Closing event of a joint UN Women – EU initiative on gender equality

EU Delegation in Georgia and UN Women in Georgia implemented for 34 months a joint action “Innovative Action for Gender Equality”(IAGE), aimed at exploring innovative ways to support the social inclusion of marginalized groups of women in Georgia, and at supporting confidence building and people-to-people diplomacy. The beneficiaries of the action were women and girls from ethnic minorities, imprisoned women, and women residing in isolated, mountainous settings as well as internally displaced and conflict affected women.

A representative of the Institute of Georgian and Abkhaz relations said: “We have been divided for 25 years and there have been many trainings and events for reconciliation, but many of them have not led to any results. As an ethnic Abkhaz living in Georgia, I want to express appreciation for this project and for the collection of lost songs and stories, those things that we lost along with material assets when houses and property were destroyed”.

Several governmental and public institutions have benefited from the findings of the project, among them the Ministry of Corrections. “These are sustainable results, which will not remain on the paper. The project recommendations represent an effective plan for the Ministry, and steps have already been taken for their implementation “, said Tamar Khulordava, the first Deputy Ministry of Corrections. IAGE provided technical assistance to the Ministry of Corrections to develop the Action Plan on Female Prisoners.

Stephen Stork, the Deputy Head of Operations, the European Delegation in Georgia, has underlined that the project presented “a very impressive level of mobilization and involvement by CSOs and state bodies” and led to several sustainable outcomes.

The closing event took place in Tbilisi on October 12, 2015.
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