On September 29-30, 2022, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is organizing a two-day conference under the project – Strengthening Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership in Hualing Hotels and Preference Tbilisi. Representatives of around 60 regional and local CSOs and different donor organizations are participating in the event.

The project aims to contribute to sustainable and inclusive local development and aims at developing internal and external capacities of CSOs in EaP countries, promotion of experience exchange and learning among CSOs through organization of capacity building measures, networking, experience exchange events, funding and implementation of pilot measures, the GIZ press statement reads.

Dr. Thomas Meyer, GIZ Programme director welcomed participants and highlighted the important role of Civil Society in inclusive and sustainable development of any country. He also presented different priority sectors where GIZ focuses its work (sustainable economic development, good local governance, environment and climate change) and underlined that in all above-mentioned areas Civil Society plays a decisive role and thus by strengthening Civil Society, GIZ also greatly contributes to overall development and improvement of those sectors in general.

“Our role, as the civil society organizations working in the regions is decisive in implementing local development initiatives. Thus, such events and exchange opportunities foster cooperation with other non-government organizations working at the local level in Georgia. At the same time, they enable sharing innovative approaches and solutions from the regional level exchange platforms which is of utmost importance for effective civic engagement in local self-government,” said Natia Apkhazava, representative of Civil Society Institute (CSI).

Strengthening Civil Society in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) Countries is a regional programme covering Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Armenia, who are committed to sustainable and inclusive local development. The program is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ.