Events Prompt Official Cooperation With NGOs

A group of NGOs are to set up a regional network which will work with officials to address refugee concerns, following a series of IWPR-organised meetings on the problems facing Georgia's refugee population.

"This is a very interesting initiative," said Eka Gabodze of the Georgian ministry for refugees and settlement. "If it works, many of our problems, as well as those of NGOs dealing with refugee issues and of the refugees themselves, will be solved."

"The creation of a network of non-governmental organisations is a serious initiative, and we are ready to actively cooperate with it," said Koba Chopliani from the Georgian ombudsman's office.

"NGOs operating in the regions possess abundant information and experience, their coming together, I think, will yield important results."

"The creation of a network of non-governmental organisations is a serious initiative, and we are ready to actively cooperate with it."
Koba Chopliani, from the Georgian ombudsman's office

The idea to create a network of NGOs gelled at an IWPR-organised meeting on refugee issues in Tbilisi on November 10-11. The discussion involved 20 leaders of 15 NGOs from the regions of Imereti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Shida Kartli, as well as eight high-ranking officials from four Georgian ministries. It lasted ten hours, instead of the planned three.

The majority of the NGOs complained that officials tended to avoid communicating with "the third sector".

"Knowing this, IWPR helped us begin a dialogue, which, if continued, will contribute to the effort to solve refugees' problems that have remained intractable for years now," said Khatuna Bechvaia from the organisation Tanaziari.

In Nagorny Karabakh, journalists and refugee representatives who attended an IWPR workshop on multi-media and citizen journalism have spoken enthusiastically about the new skills they have acquired. 

 As a result of the training in Stepanakert, from October 23-25, each of the ten participants now has their own blog and Facebook account, which they use to communicate new developments within their respective organisations and communities to social networks. 

During the workshop, participants made videos on the problems facing Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan and some posted them on their blogs and a YouTube channel created as part of the workshop.

"The seminars on citizen journalism helped both professional reporters and non-journalists get acquainted with computer and web tools which they had never used before," said Gegham Vardanyan, who led the training session.
"Citizen journalism is important in Nagorny Karabakh. There are no powerful media in Karabakh, so the internet remains the main tool for information dissemination.

"With the help of such workshops, ordinary people realise that they can become journalists for several hours or for a day and disseminate information in order to defend their civil [and other] rights and launch media campaigns."