On July 9, the regional project hub the organization, the Gori Information Center, organized a Regional Civil Society Forum
at the Culture and Recreational Park in Gori, Shida Kartli, to present the
activities of local CSOs and to promote volunteerism.

Throughout the event, guests had the chance
to get to know the bilateral volunteerism platform “Time Bank” as well as up
to 25 local CSOs which work on topics such as support formal and informal
education, strengthening people with disabilities and members of their families,
conflict transformation, gender-related issues, advocation of children rights
and rural development.

Moreover, Goga Aptsiauri, a journalist of
Radio Liberty and the speaker at the forum, talked about the importance of
volunteerism. The end of the event was marked by a concert of the local group
“Canudos,” which was found 2007/08 in Gori and plays mainly
progressive modern jazz, and fusion with elements of punk, blues, and soul.

The forum was organized in the frame of the
project ”Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative.” It was developed
and is implemented by a consortium led by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in
cooperation with four Georgian Civil Society Organizations: the Civil Society
Institute (CSI), the Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), the Center for
Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) and the Education
Development and Employment Center (EDEC). The initiative is funded by the European
Union and co-funded by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.