On May 17-20, 2022, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) conducted online trainings on Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the representatives of Keda, Senaki, Oni, and Sagarejo Municipalities and local stakeholders. The trainings were attended by 40 participants, including civil servants of the municipality, representatives of non-governmental organizations, school teachers, and the Youth Advisory Council members.

The primary purpose of the trainings was to raise awareness and build the capacity of the participants with the SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, adopted by the United Nations to deal with global problems. The Institute informed the stakeholders about Georgia's involvement in the global process through various sessions. The trainings allowed participants to identify what is planned at the municipal level regarding localizing SDGs, local stakeholders' role in the process, and how municipalities will benefit from engaging in the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. In addition to this, what stages will municipalities have to go through during the localization of SDGs, how the global and nationalized goals and indicators of SDGs will guide the creation of local policies and program budgets, and the mechanisms to engage local people in these processes, etc.

The training sessions were based on the Practical Guide for Localizing the Sustainable Development Goals, specially prepared for civil servants and local stakeholders. Besides, the essential findings and recommendations of the SDG localization baseline study, prepared by IDFI – Localization perspectives in Georgia, have also been shared with the attendees.

The trainings were held with the financial support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), in the framework of the program “Good governance for local development (GGLD) in the South Caucasus.”

The online sessions were led by Teona Turashvili, Local Government / Internet and Innovations Directions Head and analysts of IDFI, Gvantsa Nikuradze and David Eristavi.