Meetings of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Residents

From September 8 to 11, EWMI ACCESS organized open meetings between CSOs and residents of the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti regions. The purpose of the meetings was to bring CSOs and communities closer together and to offer citizens the assistance in solving some of the local issues. For this reason, EWMI ACCESS, together with the representatives of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and the Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) travelled to villages in Ambrolauri, Tsageri, Lentekhi and Oni.

Areas in which residents seek support relate to environmental protection, registration of ownership rights on agricultural land plots, use of timber, social and environmental impact of large hydropower plants, migration, and underdeveloped tourism potential on a local level. NGOs have already begun providing interested citizens with free legal aid that envisions representing the citizen’s rights and interests before local self-government bodies and the court.

Similar meetings were held in the villages of Zemo Svaneti (Khaishi, Idliani, Chuberi, and Nakra) in August this year. Communities were very much interested in developing small business and tourism potential in their villages. For this reason, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association visited these villages again in September and delivered training in fundraising and business plan development to interested citizens.

EWMI ACCESS will support CSOs to further assist and empower communities in these regions.