With the support of PLATFORMA and the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS), the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) hosts a coordination and learning seminar: „Reinforcing dialogue on gender equality and informed local government reform in Georgia: Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities”

Representatives of the local authorities of: Georgia, Eastern Partnership countries such as Ukraine and Moldova, as well as NGOs, experts and organizers attended the seminar held in the hotel “Holiday Inn Tbilisi”.

Ms. Natya Ghvinashvili, Deputy Executive Director of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) opened the coordination and learning seminar. Mrs. Tamar Taliashvili, Member of Tbilisi City Council, Vice-President of NALAG, Vice-President of CoE Congress and Vice-President of CEMR and Mr. Boris Tonhauser, executive adviser at PLATFORMA delivered welcoming remarks.

The speakers spoke about ways and perspectives of cooperation within the Eastern Partnership, as well as the role of NALAG in this process and highlighted the importance of the seminar. Mrs. Taliashvili outlined Georgia’s commitments to the European Union Association Agreement with the EU and focused on the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life. Georgian municipalities joined the European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life several months ago, Vice-President of NALAG called this fact a historical event and said that the seminar will help to achieve the common goal of equal participation of women and men in local life.

The Coordination Seminar was divided into several sessions. Representatives of the municipalities of Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Lagodekhi, and Ozurgeti made brief presentations about the outlooks of joining the European Charter. During the next two hours, participants discussed plans and guidelines to be implemented under the Charter.

During the next session, Ms. Semra Amet representative of NALAS made a presentation on the online training tool on gender mainstreaming at the local level. She mentioned that with the support from PLATFORMA, these trainings will be delivered to local governments and their associations in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Aim of this session was to present the e-course, raising awareness and mobilize participants for the training that will be launched in March 2020.

The workshop began with a presentation of the NALAS’s Regional Decentralization Observatory (RDO) Index, that is monitoring tool for measurement degree of decentralization and the quality of local governance across four dimensions: Autonomy of local governments; quality of services; citizen participation and local government responsiveness, and intergovernmental dialogue.

The coordination seminar will continue with the panel discussions on February 19. At the end of the event, Mr. David Melua, Executive Director of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) and Mr. Boris Tonhauser, executive adviser at PLATFORMA will make concluding remarks.

The coordination seminar is held in the framework of PLATFORMA activities in the EU Neighborhood East, it aims at monitoring and follow-up decentralization and administrative reforms by development of an open and inclusive policy dialogue with the national government, the European Union institutions. Its objective is to develop national advocacy priorities and plans for national associations of local and regional governments.

The seminar is also an opportunity to discuss and prepare messages and recommendations to the attention of the European Union institutions such as: the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Committee of the Regions, ND representations of the EU Member States.