The “Council of Europe Academy on Participatory Democracy” brought together public authorities, civil society and experts around the key message “Government for Citizens, Government Shaped by Citizens” to discuss current practices and trends in citizen engagement and participatory tools in Georgia.
The two days online event aimed at raising awareness on civil participation standards of the Council of Europe and promoting innovative tools and mechanism to engage citizens in political decision-making. Claudia Luciani, Director of Democratic Governance and Anti-Discrimination Directorate of the Council of Europe, Stefan Sirbu, Deputy Head of Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Aleksander Karner, Head of Coordination Office for Technical Cooperation, Austrian Embassy, Mzia Giorgobiani, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, and Revaz Javelidze, Deputy Head of Administration of Government of Georgia welcomed the participants of the event and emphasized the importance of the engagement of citizens in political decision-making to strengthen democratic processes in Georgia.
Stefan Sirbu, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia emphasized: "As civil participation constitutes an essential component in building and strengthening democratic process and improving trust between the government and citizens, with this new project – Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia - we pursue a simple but powerful objective: to make political decision-making more open for citizens and civil society, to strengthen policy frameworks and encourage citizens to channel their views and share their responsibility in political decision-making"
Mzia Giorgobiani, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia stressed the point that “the compliance of the decision with the interests of the citizens, is an essential precondition for the implementation of local self-government. Therefore, strengthening participatory democracy is a priority for local self-government, which is also part of the policy of the central government. The implementation of the decentralization strategy by local self-government ensures high quality involvement of citizens in the decision-making and implementation processes, including through using electronic means.”
Revaz Javelidze, Deputy Head of Administration of the Government of Georgia said: "Today, the priorities of open government are the following: fighting corruption, strengthening digital governance, improving participatory processes, creating a free civic space, protecting health and more. This echoes both the national and international agenda. On December 20, 2019, the Government of Georgia approved Resolution N629 “Rules of Procedure for Development, Monitoring and Evaluation of Policy Documents”, which brought the country's policy planning and coordination system closer to the principles of European public governance. A legal framework has been developed that sets out the rules for mandatory public consultation at the policy planning stage.”
In the course of the event, representatives from from public authorities and civil society had an opportunity to exchange ideas and participate in discussions on tools and approaches to achieving effective and inclusive engagement of citizens in the political decision-making process. They broadened their knowledge of participatory democracy concepts and tools at the local level and explored together ways to strengthen mutual understanding between civil society actors and government officials.
Background information: The event was organised in the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia” run by the Council of Europe with the financial contribution of the Government of Austria within the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Georgia 2020-2023. The project aims to strengthen institutional frameworks for citizen participation, support local authorities and their national association in their efforts to protect and promote human rights and enhance civil society organisations to have real impact on local decision making
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