On 1 August 2023, the new E-course on "Gender Mainstreaming at Local Level in Georgia” developed by the Congress and the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) was launched for piloting. The course focuses on gender equality issues in local communities and presents strategies and good practices to combat discrimination for local authorities and their national association.

The e-course is designed for local and regional authorities involved in decision-making on gender equality issues, as well as municipal staff. A highly interactive e-course includes modules on gender equality principles and concepts, gender responsive budgeting, best practices in promoting gender equality at local level, the role of national associations in its promotion, and on combating sexism. Participants are guided through the modules by a gender equality expert and participate in peer exchange.

The future iterations of the e-course will be offered directly by NALAG and will be open for registration on their webpage.

The e-course is an adaptation by the Congress and NALAG of the e-course originally developed by the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS) with the support of UN Women and GIZ. The e-course was developed as part of the project “Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia” implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity, Division of Elections and Participatory Democracy, within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2020-2023 with the financial contribution of the Austrian Development Cooperation. 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 ensure that civil society organisations have real impact on local decision making.