On September 28, 2023, on the occasion of the International Day for Universal Access to Information, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) held a workshop Addressing Access to Information on Beneficial Ownership.

Based on the final opinion of the Venice Commission regarding the draft law on "de-oligarchization," among other recommendations, Georgia was called upon to ensure the availability of information on Beneficial Owners, the workshop was dedicated to discuss international standards, current trends, and Georgia's specific needs in this context.

During this event, IDFI presented a policy document focusing on the significance of transparent beneficial ownership records in combating corruption and money laundering. The document also shed light on EU regulations in this sphere, as well as Georgia's international commitments. Additionally, the meeting highlighted best practices for disclosing data on beneficial owners and open-format publishing standards.

The second part of the meeting centered around honoring the winners of the "Data for Change," an annual contest organized by IDFI that aims to promote the development of analytical articles based on open data analysis. The first place in the contest was awarded to Nino Chanadiri for her work on "The Influx of Russian Citizens to Georgia." Nino Bregadze gained second place with her analytical article on "Energy Poverty and Crime in Georgia," while Lali Kurashvili claimed third place with her paper on "The Youth Unemployment Rate in Georgia's Labor Market."

The event was attended by representatives from civil, private, and public sectors, as well as international organizations.

The meeting took place as part of the project titled "Advocating Open Data Standards and Promoting Open Data Use in Georgia" with financial support from International Media Support (IMS). One of the initiative's objectives is to advocate for open data standards (particularly related to beneficial ownership data), and share best practices with stakeholders.