On November 28, 2023, the closing event of the project "Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia” took place in Tbilisi City Assembly. 

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, 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.”

Head of The Coordination Office for Technical Cooperation of the Austrian Embassy, Alexander Karner reiterated that the project successfully accomplished the values of Austrian Development Cooperation and mentioned that “tangible results were achieved in the municipalities, for example improvement of regulatory frameworks and practices through introduction of innovative mechanisms, such as Citizens Assemblies, or development of guidelines for municipalities on anti-discrimination”.

The high-level panel which opened the event also included, the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, the Chairperson of Tbilisi Municipality City Assembly and Vice President of the Executive Board of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia, the Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, the Prime Minister's Advisor on Human Rights Issues, Public Defender of Georgia, the Chairperson of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament and the representatives of civil society organisations. 

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.

The event was organised in the framework of the project “Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia”, implemented by the Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2020-2023 with a financial support of the Austrian Development Cooperation.