VOTE SMART
Project: Vote Smart
Implementing organization: Georgian Center for Strategy and Development
Donor: The Embassy of Netherlands to Georgia
Duration: 11 months
Location: Tbilisi
The overall goal of the project was to support the prioritization of foreign policy and national security aspects in the process of voting among the regionalamong regional population of Georgia in the regions of Adjara, Kakheti, Imereti, Kvemo Karti and Samtskhe-Javakheti. The main objectives of the project were to:
sensitize the voters and opinion formers in the regions of Georgia on the issues and importance of foreign policy and national security during the election process; and to engage voters and opinion formers in the regions of Georgia in increasing the awareness and importance of foreign policy and national security issues in their respective regions.
GCSD conducted two-day training sessions with representatives of local media and civil society, in Batumi, Keda, Kutaisi, Akhaltsikhe, Telavi and Marneuli. Besides the training sessions, GCSD conducted an intensive seminar/discussion for the students of state universities in Tbilisi, Akhaltsikhe, Kutaisi, Telavi and Batumi.
GCSD selected one media and one NGO representative from each region (5 media and 5 NGO) and organized a four-day study/informational tour in Tbilisi with the relevant state organizations and structures on the issues of national security and foreign policy priorities. The project held a roundtable discussion and organized a Flashmob titled - Share the vibe - Georgia is Europe, as a means to underline Georgia’s European identity.