Changes in the working plan was discussed during the meeting of Vani working group. It was noted that the plan should reflect the issues, the solution of which is under their competence: the problems identified during the first local needs research and the recommendations of the third monitoring of public administration reform. There was also a conversation regarding the website of the municipality, which is being updated at this stage. It was decided that the members of the group will be involved in posting information on the page.

Vani working group contributes to the implementation of public administration reform with its activities.

The needs research is completed, the problem is identified, and advocacy process starts.

How to plan the advocacy process, what are the principles should be envisaged when forming the messages, what arguments can prove the urgency and priority of the problem? Online trainings on these issues were held on May 21 and 25 for women initiative groups of  Imereti and Samegrelo.

Participants worked on specific issues, identified the details of advocacy campaign.

The feedback showed that the training was fruitful:

“As a community leader, I should have known and already know about the ways of advocacy. It will help me in responding to problems".

“I got acquainted with the specifics of the advocacy plan. I especially liked the practical part of the training and learned a lot".

Representatives of the Civil Society Organizations are actively involved in the process of local needs assessment in eight municipalities of Western Georgia. They attended a workshop on online – survey, which was implemented using the google form. The participants got acquainted with the functionality and capabilities of the Google form, the principles of work. Much attention was paid to the transfer of the received data into an electronic list and their preparation for further processing.

The workshop was conducted in an interactive format, the participants had the opportunity to ask questions and get answers through practical examples.

A training on “Regional needs assessment with participation of a wide civil society - for the implementation of the Roadmap (PAR) at the local level (organized by the Fund of Women Entrepreneurs). The training was attended by 35 people from 3 regions (Imereti, Guria, Racha-Lechkhumi). The training covered both: theoretical part of the needs research of target groups (transparency, efficiency, inclusiveness), and practical work to develop a research questionnaire and discuss working versions. The training discussed the following issues: processing of primary reports, preparation of recommendations, methods of conducting focus groups and in-depth interviews.

The work is carried out in the framework of the project “A common forum for CSOs from Guria, Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi for PAR Roadmap monitoring”.

On June 1, a meeting of the mobilizers from Kutaisi, Vani, Terjola, Bagdati, Tkibuli, Senaki, Chokhatauri, Kobuleti, Tsalenjikha, Zugdidi Women Support Centers was held. The participants of the meeting summarized the month's work: they exchanged information and talked about the difficulties they meet in the field in terms of identifying the problem of violence.

At the end of the meeting, the participants discussed the plan for the next month. Their suggestions are reflected in the working module, which will increase the efficiency of the work.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

The round table, which was held in Chokhatauri, was attended by the leaders of the municipality, members of the Gender Equality Council, representatives of the police, educational and medical institutions. They got acquainted with the document  “Monitoring of Services for the Victims - Support Services for Victims of Domestic Violence and Existing Challenges” prepared by the Fund “Sukhumi”.

It was noted that the situation in the municipality in terms of cooperation of local referral entities is not bad. There are also budget programs, which gives possibility to see the victim's problems, respond to them, and help the victim in employment in the long - term prospect.

Insufficient response from the side of the society itself to the facts of violence was mentioned as the biggest challenge, and a serious need for information and educational work was highlighted. It was said that the experience of the Fund "Sukhumi" in this regard will be very useful for the municipality.

The Fund "Sukhumi" held a round table in Zugdidi with participation of the representatives of local referral entities.

During the meeting there was a discussion regarding prevention of violence and protection of violence victims (referring of social cooperation), analysis of the situation in terms of domestic violence and definition of prospects for social cooperation. The emphasis was made on the problem of domestic violence and the prospects of cooperation with local structures.

The project "Strengthening of Women's Rights in Western Georgia" was also presented at the meeting.

According to the participants of the meeting, joint activities will enable to identify problems, increase the quality of their solution and prevention.

An online training was held for representatives of the civil peacekeeping coalition "Women and Peace" and leaders of women initiative groups.

Training topics: UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the policy of its local implementation, the basics and stages of advocacy; organization of informational meetings with project target groups, online platform “Voters’ Advisory Application” and its use.

The participants of the training got acquainted with the provision for localization of the National Plan of the Resolution "Women, Peace and Security", local practice, challenges, issue of women's participation; they familiarized with the essence of the online vote -o-meter, which will be introduced in Zugdidi municipality for the local elections, as a mechanism for informing the voter. They also discussed the methods of facilitation and principles of working with target groups.

It turned out that the project team is ready to be included in the next stage.

Khatia Khachapuridze: “I live in Tbilisi. I needed to register my father's land in the village Gelaveri, and I found Khoni hotline in Google ... I was provided with all the information I needed. I welcome the existence of a hotline, because it simplifies the solution of many issues".

Tsisana Mushkudiani: “The Internet and social networks made the whole world more comfortable, not only Khoni. I do not often call on Knoni hotline, although, whenever I applied, I was never left unanswered. They competently provide the information they have”.

This is the opinion of people who are satisfied with Khoni hotline.

The hotline was created following the recommendations of Khoni working group: a separate telephone line was installed, the staff was retrained, the population was provided with information about the start of the hotline...

The idea of a hotline belongs to Khoni civil society organization – Center for Education and Development “Edelweiss” and this idea was implemented in cooperation with the local government.

The members of Bagdati working group discussed the problems identified during the first local needs research and how to reflect these issues in the working group plan. Recommendations that need to be implemented were highlighted and prioritized. During the meeting of the working group, they also talked about the process of updating the website of the municipality, and got acquainted with the recommendations of the third monitoring of the implementation of the public administration reform. It was planned to approve the updated action plan at the next meeting, where all issues will be envisaged.

The work is carried out in the framework of the project “A common forum for CSOs from Guria, Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi for PAR Roadmap monitoring”.