Georgia

Association Atinati

$32,195
To maintain a program that informs the public about the NGO community in the Samogrelo region of western Georgia and stimulates greater activism among NGOs. The organization will produce two weekly radio shows which will be broadcast on its radio station, Atinati, which reaches neighboring regions. Atinati will compile an NGO directory, publish a monthly newsletter, and maintain a web page.

Association Open Society - New Kutaisi

$36,404
To train civil society activists in Batumi and five other municipalities of the Adjara Republic of Georgia in methods of monitoring the budgetary process. The program will include conducting trainings and seminars, publishing booklets and a monthly newspaper insert, and producing half hour television programs. The organization will maintain and update its web site with current information about the budgetary process.

Cultural-Humanitarian Fund "Sukhumi"

$63,380
To promote women’s leadership in politics, particularly women leaders from among Georgians who were displaced by the war in Abkhazia. The organization will conduct an advocacy campaign to persuade parties to advance women candidates and persuade women participate in local politics. The organization will conduct monthly meetings of four provincial “Women Voters” clubs, maintain a comprehensive database of local women activists, and conduct a training and a civic forum.

Egalitarian Institute

$43,730
To organize a human rights documentary film festival. The festival will be held in Tbilisi and will select three winners, one in each category: best debut film, best work of investigative journalism, and best documentary film. These films will be screened in a dozen locations throughout Georgia. Following each screening the staff of the Egalitarian Institute will moderate a discussion of the themes raised by the film.

Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights (FPPHR)

$51,680
To conduct human rights monitoring and coordinate activities of the NGO coalition “Civil Society for Democratic Georgia.” The FPPHR and the NGO coalition will conduct human rights monitoring, prepare a report about human rights in Georgia, and provide legal assistance in Tbilisi and two remote regions of Georgia.

Georgia for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Georgia for NATO)

$34,980
To educate the public about the military, political, and economic reforms that are the prerequisites to NATO membership. Georgia for NATO will hold five roundtables in the regions of Georgia to discuss the necessity for such reforms. In addition, the organization will produce a weekly television talk show about these issues, which will be broadcast on Kavkasia television station, which covers the capital and several regions of Georgia.

Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA)

$11,826
To conduct monitoring of the presidential elections together with Transparency International and ISFED, an election monitoring organization which receives NED support through NDI. The program will support two types of activities: monitoring the activities of the government and the political parties during the campaign period and observing the conduct of the poll on election day.

Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA)

$58,411
To monitor the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2008, conduct training and advocacy activities, and engage in strategic litigation to improve the electoral law. GYLA will monitor the decrees of the Central Electoral Commission, train journalists on the electoral law, administer a hotline, produce public service announcements, and take particularly significant cases to the Georgian Supreme Court and the European Court for Human Rights.

Human Rights Information and Documentation Center (HRIDC)

$50,905
To encourage improvement of human rights practices in Georgia. The Center will monitor and report on human rights, provide free legal aid, and support the activities of two regional human rights centers. The Center will also train future lawyers in human rights through internships. The Center will submit human rights reports to UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, and other international organizations.

International Republican Institute (IRI)

$400,000
To develop the capacity of local government leaders and political parties to address the needs of their constituents. IRI’s program will be comprised of public opinion research, comprehensive governance training for local government officials, and political party strengthening activities. This will help restore trust in the ability of grassroots democratic institutions to tackle local issues, as well as rebuild hope and confidence in Georgia’s young democracy.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

$273,856
To support NDI’s ongoing organizational strengthening assistance to the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), a local non-governmental organization working to promote fair elections and public consultation throughout Georgia. Funds will also be used to allow ISFED to conduct voter education activities and a parallel vote tabulation for planned parliamentary elections. These activities are particularly important given recent political turmoil in Georgia.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

$83,098
To conduct a pilot project aimed at improving the outreach skills of political parties and issue-based civil society organizations in Georgia. NDI will assist targeted civic groups to strengthen their influence, and would offer consultations to build skills for better advocating for reforms. NDI will also seek to build the training capacity of parties in order to spread outreach skills across party branches and membership

Newspaper Batumelebi

$29,710
To distribute a weekly newspaper in remote mountainous districts of the Republic of Adjara, an autonomous republic in Georgia. The program will also establish an honoraria fund which will be used to improve the variety and quality of articles submitted to the newspaper.

Partnership for Social Initiatives (PSI)

$50,520
To conduct an assessment of the state building strategy that has underpinned the course of reform in Georgia. Through analytical papers, radio shows, and roundtable discussions, PSI will address the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches, the relationship between the government and the ruling party, rule of law especially with respect to property rights, the development of political parties, and the role of civil society.

Union Article 42 of the Constitution

$58,373
To bring about judicial review of new legislation that violates constitutional norms and to make the public aware of this procedure as an effective means of defending their rights. The organization will hold trainings about the processes of applying to the Constitutional Court for lawyers in the regions of Georgia. The organization will identify new laws that violate the constitution, and find cases to bring to the Court.