Countering the Pro-Kremlin Disinformation Campaign in Georgia

The project: Countering the Pro-Kremlin Disinformation Campaign in Georgia is a research carried out in cooperation with the European Values Think Tank under the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Fellowship. The project addressed the lack of information in terms of pro-kremlin propaganda in Georgia; it reviewed the efforts that government and civil society organizations have taken to challenge the hostile information activities, including those targeting the religious segments of the society. The research aimed to contribute to a better understanding of how to prevent and manage the potentially harmful impact of disinformation on countries with similar social fabric and political environments.

The project produced an academic paper on Russia’s Disinformation Activities and Counter-Measures. In his research, Tornike reviewed the main lessons learned from Georgia’s experience in tackling the pro-Kremlin disinformation, and developed a list of recommendations for improving the effectiveness of these counter-measures. The document also served as a basis for a Georgia chapter in the 2018 ranking of countermeasures by the EU and EaP countries to the Kremlin’s subversion operations. Overall, Tornike’s research contributed to the conceptual understanding of the nature and characteristics of pro-Russian disinformation campaigns. Besides, the research was one of the very first systemic introductions of Georgia in the ongoing discourse on pro-Russian disinformation campaigns in Europe.

Country	Georgia
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