The information meeting held in Senaki was aimed at highlighting women's initiatives. Participants spoke about problems that are especially relevant in IDP communities. The entire group participates in the problem ranking process. After the identification, it is planned to support women’s initiatives, which means mitigating the expected risks caused by the problems.
The meeting was held within the framework of the project “Network of Women and Girls Peace Ambassadors”. The project aims to strengthen the network's capacity and support women's initiatives in IDP communities.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
The second phase of the coalition project “IDP and Conflict Affected Women and Youth for Localizing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at the Local Level” was launched In June. The project is supported by the UN Women and resources from the the UK Government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.
During the previous project period, a network of women IDPs was created. The new project envisages strengthening and expanding the capabilities of the “Network of Women and Youth Peace Ambassadors”. And also - support for initiatives of network members that will be aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of IDP and Conflict Affected Women and Girls, advocating for their needs and including them in relevant programs and budgets.
In order to get acquainted with the goals of the project and planned activities, information meetings were held in Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Senaki and Zugdidi. Members of the “Network of Women and Youth Peace Ambassadors” took part in the meetings. The meetings also identified important issues of these communities.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
The story summarizes the results of the work in the framework of the project “Women, Peace, Security, Promoting the Implementation of the 1325 UN Resolution Action Plan at the Local Level.”
The video record represents all five municipalities participating in the project - Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Senaki and Zugdidi. Women initiative groups operated in these municipalities. Women representing these groups talk about the benefits the project and networking have given them. They share with the audience their successes, what they have achieved, and how they have become leaders who can identify, advocate, and solve problems to improve conditions in their community.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
Final meeting within the framework of the project “Women and Youth - Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at the Local Level” was held In Kutaisi, hotel “Gelati Residence”.
The meeting was attended by women - leaders and activists from five target municipalities: Kutaisi, Khoni, Senaki, Tskaltubo, Zugdidi.
The participants once again assessed the dynamics of the project, summarized the achieved results, and spoke about the effectiveness of the network.
The challenges and issues that are still in the process of advocacy were highlighted.
Feedback from meeting participants:
“This was an important project for me, because it opened me the way to enter the public sphere, I got involved in various projects.”
“At the age of 23, I became convinced that women’s efforts are very important when working on issues that are important for society and especially for women.”
“I was a “leader standing in the corner,” and today I can freely appear in front of a large audience and boldly say that this project raised me”.
“The project showed us the power and impact of networking, which helped us to advocate everyday problems and improve our social profile.”
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
Members of Senaki Women Initiative Group held their next planned meeting. The meeting participants evaluated their activities. They reviewed the list of identified issues and talked about the prospects for unresolved problems.
According to the participants, teamwork, gender sensitivity, and a well-designed advocacy plan contributed to solving various problems. Based on the gained experience, work on long-term problems will be continued in future.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
Members of Zugdidi Women Initiative Group gathered for the next meeting. The problems, resolved with the help of the Women Fund “Sukhumi” were noted with pride.
The problem that was voiced to various Ministries and Departments on behalf of the organization was especially emphasized. This was one of the proposals of the group, and it has already been decided: next to the men police officers on the dividing line of Abkhazia there are female police officers too, and it is they who check the women when crossing the Inguri checkpoint. This eliminated a lot of inconvenience.
Each new solved problem is an incentive for further work of the Women Initiative Group.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
The project is coming to an end, but the group members continue to conduct activities. During the next meeting of Tskaltubo Women Initiative Group, the participants talked about future plans that are related to strengthening the IDP community and solving priority problems.
The role of women in peace and security is particularly important. Empowering women provides more inclusive approach to the needs of internally displaced people. This was well demonstrated during the project implementation by identifying problems and solving some of them.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
Representatives of the British Embassy visited the Women Fund “Sukhumi”. The meeting discussed the importance of women, peace and security agenda and women's involvement in local government.
Particularly impressive were the results achieved by the Women Initiative Groups of Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Senaki and Zugdidi. The project assistants spoke about the problems already advocated and solved, the network activities, the great power that exists in the form of this network, which can do a lot of good in the future.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
The ordinary meeting of Kutaisi Women Initiative Group was held to prioritize the needs of IDPs, conduct advocacy and determine plans for the future.
The group leader presented a short report to the audience and spoke about the challenges faced in the advocacy process. They discussed ways to solve the problem, a new form of cooperation with self-government and involvement of a lobbyist to get better results.
Members of the initiative group expressed their desire to participate in the network in the future and filled out an electronic version of the form.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization
Members of Khoni Women Initiative Group summarized the results of the work done within the framework of the project during online meeting. They got acquainted with blogs that cover their activities. Particular emphasis was placed on issues that are currently being advocated. Meeting with the representative of local government was held in order to assess the dynamics of problem advocacy.
The project is implemented with the support
of the UN Women organization