Georgia: From Women

1
Georgia From Womens Problemsto Gender Equality
2

• Prepared by
• Nina Tsihistavi,
• Caucasus Womens
• Research and Consulting
• Network (CWN)
• email cwn_at_access.sanet.ge
• www.iccn.ge
• 2006

3
Summary of the Presentation

• Overview of focused NGO development in Georgia
• Georgias Commitments toward Gender Equality and
  Improvement of Womens Condition
• Womens NGO Development
• Womens NGO Coalition of Georgia

4
Todays Situation Commitments of Georgia

• Georgia made up the commitments in
• Womens conditions improvement sphere.
• Georgia, as a member of the CoE has a
• tremendous work to do to accomplish CoE
• standards in gender equality sphere.

5
Todays Situation Commitments of Georgia
continued

• Further integration of Georgia in Europe needs
  even more effort in gender mainstreaming.
• Development of institutional basis to realize
  gender equality activities on a state level is
  one of the prerequisites for becoming a member of
  the European Union.

6
Todays Situation Commitments of
Georgia continued

• In 1994 - Georgia joined "Convention on
  Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
  against Women".
• At 1995 Beijing Conference - Georgia joined the
  countries that agreed to work out national
  working plan of womens condition improvement.
• In 2002 - Georgia joined Optional Protocol to the
  "Convention on Elimination of All Forms of
  Discrimination against Women".

7
Womens NGO Coalition of Georgia
8
Womens NGO Coalition of Georgia

• Background
• History
• Coverage
• Opportunity
• Perspectives

9
Background

• Having studied and analyzed the existed
  situation and the demands, the ODIHR designed a
  strategy aimed at uniting the womens NGOs in
  Georgia and ultimately supporting their
  development and viability.
• The special programme was led by Ms. Tiina
  Ilsen, Gender Advisor, Gender Unit, ODIHR/OSCE.

10
History

• In June 2000 Ms. Ilsen called for a meeting
  inviting the leader women of those
  non-governmental organizations that work on
  womens issues in Georgia.
• The training Leader Women and Creation of
  Womens NGO Coalition in Georgia was organized
  for them led by ODIHR/OSCE expert trainers
  invited for the specific task.
• The training aimed at developing gender related
  issues awareness, as well as at establishing the
  coalition and developing the necessary skills for
  its effective management.
• As a result of the training session, the
  Coalition of Womens NGOs of Georgia was
  established.

11
Coverage

• Following the ODIHR/OSCE programme supporting
  the Coalition, its members underwent several
  additional training in 2000 03.
• As a result the following were finalized the
  Coalition regulations and the action plan, 9
  working groups
• (Women and Politics, Women and Education, Women
  and Health Care, Women and Economics, and Women
  and Peacebuilding, Women and Media, Women and
  Global Environment, PR WG, Institutional
  Machinery WG), the Coalition structure and its
  function, as well as the mechanism for its
  effective running.

12
Opportunity

• The Coalition of Womens Non-governmental
  Organizations of Georgia is the body created and
  launched as a result of the conscious desire and
  acute necessity expressed by the leader women of
  Georgia.
• The effective launch of the Coalition enhanced
  womens initiatives, the idea of gender equality
  and made the activities directed towards it more
  realistic, unified and successful. The Coalition
  presents an excellent opportunity for the women
  to tackle the problems together, to direct their
  efforts towards reaching their ultimate goal.

13
Mapping the History
14
Womens NGO Coalition of Georgia
15
Womens NGO Coalition of Georgia (continued)
16
How we built the Coalition
17
How we built the Coalition CONTINUED
18
How we built the Coalition CONTINUED
19
How we built the Coalition CONTINUED
20
How we built the Coalition CONTINUED
21
How we built the Coalition CONTINUED
22
Womens Issues Applied

• Having the Mission to act jointly means having
  joint Vision what should be applied first
• Having women problems means to learn existing
  diversity of the problems
• Having experience to work on marginalized topics
  means understanding of meaning of sustainable
  support

23
Sustainable Support

• Comes from ODIHR
• Since 2000
• For
• GEORGIA

24
Womens Issues Applied CONTINUED
25
Monitoring of Women PrisonersonPrison
Conditions, 2001
26
WEB Development for Womens NGO Coalition of
Georgia, www.wcg.org.gewelcome!2001
27
Combating Domestic Violence Training for
Police NGOs2003
28
Regional Committees Support for Development

• National Anti-Violence Service for Women
  Children Protection
• (NAVS)
• Regional Committees Support for Development,
• 2002-2003 (all 11 Committees)

29
Womens issues applied

• Diversity of approaches

30
Inter Regional Approach

• Anti-Trafficking
• Training in
• Regions of Georgia,
• 2003

31
Inter Regional Approach

• Empower of Women's Economic Opportunity 
• in the Regions of Georgia,
• 2003

32
Intra Regional Approach

• Annual International Conferences
• on
• Gender and Media,
• since 2003

33
Intra Regional Approach

• Directory of Womens NGO
• working
• in
• South Caucasus
• 2002

34
International Approach

• OSCE ODIHR Meetings and Seminars
• in
• Warsaw, Poland
• Participated by Women from Georgia

35
PARTNERSHIP Principlesfor the Coalition

• Strengthening
• Keeping
• Developing

36
PARTNERSHIP
37
PARTNERSHIP CONTINUED
38
Major Achievements

• in December 2003 we are responding the Rose
  Revolution outcome
• in February 2004 weve submitted to the new
  Government the Initiative Package on Creating
  Institutional Machinery on Gender Equality in
  Georgia

39
Major Achievements continued

• created Gender Equality ad hoc Governmental
  Working Group (August, 1994)
• created Gender Equality Parliamentary Committee
  under the Speaker of Parliament of Georgia
  (November, 1994)
• created Gender Equality State Commission (June,
  2005)
• The Packages of initiatives were elaborated and
  submitted by the Institutional Machinery WG of
  the Coalition (14 February, 29 June, 2004)

40
Major Achievements continued

• First time in Georgia it is finalized the process
  of elaboration of the basic national document to
  be submitted from bottom to top
• The National Action Plan on Gender Equality in
  Georgia (NAP)
• The Gender Equality Policy of Georgia

41
Endnotes

• Tallin Workshop finalized the First Stage of the
  Coalition Development
• Bakuriani Summer School Second Stage is already
  worked out
• Gender Equality State Policy and NAP submitted
  to the state Commission
• We stand for visibility and recognition
• bottom middle top

42
Thank you for your support and interest