On April 1, a meeting between the Open Governance Council of the Supreme Council of Ajara and its Consultative group was held.

Davit Gabaidze, Chairperson of the Supreme Council of Ajara, and Open Governance Council, presented the updated information on the implementation of the commitments of the Open Governance Action Plan 2020-2021. In particular, he stated that at the end of 2020 the relevant amendments were implemented in the Rules of Procedure of the Supreme Council regarding the submission of the written and electronic petitions and the development of action plans by the committees of the Supreme Council; media accreditation rule was drafted and submitted to civil society and media organizations and the updated media accreditation rule would be approved by the Council in the near future based on the proposed changes to the mentioned rule; at the same time, amendments were initiated to the Rules of Procedure regarding the submission of public reports to the Supreme Council, its bodies and deputies, and the topic of attendance of citizens at the plenary session of the Supreme Council.

The Chairperson of the Consultative Group, Malkhaz Chkadua, spoke about the prominent role of the civil society sector in the implementation of open governance initiatives.

The members of the Consultative Group, Irine Urushadze (UNDP) and Nino Shainidze (IDFI), introduced the concept documents on the Citizens’ Engagement Center and the adaptation the Supreme Council’s building and website.

At the meeting, members of the Open Governance Council and the Consultative Group discussed the activities to be carried out to fulfill the commitments set out in the Action Plan and discussed ways to successfully fulfill each commitment.

The members of the Consultative Group expressed their willingness and support to engage in implementing the commitments of the Open Governance Action Plan. Future activities were planned at the meeting.

Open Governance Council of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara is supported by a joint project of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) "Consolidating Parliamentary Democracy in Georgia." The project is closely cooperating with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) to promote Open Governance Principles in the work of the Parliament of Georgia and the Supreme Council of Ajara (SCA).