National Volunteering Forum held by EU project
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Tuesday, January 21
The National Volunteering Council was committed to Georgia's promotion of volunteerism. The goal of the event was to discuss the philosophy of volunteerism and related experiences at the national level and to provide an overview of the viewpoints of volunteer creation in the light of policymaking and practical implementation.
Up to 200 guests - representatives of regional civil society organizations, international and donor agencies, media and other stakeholders participated in the event.
As a part of the panel discussions, representatives of educational and civil society organizations, as well as governmental and private sector reviewed topics such as challenges of 'teaching' volunteerism and volunteer recognition, opportunities and perspectives of higher education institutions in Georgia; Georgian National Youth Policy document and state programmes as an opportunity to promote the culture of volunteerism among the youth; Overview of Georgian legislation in regards to volunteering; Volunteering as corporate social responsibility for business and volunteering.
The second part of the forum was devoted to the group works: “Enabling Environment for Civil Society Organizations: Challenges and Perspectives” and “Supporting Civil Society Development: Experience and Perspectives”.
Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative was developed and is implemented by the consortium led by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in cooperation with four Georgian Civil Society Organizations: Civil Society Institute (CSI), Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) and Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC).
The project is funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.