The closing event of the project "Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia” took place on 28 November 2023 in Tbilisi City Assembly (Georgia).
The closing event “Participatory Democracy and Human Rights in Georgia – From Vision to Action!” provided a platform for local authorities, citizens, and civil society organisations to reflect on the positive impact of their initiatives on strengthening civil participation and human rights localisation.
More than 150 representatives from government, municipalities, civil society organisations (CSOs) and international organisations had the opportunity to discuss good practices, innovative mechanisms, and lessons learned on citizen engagement in local decision-making, as well as ways to uphold human rights standards. Citizens gave testimonies about the positive impact, that the project had on their lives.
Parallel to two panel sessions, an exhibition was put together, where local authorities and CSOs from 18 municipalities of 8 regions of Georgia: Bolnisi, Borjomi, Chokhatauri, Dmanisi, Dedoplistkaro, Tetritskaro, Tbilisi, Tsalka, Marneuli, Oni, Ozurgeti, Tskaltubo, Zestaphoni, Gori, Telavi, Akhmeta, Rustavi, and Ambrolauri showcased progress towards advancing citizens’ participation in decision-making and protecting rights of the vulnerable groups. Innovative methodologies, recent publications on civil participation and human rights, youth engagement activities, as well as results from the information campaign “Change the scenario” were on display.
On this occasion, Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Mathieu Mori addressed the audience with opening remarks. He highlighted that “human rights and strengthened democratic participation at local level, especially of vulnerable and underrepresented groups, are inextricably linked, and need each other to build equitable, cohesive and inclusive societies.”
Congress Secretary General hailed the project as a flagship project for the Council of Europe co-operation, as it anticipated the renewed priorities of the Congress since the Reykjavík Summit in May 2023 and sets the standard for future co-operation activities on the topic of human rights localisation.
Throughout his 3-days visit, Mathieu Mori met with representatives of the main partners of the project, including representatives of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia, Public Defender of Georgia, the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, the Austrian Development Cooperation Office in Georgia, the Administration of the Government, and the Parliament.
Project stakeholders took stock of the institutional developments and shared their commitment to pursue the journey towards strong local authorities and multi-level governance in Georgia. They congratulated local authorities on the progress towards building communities where citizens have a say and benefit from enhanced human rights realisation and appreciated the crucial role that CSOs play in this context.
This event was organised in the framework of the project “Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia”, implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and by the Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2020-2023 with the financial support of the Austrian Development Cooperation.
