The story summarizes the results of the work in the framework of the project “Women, Peace, Security, Promoting the Implementation of the 1325 UN Resolution  Action Plan at the Local Level.”

The video record represents all five municipalities participating in the project - Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Senaki and Zugdidi. Women initiative groups operated in these municipalities. Women representing these groups talk about the benefits the project and networking have given them. They share with the audience their successes, what they have achieved, and how they have become leaders who can identify, advocate, and solve problems to improve conditions in their community.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

Final meeting within the framework of the project “Women and Youth - Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at the Local Level” was held In Kutaisi, hotel “Gelati Residence”.

The meeting was attended by women - leaders and activists from five target municipalities: Kutaisi, Khoni, Senaki, Tskaltubo, Zugdidi.

The participants once again assessed the dynamics of the project, summarized the achieved results, and spoke about the effectiveness of the network.

The challenges and issues that are still in the process of advocacy were highlighted.

Feedback from meeting participants:

“This was an important project for me, because it opened me the way to enter the public sphere, I got involved in various projects.”

“At the age of 23, I became convinced that women’s efforts are very important when working on issues that are important for society and especially for women.”

“I was a “leader standing in the corner,” and today I can freely appear in front of a large audience and boldly say that this project raised me”.

“The project showed us the power and impact of networking, which helped us to advocate everyday problems and improve our social profile.”

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

Members of Senaki Women Initiative Group held their next planned meeting. The meeting participants evaluated their activities. They reviewed the list of identified issues and talked about the prospects for unresolved problems.

According to the participants, teamwork, gender sensitivity, and a well-designed advocacy plan contributed to solving various problems. Based on the gained experience, work on long-term problems will be continued in future.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

Members of Zugdidi Women Initiative Group gathered for the next meeting. The problems, resolved with the help of the Women Fund “Sukhumi” were noted with pride.

The problem that was voiced to various Ministries and Departments on behalf of the organization was especially emphasized. This was one of the proposals of the group, and it has already been decided: next to the men police officers on the dividing line of Abkhazia there are female police officers too, and it is they who check the women when crossing the Inguri checkpoint. This eliminated a lot of inconvenience.

Each new solved problem is an incentive for further work of the Women Initiative Group.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

The project is coming to an end, but the group members continue to conduct activities. During the next meeting of Tskaltubo Women Initiative Group, the participants talked about future plans that are related to strengthening the IDP community and solving priority problems.

The role of women in peace and security is particularly important. Empowering women provides more inclusive approach to the needs of internally displaced people. This was well demonstrated during the project implementation by identifying problems and solving some of them.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

Representatives of the British Embassy visited the Women Fund “Sukhumi”. The meeting discussed the importance of women, peace and security agenda and women's involvement in local government.

Particularly impressive were the results achieved by the Women Initiative Groups of Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khoni, Senaki and Zugdidi. The project assistants spoke about the problems already advocated and solved, the network activities, the great power that exists in the form of this network, which can do a lot of good in the future.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

The ordinary meeting of Kutaisi Women Initiative Group was held to prioritize the needs of IDPs, conduct advocacy and determine plans for the future.

The group leader presented a short report to the audience and spoke about the challenges faced in the advocacy process. They discussed ways to solve the problem, a new form of cooperation with self-government and involvement of a lobbyist to get better results.

Members of the initiative group expressed their desire to participate in the network in the future and filled out an electronic version of the form.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

Members of Khoni Women Initiative Group summarized the results of the work done within the framework of the project during online meeting. They got acquainted with blogs that cover their activities. Particular emphasis was placed on issues that are currently being advocated. Meeting with the representative of local government was held in order to assess the dynamics of problem advocacy.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

Tskaltubo Women Initiative Group actively uses monthly meetings to divide problems into priorities and advocacy. In the coming months, the advocacy process will be devoted to the issue of municipal transport.

Participants also talked about covering problematic IDP residential buildings with waterproof material. This issue requires large financial resources, so advocacy at the central level is necessary.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

Senaki Women's Working Group worked on identification of new problems.

- We follow the advocacy plan. Based on the working plan, all stages are envisaged and require a certain period of time. In parallel, we should work on identifying new problems and not to slow down the speed mention the group members.

Among the problems, the issue of installing the sports training equipment in the IDP village was highlighted, and the cleaning of lawns from weeds was also considered urgent. Both issues require research and cooperation with local government. The working group will actively participate in this process.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

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