The Network of Centers for Civic Engagement (NCCE), with the support from EWMI ACCESS, marked Women’s History Month in 10 regions of Georgia throughout March. Women’s History Month is celebrated annually in many countries across the world to highlight women’s achievements and their contribution to important events in history and in contemporary society.
NCCE launched the celebration of Women’s History Month with a contest for school students from Georgian regions. The contest invited students to write letters to the members of the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia and express their views and recommendations about ways of promoting gender equality in the country. Winners of the contest (authors of 10 best letters) will participate in a study tour to the Parliament’s Gender Equality Council.
Women’s History Month also included an intensive information campaign about prominent Georgian women from XIX – XX centuries. NCCE printed and distributed a poster about these women and released their personal stories in social media. An online test “How much do you know about women from the history of Georgia?” was published on www.netgazeti.ge, which further increased the reach of the information campaign. Workshops dedicated to successful Georgian women and women movements of the past were held at Centers for Civic Engagement. Memorial plaques to commemorate Kristine Sharashidze and Elisabed Bolkvadze-Nakashidze (members of the Constituent Assembly of the first democratic republic of Georgia) were inaugurated in Guria, the villages of Bakhvi and Natanebi.
Apart from recalling the past, a number of discussions were held on the current state of women’s rights in Georgia, legal mechanisms for the protection of women’s rights, public services available to enforce the gender equality policy and other relevant issues. Yet another key topic of the campaign was the empowerment of local women entrepreneurs and sharing best practices with them. Meetings were held with local women entrepreneurs in Telavi, Marneuli and Batumi. At these meetings women spoke about their own experiences and the barriers that impede women’s economic empowerment in Georgia. An exhibition and sale of products of women entrepreneurs was organized in Zugdidi to increase the visibility of local businesswomen.
For additional information about the events of Women’s History Month, please, visit the FB page of the Network of Centers for Civic Engagement.
