News

Georgia: International Conference on Social Dialogue and Labour Standards

On the September 24, delegates from various international and national trade unions met in Tbilisi with representatives of NGOs, embassies and the Georgian government to discuss the development of social dialogue and labour standards in Georgia. The conference was organized by the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in cooperation with the FES. The participants discussed the problems and challenges for Social Dialogue in Georgia and assessed the progress made in the implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP).       

Georgia: Small Business Forum

23.09.09

On September 18, around 300 representatives of business, trade unions, NGOs and political parties participated at the “Wider Small Business Forum” in Tbilisi to discuss the situation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Georgia. The event was organized by the “Civil Movement Solidarity” in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES). The event was part of a larger project on SME development in Georgia which Civil Movement Solidarity and FES implemented in the course 2009. As part of this FES supported project, a draft law on supporting SME development in Georgia was elaborated and forwarded to the Parliament for discussion.   

Georgia: School of Programs of Political Parties

FES and Young Republican Institute are going to finalize the project “School of Programs of Political Parties”. The main goal of the project is to train member of political parties’ youth organizations in ideological differences and programmatic principles of modern political parties. FES supported trainings took place on May 1-3 in Batumi, on May 8-10 in Kutaisi, on June 12-14 in Telavi, on June 19-21 in Gori and on July 10-12 in Ozurgeti.

Georgia: Conducting Effective Collective Bargaining

With a seminar on July 6-8 the Educators and Scientists Free Trade Union of Georgia (ESFTUG) and FES have started the project “Conducting Effective Collective Bargaining”. The project aims at building the capacity of the ESFTUG members in conducting effective collective bargaining with the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia (MoES), raising the awareness of the ESFTUG members on the importance of collective bargaining and ensuring their active involvement in the process.

Georgia: Development of Economic Regulatory Institutions in Georgia

The Centre for Economics Problems Research (CEPR) and FES have published the findings of the joint FES-CEPR project “Development of Economic Regulatory Institutions in Georgia”. The project has analyzed the role of independent national regulatory authorities for the process of economic development in Georgia and has assessed the consequences of the Governments policy of abolishing market regulation mechanisms. The presentation of the findings took place on 12.06.09 in Tbilisi. The final report can be downloaded here. 

Azerbaijan: Strengthening Social Security for the Elderly

The Economic Research Center in Baku has presented the results of the FES supported project „Development of Azerbaijan Pension System Reform”. The major goal of the project was to support the formulation and implementation of the regulatory framework for the new pension system in Azerbaijan and to facilitate the development of financial and insurance markets in support of the pension reform. This will contribute to more secure and higher retirement incomes for the elderly and lead to the development of financial markets and their capacity to mobilize long-term funds. The presentation was held on June 3 in Baku.

Armenia: Coverage of the Activities of the Human Rights Defender's Office by Armenian Media

With a seminar on June 5-7 FES and Yerevan Press Club have finalized the project "Coverage of the Activities of the Human Rights Defender's Office by Armenian Media". The project aimed at improving the conception of the Human Rights Defender's institute by the society and to strengthen the bonds between the Ombudsman, human rights NGOs and media.

Georgia: Promoting social rights among Georgian Students

FES and the Georgian NGO “Youth Alternative” launched a series of seminars to promote social rights among Georgian students. The seminars aim at improving Georgian students’ awareness of their social rights, to increase their participation in public discussion and to make the concept of social rights more well-known in Georgian society. Primary target group are students of the four leading Georgian universities: Tbilisi State University, Georgian Technical University, Ilia Chavchavadze State University and State Medical University of Georgia.

Armenia: Turkish-Armenian Civil Diplomacy Dialogue

In order to strengthen the recent rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey FES and the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) has started a “Turkish-Armenian Civil Diplomacy Dialogue” Project. The project brings together well-known representatives of the political and cultural landscape of both countries for an exchange of ideas on how to improve the relations between the neighbours. On May 3 – 7 2009 the first meeting took place in Yerevan.

Georgia: International Youth Conference

On May 8-10 the Caucasus University and FES organized an international youth conference "XXI century and its development perspectives" in Bazaleti. The conference brought together students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia. The participants worked in four topic: current economic issues, management and business, modern society, building legal state and european integration. An expert commission selected the best works presented by the students. The Publication can be downloaded here.