EU/UNDP Project “Strengthening the System of Parliamentary Democracy in Georgia” in cooperation with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), with the partnership of the Parliament of Georgia, is implementing the project “Supporting Parliament of Georgia Involvement in Open Government Partnership”.

Within the scopes of the project, on April 30th, at 14:00, in the building of the Parliament of Georgia in Kutaisi, the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness and the Memorandum, between the Parliament of Georgia and the International and Non-Governmental Organizations, will be signed.

The Declaration on Parliamentary Openness will be signed by the Members of the Parliament. The Memorandum will be signed by the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Mr. Davit Usupashvili and by the Members (International and Non-Governmental Organizations) of the Open Parliament Georgia Working Group.

event-contracts-perfection-eventsThe Open Parliament Georgia Working Group was created within the scopes of the project “Supporting Parliament of Georgia Involvement in Open Government Partnership”. The aim of the Working Group is to support the Parliamentary Openness in Georgia and to take an active part in the drawing out of Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan.

The Open Parliament Georgia Working Group consists of the members of the Inter-Factional Group of the Parliament of Georgia. To support the establishment of the Open Parliament Principle and the involvement of the Parliament of Georgia in the Open Government Partnership Initiative, the Inter-Factional Group was created by the 2015, February 12, Order of the Chairman of the parliament of Georgia. The members of the Inter-Factional Group are MPs: Tinatin Khidasheli, Guguli Maghradze, Malkhaz Vakhtangashvili, Giorgi Kakhiani, Giga Bukia, Nino Goguadze, Khatuna Gogorishvili, Vakhtangi Lemojava, Davit Chavchanidze, Gocha Enukidze and Kakhaber Okriashvili. The Inter-Factional Group is chaired by Tinatin Khidasheli.

The aim of the Open Parliament Georgia Working Group and the Inter-Factional Group is to draw out the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan and present it before the Parliament of Georgia.

The establishment of the Open Parliament Principle in Georgia refers to the Legislative Openness issues of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to make government more open, effective and accountable, leading to more efficient use of public resources, innovation and inclusive growth. Georgia is the member of OGP since 2011. In the year of 2014 Georgia became the member of the OGP Steering Committee. Supporting the legislative openness is the new trend in OGP. Legislative Openness Working Group (LOWG) provides peer to peer support and sharing of experience, in response to specific requests from partners.

After signing the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness and the Memorandum, the meeting of the Inter-Factional Group and Open Parliament Georgia Working Group members will be held. MPs and the representatives of the International and Non-governmental organizations will be taking part in the meeting.

Various issues will be discussed during the meeting, including: the presentation of the research on Parliamentary Openness of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Members Countries, the timeline of the Inter-Factional Group and the Open Parliament Georgia Working Group and the finale date for submission of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan.