Work with boys was held online in January. Group and individual meetings were held with the schools of Terjola, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Kutaisi, Senaki, Poti, Lanchkhuti, Ozurgeti and Kobuleti municipalities.
Most of the meetings were held on the Zoom platform, which made it possible to show videos and hold discussions.
“I chose videos on the topic of violence and bullying to better demonstrate the essence of the problem,” mentiones the trainer - Beka Potskhveria. - The boys actively discussed these actual problems and the facts reflected in the videos. According to them, a tolerant society will better combate bullying and violence.
One of the main activities of the Fund "Sukhumi" is promoting gender equality and creating a favourable ground for women’s participation in local planning and budgeting, as well as in being represented in decision-making positions.
Organization is engaged in educational, consultative, monitoring and advocacy activities to improve laws, policies and practices that strengthen the vulnerable groups and promote equality between women and men, and their equal participation in various areas of public life.
From the day of its foundation to the present day, the Fund "Sukhumi" has been continuously involved in confidence-building between conflict divided societies, peacebuilding and positive transformation of the conflict. Long lasting cooperation with partner organizations operating in Abkhazia and the study of the peacebuilding experience of various countries have laid the foundation for numerous partnership projects aimed at increasing the role of women and raising trust in the process of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Numerous researches and surveys were undertaken within the frames of joint projects. Policy papers, analysis, methodological guidelines dedicated to peace and security and innovative perspectives on conflict transformation were published and spread.
Through the trainings, information meetings and discussions, the Fund "Sukhumi" actively works with population (women - IDPs, youth) in the direction of rethinking the past, destroying the enemy image created by the conflict, reducing tension and spreading a culture of peace.
Fund "Sukhumi" developed and launched community-based Gender Responsive Early Warning System (GREWS). Using the gender indicators, the organization constantly monitors the situation of IDP and conflict affected women and girls, as well as the level of their
Since 2001, Fund “Sukhumi” actively works on issues of domestic violence against women, though raising awareness of population and promoting zero tolerance against domestic violence. A rehabilitation Day Center for Victims of Violence functions under the aegis of the Fund "Sukhumi", where victims of violence are provided psychological assistance, legal advice, professional courses and assisted in further employment.
Through systematic monitoring, the organization studies and analyzes the effectiveness of legal and social protection mechanisms against domestic violence, assesses the quality of provided services by the actors of the referral system and level of their coordination.
Fund “Sukhumi” also assesses the quality of existing support services for the victims of domestic violence and how they meet the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries. All findings and recommendations are reflected in the reports and policy documents of the organization and communicated to different stakeholders and decision-makers at the local and national level. The “Women Support Centers” established by the Fund “Sukhumi”, are constantly collecting information about local problems and needs, mobilizing and informing citizens, and engaging them in the advocacy process.
Working with youth is one of the priority areas of the Fund "Sukhumi". The activities carried out by the organization, imply the provision of non-formal education to young people and the development their specific skills and competencies. It mainly pertains to promoting unacceptability of violence against women and spreading the culture of non-violence and tolerance, building capacity in conflict management and prevention, which is implemented with the active cooperation with the schools and educational institutions.
There is little space in the country that can be used by young people for informal education, communication and entertainment; this is a serious challenge in the regions, especially for the youth, living in villages.
Conflict Management Groups and Youth Clubs were functioning under the auspices of the Fund "Sukhumi" in 12 municipalities of Western Georgia for three years. On their basis, Youth Centers are created, which contribute to the development of youth, raising their leadership and creative capacities. In this regard, the Fund has extensive experience: under its leadership, the School of Leader Girls has functioned for many years, which has empowered and motivated many IDP girls and became a stepping-stone for their personal and professional growth and success.
It is proved that in the early age, young people develop archetypes of behavior that can affect both their life and society. Therefore, the Fund "Sukhumi" pays particular attention to work with youth, especially with boys - to contribute to the formation of non-violent behavior and self-awareness.
Fund “Sukhumi” systematically monitors and studies the situation of IDP and conflict affected women and girls living close to the conflict dividing line with Abkhazia and other locations with law degree of security and high risk of violence occurrence. To assess the situation of the population, we developed and launched Gender Responsive Early Warning System (GREWS), which is complex mechanism of gender sensitive conflict analysis. The study was conducted in September-December, 2020 and covered 11 target municipalities of Fund «Sukhumi» - Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Terjola, Khoni, Senaki, Poti, Zugdidi (Koki, Khurcha, Shamgona, Kakhati), Tsalenjikha (Pakhulani, Tskoushi), Lanchkhuti, Ozurgeti, Kobuleti and the villages adjacent to the conflict dividing line in the Gali district (Nayui96evi and Saberio).
The new publication: „The Gender Dimension of the COVID-19 Crisis: Assessing the Efficiency of Pandemic Response” provides detailed information about the impact of pandemic on the human security of women and girls living in the target regions of Fund “Sukhumi” and describes population’s attitude towards the efficiency of the central and local authorities’ response to the pandemic.
The project is implemented with the support of Kvinna till Kvinna,
women’s Foundation (Sweden)
“Public Administration Reform (PAR) Roadmap Monitoring in 8 municipalities of Western Georgia” is a new publication, the second report prepared by the the Fund “Sukhumi” in partnership with Imereti Scientists’ Union “Spectri” and the Fund of Women Entrepreneurs. As a result of the monitoring, an assessment of local self-government in terms of efficiency, transparency and inclusiveness was carried out in Khoni, Bagdati, Terjola, Vani, Ozurgeti, Lanchkhuti, Tsageri and Ambrolauri municipalities.
The second report shows the progress in implementing the recommendations developed to correct the gaps identified after the first monitoring, and presents new recommendations for achieving better quality e-services in local municipalities.
The work is carried out in the framework of the project “A common forum for CSOs from Guria, Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi for PAR Roadmap monitoring”.
The project is implemented with the support the European Union - #EU4Georgia
The Fund "Sukhumi" presents a new monitoring report - "Municipal Programs on Domestic Violence against Women and Gender Budget". Within the frames of the monitoring, the municipal programs related to support services for victims of domestic violence in the local government's 2020 budgets and gender equality policies in 12 municipalities were studied and analyzed. The identified challenges and developed recommendations are reflected in the report for the attention of the local, regional and the national governments.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
In this video, a kind of triangle is generated: a woman victim of violence who shares her heartache with us; A state law that protects women from violence and a society that condemns violence.
Thoughtful are: a monologue full of sadness and regret is read by actress Magdana Chikhladze, the society is represented by Dato Liklikadze - a well-known journalist and activist. He protests against violence and expresses solidarity with women victims of violence!
We say: together - against violence!
The monologue of a woman victim of violence is real. Based on a publication - “Monitoring of Services for the Victims - Support Services for Victims of Domestic Violence and Existing Challenges” prepared by the Fund "Sukhumi" monitoring group.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)