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13 May 2020 image

Internet Usage and Accessibility Tendencies in Georgia

In 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council declared that it considers access to the Internet a human right, which guarantees that “everyone has the right to freedom of thought and speech”. The Internet is one of the most powerful instruments of the 21st century for increasing transparency, access to information, and for facilitating active citizen participation in building democratic societies.“ – declares the report. 

13 May 2020 image

Fight against Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) together with Ilia State University is implementing the Certified Program on Fighting Corruption. The program consists of 8 modules and aims to raise awareness and support the development of the program participants, as active individuals in combating corruption.

11 May 2020 image

OGP Member States Policy on COVID-19

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the world has faced unprecedented challenge. States try to adopt different measures to address the crisis, specifically, they create platforms, publish databases, establish and use artificial intelligence for efficiently managing the processes.

11 May 2020 image

Supreme Council of Ajara Established Open Governance Council

Open Government Partnership (OGP) is one of the largest international initiatives, which aims to increase transparency and accountability of the government. Within this initiative governments, court, legislative or municipal authorities voluntarily execute reforms for improving good governance.

8 May 2020 image

Trainings for the staff of Supreme Council of Ajara

The state of emergency established in Georgia due to the pandemic of Covid-19, highlighted the need for remote functioning of state institutions. During the state of emergency, to ensure efficient and continuous operation of the staff of the Supreme Council of Ajara, a series of training sessions on remote management and communications skills for the staff members have begun.

 

7 May 2020 image

Independence of Public Procurement Review Body

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information considers that it is questionable whether Georgia succeeded to comply with the obligation undertaken by  Article 143 of the Association Agreement. We believe, that the institutional framework for the independence of the Dispute Resolution Council is still far from complying with the standards required by the agreement signed with the European Union.

5 May 2020 image

OGP Campaign - Building Trust through Openness

Coronavirus pandemic and socio-economic as well as political crisis associated with it has become one of the defining and biggest challenges of our time. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, most states continue to live in a lockdown. Although strict quarantine regulations and restraints to normal economic, civil or political activities in frames of the state of emergency reduce infection rates, “this virus will be with us for a long time” World Health Organization (WHO) .

5 May 2020 image

The Anti-Vaccination Movement and Russian Propaganda

In the times when the world is fighting against the Coronavirus pandemic and looks forward to creating vaccine, the increase of public trust toward the vaccination has a paramount importance. Throughout the centuries, the vaccination has helped the mankind produce immunity against such diseases as measles, rubella, mumps, tuberculosis, tetanus, etc. However, since the day of the invention of vaccine, there have been some people who have been opposing the fighting against diseases through this method due the different reasons. 

 

4 May 2020 image

Prevention and control of COVID-19 in Georgian prisons and places of detention

International organizations such as WHO/Europe, UNODC, CPT and the Commissioner for Human Rights assert that reducing the prison population is one of the key necessary measures for preventing widespread of COVID-19 in prisons and other places of detention. This recommendation is especially noteworthy for Georgia in the light of the monitoring reports of the National Preventive Mechanism.

3 May 2020 image

The Overview of the Censorship of the Georgian Press and Print Media

The fight against censorship and for the freedom of speech counts centuries. One of the most ancient cases of censorship is related to the philosopher, Socrates who was sentenced to death in 333 BC for spreading the ideas among the youth that opposed his contemporary moral and political code.