Fund “Sukhumi” organized a round table in Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality) on the topic: “Early prevention of conflicts from a gender perspective”. The meeting was attended by the members of the Women Initiative Groups of the Fund "Sukhumi” in Kutaisi, Tskaltubo and Khurcha, representatives of local government, majoritarian candidates, journalists, civil activists of Kakhati, Orsantia, Didi Nedzi, Koki.

Invited experts talked about municipal and social programs. The participants listened to the information on the work of the Women Initiative Groups of Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, and Khurcha on the early prevention of conflicts: how problems are identified, how the advocacy is carried out, what are the results.

During the discussion, topical problems were identified, which  create conflict situations in individual communities.

According to the participants, such meetings contribute to informing the population, increase the involvement of citizens in the advocacy process and reduce the risk of conflicts in society.

Members of Tskaltubo Women Initiative Group began the next meeting with an assessment of the activities carried out in frames of the campaign against gender based violence. It was noted that, in comparison with the previous years, public awareness about violence against women has increased. Responsibility of local self-government has increased, which is expressed by their active involvement in the campaign.

In the next part of the meeting, the moderator said what problems were shown during meetings with the public. The group members discussed how these problems contain risk in terms of conflict development.

Women initiative groups of the Fund “Sukhumi” in Kutaisi, Tskaltubo and Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality) were actively involved in the 16-day campaign against gender-based violence.

In frames of the campaign, informational meetings were held in different communities, in IDP collective centers. Informational leaflets and campaign attributes were distributed. The citizens received information about the importance of activity and inclusion of the society in violence prevention.

The meetings involved more than 30 people living in cities and rural communities. Members of the Women Initiative Groups met with representatives of local government - they were willing to actively participate in violence prevention.

A meeting of the Women's Initiative Group members and women activists in the village of Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality) was held in frames of a 16-day campaign against violence. Participants spoke about the scales of the problem of violence.

- There are frequent facts of domestic violence in the village. Early response to such conflicts is very important. Early prevention will reduce the scale of violence, was mentioned during the meetings.

The participants received information about the training, which was held in Istanbul and discussed the strategy, of how to continue to work on in order to identify gender accents in all aspects.

Members of the Women Initiative Groups of Kutaisi, Tskalutbo and Khurcha (Zugdidi Municipality) meet with members of different communities. These meetings identify the problems that are prior in the community and create conflict situations.

In all municipalities, initiative groups are actively working to resolve conflicts at an early stage. Each group operates according to its own developed plan. Inclusion of civil society activists and cooperation with local government is important in this process.

The members of Kutaisi Women Initiative Group considered what should be the future strategy of the group, how the early response will be held in gender aspect.

According to the strategy, group members continue informational meetings in different communities. It is planned to conduct a questionnaire to identify prior problems.

In parallel, meetings with representatives of local government and the exchange of information for an early response to conflicts are continuing.

At the next meeting the members of Tskaltubo Women Initiative Group discussed how to continue to work, what changes need to be made to the future strategy.

One part of the initiative group took part in the training on “Early conflict prevention through envisaging gender aspects.” The group members analyzed the information received at the training: what is the system of early response to conflicts, how the information is collected, updated, definition of indicators, work on the risks of conflict, etc.

The outline of the strategy of the Women Initiative Group reveals the need for systematic cooperation with local government.

Members of the Fund “Sukhumi” Women Initiative Group gathered in the village Koki (Zugdidi municipality). The participants reviewed the action plan and discussed the stages of advocacy. Now the initiative group advocates the opening of an ambulatory center in the village Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality). The problem creates conflict situations between members of the community, and its solution is a priority for early prevention

The moderator of the group acquainted the participants with the information obtained during the meeting with representatives of local authorities. According to her, the municipality of Zugdidi municipality is already considering this issue.

Women initiative groups of Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality) hold informational meetings to identify conflict situations existing in different communities. Based on the gained information, team members work on the analysis of situations. During the analysis, it was revealed that often the reason is social problem, which is often advocated by the Women Initiative Group. The response is effective, and several problems have been already solved.

Tskaltubo Women Initiative Group continues to solve problems, which causes conflict situations in concrete communities. The moderator of the group holds monthly meetings with population and these meetings identify the reasons of conflict situations. The issues identified by the group mainly concern the social sphere.

Repairing the rural internal road in the village Kumistavi, rehabilitation of water pipes in the village Tskhunkuri are the results of a positive solution of problems with the support of local government.