An online conference on "Women and Mobility - Gender Aspects of The Women Daily Movement" was organized by the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia and supported by the German Cooperation Society (GIZ). The welcoming speeches were made by: Martina Kolby, Program Director of the German International Cooperation “Mobility for Cities”, Nino Tsilosani, Chairperson of the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia, and Niko Tatulashvili, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Human Rights.

Nino Korinteli - a researcher of the Fund "Sukhumi" Tbilisi Representative Office, was actively involved in the discussion. She participated in the online meeting as an independent consultant and co-author of the research. During the presentation, she highlighted the importance of women's economic empowerment (especially for vulnerable groups) and underlined, that despite the Monitoring Report of Fund "Sukhumi" - "Development of Child Care Services to Promote Women's Employment and Ensure Effective Prevention and Response to Domestic Violence" focuses on barriers to the development of childcare services, these two researches combine the emphasis on factors that promote women's economic empowerment (e.g. education, professional growth and employment)and the obstacles (e.g. according to the Fund “Sukhumi” research, restrictions to movement are considered as a barrier in getting education ).

On April 21, the Head of the Tbilisi Representation - Ekaterine Gamakharia participated in the Public Defender’s - Nino Lomjaria presentation about a special report on Impact of Closure of So-called Checkpoints in 2019-2020 on Rights Situation of Population of Occupied Territories.

According to the Public Defender of Georgia, the formal regime established by the de facto authorities for movement across the occupation line and the establishment of various barriers, such as the unpredictable closures of the so-called checkpoints, illegal arrests, problems with de facto documentation required for movement and other obstacles restrict the freedom of movement of the residents of occupied regions and create unjustified barriers to their access to livelihoods.

In her speech, Ekaterine Gamakharia focused on the possibility of free movement of Georgian citizens in the occupied territories, which this time implies the problem of obtaining the relevant document (residence permit). It still poses a risk that thousands of undocumented people will once again take the risky way of life and health to relocate to Georgian-controlled territory.

A consultation platform has been set up with the Office of the State Minister on "Women, Peace, and Security - Enhancing Women's Effective Participation in the Peacebuilding Process". The contribution of the Fund "Sukhumi" is important together with the partner organizations in this success.

On March 25, 2021, Ekaterine Gamakharia, Head of the Tbilisi Office of the Fund "Sukhumi", participated in the side-event had been held within the framework of the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65).

Ekaterine and her organization documented about the devastating impact on the economic situation of IDPs and conflict-affected women. She stressed that women’s participation in policy formulation is critical in ensuring a sustainable recovery.

“I am passionate about contributing to a peaceful, just, and progressive society, in which women, together with men, are able to make a difference through their activism. I firmly believe that peace and security cannot be sustained unless women have an equal and active role in political, economic, and social policy formulation.”

On March 25, Linda Chikhladze, the representative of the Fund “Sukhumi” Tbilisi office, participated in an online webinar organized by the Women Against Violence Network (WAVE) through the ZOOM platform.The event presented a WAVE’s research “Responding to domestic abuse in the context of Covid-19”.

During the webinar, representatives from the participating countries shared their national experiences and discussed the challenges and needs that accompany the process of responding to violence against women/domestic violence during pandemic.

On 11 March, the EUMM Mtskheta Regional Office on Human Security has organized an information-sharing meeting dedicated to women’s leadership in conflict-affected communities and in local governments, the importance of their activism, challenges, and opportunities for their participation in the decision-making process. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the EUMM, as well as other international organizations accredited in Georgia and civil society organizations.

Ekaterine Gamakharia, the representative of Fund “Sukhumi” Tbilisi office highlighted the challenges and barriers that hinder women’s meaningful participation in the decision-making process and the obstacles that prevent IDP and conflict-affected to be engaged in advocacy of their own concerns. She emphasized the need to empower IDPs and conflict-affected women especially those living close to the conflict dividing line, to raise their awareness, build their capacity and develop a strong civil society in the field. She has also drawn attention to the importance of active communication, exchange of information, and cooperation between international organizations, civil society organizations, and community leaders.

On May 24, 2021, Ekaterine Gamakharia, the head of the representative office of Fund “Sukhumi” participated in a regular information meeting between the participants of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) in the direction of Ergneti and representatives of civil society.  Representative Offices of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia and the State Security Service, the European Union Monitoring Mission, the UN Women, local CSOs and women's organizations, IDPs, and women affected by the conflict have participated in the info-sharing meeting.

At the meeting Ekaterine Gamakharia emphasized the importance of the inclusion of women's organizations with gender expertise in the group of experts, and other professionals in a specific field such as economics, ecology, violence against women, gender equality, healthcare, etc.

On 26th April, an information-sharing meeting with the CSOs on „Geneva International Discussions and the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda“ was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, and supported by the UN Women Georgia.

In the first part of the meeting, the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Tea Akhvlediani, addressed the representatives of the civil society and spoke about the importance of enhancing women's involvement in peace processes and shared the future plans of state minister in this matter. Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia discussed in detail the dynamics and challenges of the Geneva international discussions and focused on the politicization of humanitarian, security, and human rights issues by the representatives of Russia. UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia Ms. Sabine Machl spoke about the role of the UN in promoting the peace process and the work of UN agencies and their programs in resolving the humanitarian problems of the conflict-affected population.

On September 27, 2021, the representative of the Tbilisi office of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" - Ekaterine Gamakharia participated in an Information Exchange Meeting organized by the Human Security Group of the EUMM Field Office of Zugdidi.

The topics of the meeting were the ongoing "Russification process" in the Gali district, possible prohibition of learning Georgian language in the 11th graders in the lower zone of Gali district and the effectiveness of Georgian language programs initiated by the Georgian government to promote higher education for young people living in uncontrolled areas.

Ekaterine Gamakharia underlined the need to introduce free courses to help pupils to learn Georgian language and prepare students for national exams in the Gali district and the need finance these programs from the side of the Government. During the meeting, the representative of the Fund "Sukhumi" also highlighted the ineffective practice of enrolling students in the higher education system in the Gali district, which needs to change the approach.

The psychologist and the lawyer of the Fund "Sukhumi" actively worked together with the mobilizers of the Women Support Centers. Two online group meetings were held with women in Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality), individual online consultations were held with the beneficiaries from Kobuleti, Tsalenjikha and Chokhatauri.

29 women attended live meetings, which were held at the Bagdati, Senaki and Samtredia Women Support Centers.

Also: individual consultations of a psychologist and a lawyer with beneficiaries from Kutaisi, psychotherapy of violence victims in a rehabilitation center, work with members of crisis families - such an active October it was.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)