“All men and women can have a voice in decision-making, either directly or through legitimate intermediate bodies that represent their interests”1
In the course of the regional academy in Imereti we focused on participation practices and different international and local models of cooperation between local authorities and civil society. Discussions led by international and local experts concerned various issues of citizen engagement inter alia youth participation platforms, participatory budgeting, civil participation in urban planning, innovative methodologies such as CivicLab, and encouraged participants to come up with their unique strategies for local engagement (for example, in waste management).
Representatives of Bagdadi, Kutaisi, Sachkhere, Zestaponi, Terjola, Samtredia, Khoni, Tkibuli, Tskaltubo, Chaitura City Halls, City Councils as well as CSOs broadened their knowledge of participatory democracy concepts and explored together ways to strengthen mutual understanding between civil society actors and government officials.
The event was opened by the First Deputy Chair of the Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee of the Parliament of Georgia - Irakli Zarkua and an Executive Director of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) - David Melua. They both stressed the importance of the engagement of citizens in political decision-making to strengthen democratic processes at local level.
“For the purpose of strengthening civil participation at local level, active involvement of municipalities in essential. The role of the Council of Europe in this context is very important. We express our full support towards the mission and objectives of the project - strengthening participatory democracy and human rights at local level in Georgia” – emphasized Mr. Irakli Zarkua.
The series of academies on participatory democracy will continue next year in other regions, additional to other consistent measures, that contribute to strengthening the engagement of citizens into political decision making and local democracy in Georgia.
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 organizations to have real impact on local decision making.
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1 12 principles of good governance, principle 1
