Supporting women in politics – UNDP Head visits the Mayor of Dusheti

TBILISI. UNDP. 17 December 2021 – In the aftermath of the local elections in Georgia, UNDP opens a new chapter of cooperation with municipal authorities and local communities. Its multi-sectorial support covers technical assistance to local administrations, fosters good governance and economic development, and promotes initiatives that boost citizen participation and civic activism, create equal opportunities for women and youth and reduce the threats posed by climate-induced disasters.

UNDP support for Georgia’s regions draws on the resources provided by a range of donors, including Austria, Denmark, the European Union, the Green Climate Fund, Sweden and Switzerland.

On 16 December, UNDP Head Nick Beresford and Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure Mzia Giorgobiani visited the Dusheti Municipality to discuss local needs with Mayor Manana Narimanidze, one of three women mayors who took office in 2021. Beresford and Giorgobiani met with the authorities and citizens and attended a vaccination session organised by UNDP and the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health as part of the ongoing ‘Vaccines4Life’ campaign.

“Public opinion surveys show that increasing the number of women in political positions has overwhelming popular support. Mayor Narimanidze is one of three women who won mayoral positions this year. UNDP is offering support, including the ICT equipment and training and education to local youth, in cooperation with the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, the European Union and other partners. We also took the opportunity to help prevent COVID with a local vaccination drive,” Beresford said.

Dusheti is one of 48 Georgian municipalities that joined the EU-supported regional network ‘Mayors for Economic Growth’ (M4EG). Drawing on the resources of this joint EU-UNDP initiative, UNDP will help local authorities and communities to discover and explore innovative approaches to local governance and benefit from funding opportunities available for municipalities of the Eastern Partnership countries.           

To enhance digitalization at the local level, UNDP donated the ICT equipment to the Dusheti Mayor’s office, including laptops, portable scanners and multifunctional printers. UNDP will also pilot a new initiative to promote digital services for local communities and increase the engagement of women and youth in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). UNDP support will focus on advancing gender equality in governance, education and other areas, and on closing the digital gap faced by rural girls living in highlands.

The Dusheti Municipality, where 95 percent of settlements are located in high-mountainous areas, will continue benefitting from UNDP’s regional and local development programme funded by the governments of Austria and Switzerland, and from the decentralization initiatives funded by Denmark.

In the coming months, UNDP Head will visit municipalities across Georgia to meet with local authorities and communities and discuss UNDP support for addressing socio-economic challenges and discovering new development prospects.

The EU and UNDP release the final media monitoring report of the 2021 local self-governance elections in Georgia

TBILISI. 14 December 2021 – The European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Internews Georgia and CRRC-Georgia, are monitoring media coverage of the 2021 municipal elections in Georgia. The interim reports released today analyse the coverage across 54 media outlets (27 national and 27 regional) from 5 July through 14 November 2021.

Findings show that, in the monitoring period, Georgian media was efficient and swift in covering electoral developments. Journalists provided voters with timely and diverse information, closely followed the events and reached out to a wide circle of respondents.

The rise in partisan polarization affected election reporting across almost all media sectors. Events surrounding homophobic pogroms in July, violent attacks on journalists and the imprisonment of Georgia’s third President in October dominated the media agenda. Interpretation of these developments varied depending on the editorial preferences of media outlets.

Tensions between media camps have been especially evident in broadcast media – televisions and radios. Most of the monitored media outlets manipulated their audiences by backing certain political forces and demeaning others.

Two televisions hosted election debates in the runup to election day. This achievement was somewhat diminished by the reluctance to ask critical questions and by the lack of an adequate response to homophobic and xenophobic statements by some of the candidates.

Ethical journalism standards were relatively respected during the pre-election period but dropped down closer to election day and runoffs. Unethical reporting prevailed in the national print media which used offensive language and unverified sources of information. In contrast to that, regional and local newspapers offered a more balanced account of events and a diversity of opinions.

Fewer cases of gender-discriminatory language were registered during the monitoring period across all media sectors.

Political bias was notably less evident across the digital media sector. Most of the national and regional digital media outlets maintained editorial independence and provided their audiences with relatively balanced, though fragmented and superficial, information.

“Despite the pluralistic media landscape, polarisation has been one of the dominant themes in Georgian election coverage in recent years. Accurate and well-balanced information is essential for voters to make an informed choice at the ballot boxes,” said Asunción Sánchez Ruiz, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to Georgia / Head of Political, Press and Information Section.

“Georgian media is a dynamic, diverse and fast-growing environment. It stirs public debate and acts as a crucial watchdog to democratic elections, even though political bias, unethical reporting and unverified sources of information remain an issue in some of the media sectors,” said Nick Beresford, UNDP Head in Georgia.

Media research will continue through March 2022 to cover the entire electoral cycle – election campaign, election day, runoffs and post-election period.

All reports are available on the website: mediamonitor.ge 

Today, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili met with Nick Beresford, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia.
The meeting at the Government Administration focused on further strengthening and deepening the productive cooperation between Georgia and the UNDP, underlining the important contribution of the UNDP to strengthening Georgia's democratic processes, economic development, support for environmental protection, and crisis prevention, as well as the importance of UNDP assistance in the fight against COVID-19.
The meeting paid special attention to cooperation with UNDP toward reaching the SDGs, with emphasis on Georgia's efforts toward the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the significance of the new country program document.
The conversation also touched on the UNDP's considerable contribution to the empowerment of Georgia's mechanism for protecting human rights. According to Irakli Garibashvili, the Government is working on the 2nd National Strategy for Protecting Human Rights encompassing a wide array of rights and echoing the progress achieved globally. Nick Beresford pointed out that Georgia's positive steps toward protecting human rights.
The conversation also dealt with the situation in Georgia's occupied territories and the Georgian Government's peaceful conflict-resolution policy. The parties also underscored UNDP humanitarian projects implemented in Georgia's occupied territories, for which the Prime Minister thanked the UNDP Resident Representative.

Press Service of the Government Administration

The twelfth-century marriage between a Georgian queen and an Ossetian prince is one of the most potent symbols of Georgian-Ossetian relations. The story of love and dynastic marriage, enriched with the historical background of the Georgian ‘Golden Age’, was brought onstage at the Shota Rustaveli Theater and Film State University with support from the United Kingdom (UK) and UNDP.

Adapted by Nino Popiashvili, directed by Tamar Khizanishvili and produced by the non-governmental organization Caucasian Mosaic, the play features a rich cast of ethnic Georgian and Ossetian actors (Tinatin Kobaladze, Manana Tsintsadze, Lili Khuriti, Nana Khuriti, Vazha Pukhaevi, Viktoria Jusoeva and Megi Tedeeva). Presented in both Georgian and Ossetian and using music composed by ethnic Georgian and Ossetian composers, the play quotes from the Georgian epos ‘Knight in the Panther’s Skin’, written during Queen Tamar’s reign.

The play tells the story of the royal marriage and highlights the roles that women held in the politics and diplomacy of the time. This includes women’s participation in peace processes, particularly the well-known story of Queen Tamar’s wise decision to dispatch Khvashak Tsokali and Kravai Jakeli on an ultimately successful diplomatic mission to negotiate with a rebel nobleman.

“In Georgia, the twelfth century is referred to as the ‘Golden Age.’ Art and literature researchers know it as a ‘Georgian Renaissance.’ It is also a period of close relations between Georgians and Ossetians, as reflected in several dynastic marriages. Reviving these great stories reminds us of historical ties between the people of the Caucasus,” said UNDP Head Nick Beresford.

In 2018, the Caucasian Mosaic, with the European Union (EU) and UNDP support, collaborated with the Shota Rustaveli State University of Theatre and Film to produce a play that also depicted the history of Georgian-Ossetian relations. The collaboration adapted the ancient Caucasian epos Nart Sagas for the theatre. The theatrical adaptation followed a 2017 illustrated Georgian-Ossetian edition of Nart Sagas for children. The ‘Queen Tamar and David Soslan’ play continues a series of theatrical adaptations that serve to bring Georgians and Ossetians closer together, resolve conflict and build peace.

The EU, UK and UNDP supported the undertaking under their joint initiative for building confidence between conflict-divided communities, Confidence Building Early Response Mechanism (COBERM). Working closely with civil society organizations on all sides of the conflict, they addressed some key confidence-building areas, such as healthcare, youth education, people-centred diplomacy, cultural cooperation, minority rights, gender equality and environmental protection. Since its start in 2010, COBERM has supported the implementation of over 200 initiatives, contributing to developing new approaches to peace and confidence building.

Source: UNDP Georgia

Deep partisan divisions have defined the electoral media environment in Georgia throughout all recent elections. Findings of the media monitoring research, released today by the European Union (EU) and UNDP, show that tensions between media camps have only increased between the parliamentary elections in 2020 and the local elections in 2021.

In the pre-election monitoring period (July through September 2021), polarization was pronounced across all sectors of the national and, to a lesser degree, regional and local media. Some of the media outlets, which were relatively balanced last year, are now showing clear signs of political preference.

Political divisions on television were most evident in July when homophobic pogroms and violent attacks on journalists dominated the media agenda. Although all national televisions closely followed the events, most of them manipulated their audiences by spreading political bias and negatively portraying political forces they did not favour. Facebook pages of the national televisions mirrored this trend by backing certain political forces and demeaning others.    

Regional and local televisions were more focused on covering national news than local developments but failed to provide their audiences with high-quality information. News programmes were irregular and, in some cases, had to be suspended for several weeks for technical reasons.

Polarization and political bias have increased on national radios, a traditionally balanced and neutral media sector. Regional radios, though less biased in their reporting, did not provide critical analysis of the events and often used unverified information. Both national and regional radios tried to follow journalistic standards and refrained from discriminatory or abusive language.

As in previous years, unverified sources of information and offensive language remained an issue in national print media. In contrast to that, regional and local newspapers offered a relatively impartial account of events and a diversity of opinions.

The situation was different in the digital media sector. National publications were less polarized and more informative and balanced, while regional and local digital media outlets lent to political favouritism and used untrustworthy information sources. However, compared to television, political pressures and polarization were notably less evident across the entire digital media sector.

Compared to the 2020 electoral cycle, fewer cases of gender-discriminatory language were registered during the monitoring period across all media sectors. 

The EU and UNDP media monitoring also studied how political players communicate with their constituencies on social media. The research focused on the contents of Facebook pages of political parties, politicians, mayors’ offices and public agencies, as well as open Facebook groups. Over 500 social media resources were monitored in total. Findings show that in the pre-election period, Facebook pages of the municipalities and mayors’ offices refrained from unethical political propaganda and electoral confrontations. Politicians and political parties used their Facebook pages to spread critical information about political opponents but, in most cases, stayed within the ethical frames of an election campaign. Although electoral news reached open Facebook groups and social media pages of the state agencies, their traction on these channels was relatively low.

As in 2020, the EU and UNDP commissioned specialised research on media coverage of the role of foreign actors in Georgian elections. In the pre-election monitoring period, the EU, Russian Federation (RF) and the United States of America (USA) were mentioned most frequently with the EU and the USA portrayed in a positive light across all media sectors. The media agenda was dominated by political developments, including a so-called ‘Charles Michel agreement,’ situation in Afghanistan and Georgia’s bilateral relations with Belarus and Ukraine. Depending on their editorial preferences, media outlets would either interpret these developments as examples of Georgia’s foreign policy success or, on the contrary, as proofs of the government’s anti-Western stance.

“The media landscape mirrors polarization in the Georgian society which becomes especially evident at a time of elections,” said Evija Kotan, Deputy Head of Political Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia. “Media research serves as a critical tool for journalists, politicians and the public in fulfilling their civic duties during elections.”

“Voters place their trust in the media to make an informed choice at the ballot boxes,” said Anna Chernyshova, UNDP Deputy Head in Georgia. “The Georgian media can be praised for featuring a wide range of opinions and party options. However, political bias, unethical reporting and unverified sources of information remain a problem in many parts of the media.”

The EU-funded monitoring of media coverage of local elections in Georgia is implemented by UNDP in partnership with three Georgian civil society organizations: the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Internews Georgia and CRRC-Georgia. This year, it covers 54 media outlets (27 national and 27 regional).

Media research will continue throughout the electoral cycle, covering an election campaign, election day and a post-election period (from July 2021 through March 2022). All reports are available on the website: mediamonitor.ge

On 24 June, the European Union and UNDP launched a new project – EU for Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea (EU4EMBLAS) – to further boost the efforts to improve protection of the Black Sea environment.

EU4EMBLAS builds on the results of previous phases of the project, which have tackled the deficiencies and limitations in marine data availability, supported development of the Black Sea Water Quality Databases, assessment and classification schemes, as well as addressed public involvement in marine litter reduction and environmental protection through local small-scale actions, campaigns and events.

EU4EMBLAS will primarily help to establish modern systems and facilities to support marine environmental monitoring in Georgia and Ukraine and strengthen national capacities for application of modern analytical methods, data management and assessment related to marine environmental monitoring. Increased public awareness on Black Sea environmental issues and education of the young generation will continue to be an integral part of the programme.

Key actors include national institutions involved in the Black Sea monitoring, as well as national authorities, research / scientific / educational organisations, and civil society organisations.

The material is prepared within the project "EU NEIGHBOURS east"

The United Nations Country Team in Georgia today organized a presentation of its achievements in 2020 to report progress in pursuing the joint UN-Georgia strategy “Partnership for Sustainable Development” agreed with the Government for 2016-2020. The event was designed to underscore the commitment by the UN agencies to “Deliver as One” in alignment with national priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ilia Darchiashvili, Head of the Administration of the Government of Georgia, in his speech at the virtual presentation stressed the effective and efficient cooperation with the UN.

“Next year marks the 30th anniversary of Georgia’s membership in the UN. Over these decades, UN support and engagement have been instrumental to the success of our country and today I would like to, once again, thank the UN on behalf of our government. It has been a long journey with growing cooperation to achieve a world where no one is left behind. Throughout this time Georgia has become more actively engaged within the important ongoing processes at the UN, often playing a leading role in different intergovernmental negotiations and consultations across all three pillars of the UN,” said Ilia Darchiashvili. “We look forward to continuing our partnership and remain open and ready for further active cooperation with the UN Country Team. We believe that with joint efforts in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we can make the world a better place for everyone.”

Mr. Darchiashvili outlined some areas of fruitful UN-Georgia cooperation: advancement of the sustainable development agenda, strengthening human rights and improvement of socio-economic conditions in Georgia, including the improved resilience of conflict-affected communities. He expressed particular appreciation to the UN Country Team for the dedicated efforts and continued support rendered to Georgia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UN Resident Coordinator Sabine Machl underlined the shared commitment to leave no one behind, the overarching motto of the Sustainable Development Goals. She noted that, at USD 57.5 million for 2020, the UN contribution to development efforts in Georgia represented a significant financial mobilization.

“In 2020, the UN Country Team in Georgia continued to closely work with the Government, Parliament, civil society as well as many other partners to provide assistance in the areas of socio-economic development, protection of the environment, strengthening the rule of law, human rights, gender equality and democratic values, reinforcing social justice, making quality education and healthcare available to all," said Sabine Machl.

She noted that because of the COVID-19 pandemic the UN Country Team has repurposed over USD 20 million to strengthen institutions at the national and local level to prevent and address the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on human lives and livelihoods, with the main focus on the most vulnerable.

Both, Mr. Darchiashvili and Ms. Machl highlighted their expectation that the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework – which was signed after intensive consultations throughout last year – will yet give new impetus to the Georgia-UN cooperation for the coming five years.

Marine Chitashvili, Team Leader of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, presented the UN’s achievements in five main areas: 1) Democratic governance; 2) Jobs, livelihoods and social protection; 3) Education; 4) Health; and 5) Human security and community resilience. Among the main achievements in 2020, she outlined: support to the elaboration and adoption of the Code on the Rights of the Child, the 2021-2030 Migration Strategy and the National Youth Policy for 2020-2030; supporting improvements in preschool and primary teaching; support to the government’s implementation of the Decentralization Strategy for 2020-2025; developing the system for vocational education and training to diversify rural occupations and help professionalize farming; assistance to vulnerable groups in conflict-affected communities, and formulating climate change policies and supporting the reduction of the risk of floods and other climate-driven disasters benefitting up to 1.7 million people (40% of population).

Organised by the United Nations Country Team in Georgia, the event brought together representatives of the Georgian parliament and government ministries.

Press Release

On April 15, 2021, the second plenary session “Significance of ecology in trade-economic cooperation” of the International Conference “Global Cooperation of Independent, Neutral Turkmenistan for the sake of Peace and Trust” had been held at the Turkmen State University named after Makhtumkuli. The Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Programme Office in Turkmenistan Natia Natsvlishvili moderated the session.

The session was attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan G.Mushshikov, Head of Subregional Office for Central Asia, UN Environmental Programme Aidai Kurmanova, General Delegate to Eurasia, IRU Vadim Zakharenko, Director of the Office for Safe Labor for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, ILO Olga Koulaeva, Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia Zafar Makhmudov and other heads of authoritative international organizations, as well as faculty and students of the university.

During his speech, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization Daren Tang noted that this International Conference creates opportunity for everyone to exchange views on current and future tasks connected with peace, security and sustainable development. He also mentioned the importance of the development of the creative skills in science, technology and innovations for all-round well-being and to reach Sustainable development goals.

Chief of the Regional Coordination Division for Europe and Central Asia, of the UN Industrial Development Organizations Jacek Cukrowski informed about UNIDO activities in Turkmenistan, underlined the role of the Joint Declaration signed in 2015, which includes such priority directions as support of small and middle enterprises, strengthening the national infrastructure of quality, promotion of investments and assistance to technology development.

Regional Director, UN Office for Projects Service Freya von Groote in her speech noted that supports strategic goals of development of Turkmenistan within the new Framework Programme of the UN on cooperation in the field of sustainable development. She also told about the activities of UNOPS on strengthening of the national system of health protection of Turkmenistan.

Regional Coordinator for Central Asia, UNCTAD Dmitry Godunov informed on the activities of UNCTAD in Turkmenistan and noted the importance of the automated system of processing of customs data and the system of “a single window”  in order to enhance transit capacity, stimulation of expansion of national transport and logistics infrastructure.

EU and UNDP support business “bootcamps” for rural youth

The European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have completed the fourth round of business bootcamps designed to help aspiring young entrepreneurs to create and expand rural businesses. Over 60 young people from all over Georgia submitted their applications and, after a virtual brainstorming session, 22 of them were selected to take part in an online bootcamp that took place on 12-13 December.

The EU and UNDP have already organized three similar business bootcamps for rural youth since November 2019, under their wider ENPARD-3 programme for rural development. These sessions are organized in partnership with the Rural Development Agency (RDA) that operates under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA), and two business-support entities: the social enterprise “Tbilisi Start-up Bureau” and the Batumi Business Incubator.

The initiative was kicked off a year ago to support youth entrepreneurship in rural areas and promote innovative rural businesses outside of agriculture and agri-food. The EU and UNDP continued supporting young entrepreneurs through the pandemic lockdown, exploring online formats for organizing meetups and training sessions.

The first three bootcamps, held in November and December 2019 and October 2020, brought together some 110 young entrepreneurs for a packed schedule of motivational talks and training that guided them through all stages of business modelling – from hatching an idea, identifying a target market, assessing client needs and local opportunities, developing marketing and media plans and defining the resources and partners needed to get the idea off the ground.

At the end of each bootcamp, the best business ideas were selected for future support: 24 winning entrepreneurs have so far started work on new businesses with the potential to create 90 jobs in tourism, manufacturing and other sectors.

“Youth are key drivers of the economic and social transformation of rural areas in Georgia,” said Carl Hartzell, EU Ambassador to Georgia. “By empowering and proactively engaging young entrepreneurs we hope to enable them to unleash their innovative capabilities and realize their business ideas. Creating new economic opportunities and improving livelihoods of rural communities has always been at the center of the EU’s work here in Georgia. It gains particular importance now as we are joining hands to overcome the impact of the pandemic.”

“Youth entrepreneurship holds the promise of new jobs and new livelihoods for Georgia’s rural regions, and can give energetic young people a rewarding local alternative to leaving home,” said UNDP Head Louisa Vinton. “Moreover, as Georgia looks ahead beyond the pandemic shock, fresh and innovative business ideas can help drive a robust recovery.”

Georgia remains one of the most business-friendly countries globally, placing seventh out of 190 countries in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 rankings. However, the pandemic is expected to reverse the growth trends, pushing the country into a six-percent recession in 2020 and increasing the poverty rate by up to 2.8 percentage points.

Recent research carried out by the EU and UNDP shows that almost half of Georgian companies have experienced a dramatic drop in revenues. But 70 percent of businesses are exploring new opportunities emerging amidst the crisis.

The EU and UNDP are Georgia’s long-term supporters in promoting rural development. EUR 179.5 million in EU assistance has been allocated to Georgia under the ENPARD programme between 2013 and 2022. This support aims to promote rural development policies and create economic opportunities for the rural population outside of agriculture. More information about ENPARD is available at www.enpard.ge

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EU marks Human Rights Day by signing new USD 3-million joint project with UNDP and OHCHR
 
TBILISI. 9 December 2020 – Amid concerns that the COVID-19 crisis is deepening inequality and jeopardizing the prospects of vulnerable and marginalised groups, the European Union (EU) joined forces today with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to launch a EUR 2.5 million (USD 3 million) programme to promote and protect human rights in Georgia.

The three-year initiative “Human Rights for All” was signed to mark International Human Rights Day. The programme will be implemented by the two UN agencies in close coordination with the national human rights institutions and legislative, executive and judicial authorities, as well as civil society and communities.

“Investing in human rights, democracy and the rule of law is essential to achieve more fair, more resilient and inclusive societies,“ said EU Ambassador Carl Hartzell. “Human rights, democracy and the rule of law, as well as a gender-responsive approach, will remain at the heart of the EU’s response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Georgia has come a long way in enacting the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” said UNDP Head Louisa Vinton. “But the pandemic has exposed cracks in society that threaten these values. Our programme responds by putting inclusion and equality at the heart of any post-COVID recovery.”

“Today we stress the imperative to build back better by making human rights central to recovery efforts,” said OHCHR Senior Adviser Vladimir Shkolnikov. “We will reach our common global goals only if we create equal opportunities for all, address the failures exposed and exploited by COVID-19, and apply human rights standards to tackle entrenched, systematic and intergenerational inequalities, exclusion and discrimination.”

The new programme launched by the EU, UNDP and OHCHR assists Georgia in reinforcing its achievements in promoting and strengthening human rights policies and practices, and addressing the areas of concern outlined by the independent assessment commissioned by the EU and the UN in 2019.
The programme focuses on five areas:

1. Enhancing the public bodies that are responsible for developing, monitoring and implementing human rights policies;
2. Assisting law-enforcement agencies and human rights institutions in carrying out their duties;
3. Promoting the rights of minority groups and vulnerable citizens;
4. Supporting human rights protection at the local level; and
5. Ensuring that citizens have full access to human rights information and protection mechanisms.

Human Rights for All builds on the achievements of a previous four-year partnership between the EU and the UN agencies. The new stage of the programme runs from December 2020 through October 2023.

Press release of the European Union in Georgia