RESULT SEMINAR IN TBILISI
Held on December 11, the seminar was aimed at summing up the results of the Parallel Campaign and to analyze its achievements and imperfections.
Comments and opinions:
Tsovinar NAZAROVA:
Before the seminar, we conducted a short analysis of work. The team noted the following advantages: completely horizontal management, increased trust of the electorate, increase of Coalition’s popularity. Disadvantages noted by the team members included: force majeur situation, insufficient involvedness of women candidates, total lack of legal issues knowledge (not only of electorate, but of the parties as well). Many project participants noted that as the result of this work, the Coalition has entered the new stage of its development.
Charita JASHI:
The project has shown what the involved sides need exactly. It is now obvious, what electorate, parties, women candidates and activists need. This is for the first time that we got this complete information; now it is necessary to comprehend and to analyze it.
Ia VERULASHVILI:
The population of the regions is a special issue. The locals are not anyhow involved in the democratic process, they do not see their role in it, and do not know how to influence it. This is a huge work to do for the future, to teach and activate this part of the electorate.
Nino SHIOSHVILI:
I did my best to involve my entire working group in this project. This is very important for the Coalition itself.
Neno MAISURADZE:
From the beginning I was not satisfied with the work of the Coordinating Group and kept criticizing it. But later the situation changed. I believe that Woman and Peacebuilding group worked really hard at the project.
Tiina ILSEN:
It is very important for us to know our resources and possibilities. This is necessary for the future, for the development of our activeness.
Keti DADUNASHVILI:
We need a very good analysis. We need to be strong in order to support women candidates.
Roza KUKHALASHVILI:
Besides other, this analysis gives an opportunity to see which regions were not involved yet.
Maya KUPRAVA-SHARVASHIDZE:
We have a database of women Sakrebulo members, there are approximately 100 of them, and we plan to cooperate with them more actively. We want them to introduce a different style of work.
Dzidzia GUDUSHAURI:
We saw how big our potential is. It is now necessary to define the right approaches for the future and to evaluate priorities and sequence of actions.
(extract of December 12, 2006 working meeting.
Prepared by Galina Petriashvili, text, photo)
Conference: Women’s participation in the local self-governance elections: results and perspectives of future cooperation
Nino MODEBADZE,
Portal GINSC
http://www.ginsc.net/members/news_details_ru.php?id=2832&sub=region&stat=active
Two political parties considered
the Coalition’s recommendations
Eka BAKHUTASHVILI
photo by Galina Petriashvili
November 20, 2006
The results of October 5 elections demonstrated that the highest number of women were in the lists of two parties, the Way of Georgia and the Republicans. These parties considered the recommendations of the Coalition of the Women’s NGOs of Georgia. In the Republicans’ party list, there were 18 women candidates out of 50 people in total.
Local self-governance elections have already become the part of the history. Observations showed that the leaders of political parties tend to restrain from including women candidates into their party lists.
Women and Politics working group of the Coalition tried to analyze the results of the Parallel Campaign, the project implemented by the Coalition. According to Yelena Rusetskaya, member of the Woman and Politics, head of the Women’s Information Center NGO, the analysis of the project results has not been completed yet; based on the new experience, the Coalition will have an opportunity to prepare for the future parliamentary elections better.
“I think that we achieved quite good results, if we consider that short period of time available for the Coalition and Woman and Politics group,” Russetskaya said, “Women candidates expressed great interest in our activities; although the elections are over, they keep calling us asking about the strategy of future cooperation.
According to her, in order to make the future campaign successful, it is necessary to intensify the work with journalists and to activate them in covering gender issues.
The goal of the Parallel Campaign is the assistance to the increase of number of women at self-governance bodies, meetings with women candidates, trainings, discussions with party leaders. During the talks with party leaders, insertion of gender aspect in their programs was discussed along with the ways of increasing the number of women in the parties.
At one of the meetings, organized by the Woman and Politics in Tori hotel, there were 27 women candidates; in order to support women candidates, the Coalition also held an action in Vera Garden of Tbilisi.
Within the frameworks of the Parallel Campaign, the members of Woman and Politics group met the electorate representatives to specify their rights and duties.
According to Russetskaya, during the Parallel Campaign, their organization had also undertaken the function of the information center and reacted to every information that appeared during that period.
Among the calls registered, there was the claim of Neno Maisuradze, member of the Women’s NGOs Coalition. She informed the information center that none of the refugees living at one Tbilisi hotels were included into the voters’ lists. The center reacted, and the incident was settled.
The information center was actively spreading information within the Coalition through its portal which covered daily events.
Meeting on the results of self-governance elections
October 19
Meeting of the Woman and Peacebuilding working group of the Women’s NGOs Coalition with leaders of political parties and members of new Sakrebulo in Tbilisi.
http://www.ginsc.net/members/news_details_ru.php?id=2407&sub=region&stat=active
photos by Galina Petriashvili
GINSC Portal
On October 2, Courtyard Marriott hotel hosted the meeting of the Coalition of Women’s NGOs of Georgia. Candidates and the leader of the Republican Party David Usupashvili participated in the meeting.
The meeting was opened by Tamar Abramishvili, Yelena Russetskaya was the moderator of the discussion. Group presentation reports on the Parallel Campaign results were delivered by Maya Kuprava-Shervashidze, Nino Shioshvili, Tiniko Mosiashvili, Manana Mebuke, Dzidzia Gudushauri, Irina Inasaridze, Keti Dadunashvili, Diana Mikadze. Candidates expressed their interest in cooperating with the Coalition after the elections, the gratitude for supporting women was voiced as well.
Politicians expressed their wish to maximally activate media-component, which is the most effective way of sharing their views with the voters. Special emphasizes was placed on the strengthening PR of the Coalition in general and its dataware in particular. Information booklets was distributed among the participants by Woman and Politics working group.
Yelena Russetskaya
Maya Kuprava -Sharvashidze
On October 1, within the frameworks of the Coalition’s Parallel Campaign, Rush Day, the action aimed at promoting women, was organized in Tbilisi. Members of the Coalition’s working groups, women candidates and journalists participated in the informal meeting. Posters, leaflets, and special issue of Coalition newspaper were distributed among the participants.
Photo by Galina Petriashvili
16 September
The Coalition’s general project, which we call the Parallel Campaign on Women’s Promotion, is being lead by the coordination council. Based in Tbilisi, the council includes representatives of all working groups and regional unions of the Coalition. The council collects all the information regarding preparations for the elections. The council represents a coordinating body that unites efforts of all working groups and concentrates all organization, information and analytical work within it.
Presently, final details of the Parallel Campaign’s culmination are being planned. Scheduled for October 1, the Culmination Day will be marked by especially many social actions aimed at activation of women’s and social issues in the media. The central location for the Culmination Day will be 9 April Garden of Tbilisi, the first action there begins at 1 p.m.
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