Countering VEO Recruitment in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Macedonia Program
Project: Countering VEO Recruitment in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Macedonia Program (Georgian part: Initiative for Empowering Local Communities in Georgia)
Implemented by: Georgian Center for Strategy and Development (GCSD)
Donor: The project is funded by the Global Engagement Center under US State Department and it is coordinated by PH International.
Program Areas: Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Georgia
Duration: 11 months (Aug-2018 – Jun-2019)
Target regions in Georgia: Adjara, Guria, Kvemo Kartli and Kakheti (Pankisi)
GCSD targeted various cohorts of the most vulnerable regional communities in Georgia, focusing on ethnic Kist minorities in Kakheti, and implemented educational activities to raise awareness of the risks and signs of the violent extremism, promote trust-building among ethnic minorities and ethnic Georgians and increase societal resilience.
The project provided training sessions for civic education teachers, journalists, local influencers in 4 regions and capital Tbilisi; GCSD organized several local events with engagement of Georgian celebrities and meetings with more than 100 local adults on public discussions; Moreover, 2 guidebooks were elaborated for journalists and teachers on radicalization and violent extremism and local organizations were provided with 4 sub-grants in all four regions; Additional activities included: leadership camp, study tour, discussion of the elaborated handbooks and final conference with participation of over 80 people.
