On the initiative and moderation of the advocacy group of the Women Fund "Sukhumi", a meeting was held with the participation of representatives of 17 municipalities of Western Georgia (Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Vani, Terjola, Bagdati, Samtredia, Senaki, Tkibuli, Chokhatauri, Kobuleti, Tsalenjikha, Zugdidi, Ozurgeti, Poti, Lanchkhuti, Khoni, Khobi).
Topic of the meeting: "Local programs for the economic empowerment of women - the exchange of existing positive experience." Representatives of the municipalities of Chokhatauri, Poti, Zugdidi and Kobuleti spoke about local programs for the economic empowerment of women. The format of the discussion was effective in terms of sharing best practices and successful experiences.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
We have good news - Ukrainian Maria Dobrovolskaya gave birth to a healthy boy in Kutaisi. They are already home, mother and baby feel well.
Another innovation: we were addressed by a volunteer of the program “Sonyashnik”, according to which 5 Ukrainian teenagers from 15 to 18 years old will be able to have an interesting time in a summer camp. The Women Fund "Sukhumi" helped them gather a group for free rest in the camp.
Currently we have 523 people in our database. 43 people were added in May.
This month, our support was shown in many ways:
- Food was provided to 30 families (63 people)
- 6 families received assistance in paying for housing
- We supported 6 families in paying utilities
- One Ukrainian woman was paid part of the cost of the operation, everything went well and she is getting better.
- Free psychological assistance for refugees from Ukraine continues
Last month the forum-theater met with the prisoners of penitentiary N14 in Geguti. Everyone liked this visit very much, and the young actors were invited to the Kutaisi penitentiary N2. They showed 4 performances here. It was quite an impressive spectacle, and after each performance, an active discussion took place with the participation of the audience ... Forum Theater gained new experience by working with an unusual audience.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
Ekaterine Gamakharia, the representative of the Women's Fund "Sukhumi" Tbilisi office, participated in the two-day seminar held during the Council of Europe Visibility Week on April 27-28, within the framework of the cooperation of the Council of Europe Congress and the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia. The seminar was held within the framework of the "Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at the Local Level in Georgia" project, the main topic of which was the strengthening of inclusive communication.
One of the workshop sessions was dedicated to the participants of the local authorities using the "Living Library" method to get to know the personal stories of various vulnerable groups, the challenges they face, and their visions of solving the problems.
Ekaterine Gamakharia, the representative of the Women's Fund "Sukhumi", presented the challenges of the displaced woman to the representatives of the municipality, and spoke about the need for the participation of the displaced people, including women and girls, in the process of developing local policies, and the need to introduce municipal services and social programs to solve the problems they face.
Екатерине Гамахария, руководитель Тбилисского представительства Женского фонда «Сухуми», приняла участие в рабочей встрече гендерной тематической группы - женщины, мир и безопасность. Заседание проходило под председательством Тамар Лобджанидзе, аналитика программы «ООН-женщины» в Грузии и Регины Егоровой-Аскеровой, старшего офицера программы Kvinna till Kvinna на Южном Кавказе.
Представитель Тбилисского офиса Женского фонда «Сухуми» обратила внимание на проблемы передвижения населения, разделенного конфликтом с обеих сторон, ограничения, введенные на перевозки грузов для населения на линии раздела, а также на необходимость повышения информированности, навыков и компетенций в плане конфликто-сенситивных принципов для представителей госинститутов, в том числе представителей сектора безопасности, включенных в процесс восстановления доверия.
Ekaterine Gamakharia, head of the Tbilisi representative office of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”, participated in the two-day conference organized by the IDP Women Association "Consent". The conference on "Women and Youth for Positive Agenda’s Creators" was held on April 24-25.
The first day of the meeting was dedicated to the positive role of women and youth in the peacebuilding process, while the second day was dedicated to the situation and needs of the displaced women and girls.
The conference was attended by representatives of governmental and local self-government, as well as organizations working on peace-building issues and the problems of displaced people.
Ekaterine Gamakharia, the head of the Tbilisi representative office, reported on the panel discussion of the conference, which was dedicated to the state strategies and action plans for the IDPs. In her speech, she spoke about the commitments taken by the state in the fourth action plan (2022-2024) adopted by the United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1325, in the direction of the participation of displaced women in the peace-building and decision-making process, as well as in the state programs for women's economic empowerment. She focused on the problems of effective participation of IDP women in the decision-making process and economic programs and specific barriers characteristic of their vulnerable situation and etc.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
On May 1, 2023, Ekaterine Gamakharia, the representative of the Women's Fund "Sukhumi", attended the presentation of the thematic inquiry report - "The Accessibility to Financial Resources for Women and Girls" presented by the GEC member, Ana Natsvlishvili, which was held at the Writers' House of Georgia.
The main speaker of the thematic inquiry group, Ana Natsvlishvili, together with the expert, introduced the inquiry outcomes and key findings. She emphasized the multi-sectoral format of work on the inquiry and noted that women's empowerment needs a systemic approach from the state, as well as a unified clear vision and policy. As elucidated, the inquiry included meetings with the representatives of the state institutions, the banking sector, civil society, and donor organizations. The Group held thematic meetings in 9 municipalities with the entrepreneur women, local authorities, and society, where the head of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" Tbilisi office also participated and shared information about the challenges of displaced and conflict-affected women with the inquiry group.
The thematic inquiry report is available here:
Assessment of the quality of human security and gender needs of the population is a systematized report based on quantitative and qualitative research conducted in six municipalities.
The main goal of the research was to assess the attitude of various groups of society towards human security issues in the fields of public and personal security.
The recommendations developed on the basis of the research will be used for the advocacy campaigns in terms of human security in Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha and Senaki municipalities.
Kutaisi Khoni Senaki Tskaltubo Tsalenjikha Zugdidi
The project is implemented with the support of the USAID
Informational meetings with various target groups were held in the Women Support Centers of Samtredia, Tsalenjikha, Chokhatauri, Vani and Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality). The participants got acquainted with the activities of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" and the main results that exist in different areas. They talked about victim assistance services and economic empowerment programs.
Through the active discussion, the participants outlined their positions: they believe that, in order to fight against domestic violence, it is necessary to improve preventive measures, and this includes informing young people and improving services for victims.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
A meeting organized by the Women Fund "Sukhumi" was held in the conference hall of Chokhatauri Educational Resource Center. Representatives of the department for the protection of children's rights and the education sector of the City Hall exchanged important information that will contribute to social protection and strengthening of children and their families.
Representatives of schools also received information about the interdepartmental commission of the City Hall on the issues protection from domestic violence and violence against women.
Participants identified a number of acute problems requiring immediate response. The plans for future cooperation were also outlined.
At the meeting, the participants were also informed about the practical guide/toolkit: "Preventing and responding to gender-based violence in war and post-war settings - experiences and recommendations of women's NGOs", which was developed by the WAVE Network in collaboration with its four WAVE members in 2022 by the support of the OSCE. The Toolkit describes best practices and the strategies employed by the women's NGOs to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in different phases of conflict.
- Strategies during Wartime and emergency response settings were shared by Ukrainian and Armenian partners Sexual Assault Crisis Center (Yerevan, Armenia), Centre “Women’s Perspectives” (Lviv, Ukraine);
- Strategies during Protracted conflict were described by the Women's Foundation "Sukhumi" (Kutaisi, Tbilisi, Georgia);
- Strategies during Post-war and long-term perspective were based on the experience of the Bosnia-Herzegovina partner. Foundation United Women Banja Luka (Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina)
(A practical guide is available here https://www.osce.org/secretariat/530695)
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)