Advocating for the needs of ethnic minorities by increasing youth participation in decision-making process

Civic Engagement and Activism Center (CEAC)

2023

Marneuli Municipality is located in the south of Georgia, close to the borders with Azerbaijan and Armenia. Among others, a large group of ethnic Azeris live here.

The Civic Engagement and Activism Center (CEAC), with the support of NESEHNUTI, implemented the project "Advocating for the Needs of Ethnic Minorities", which aims to advocate for the needs of the villages of the Kachagan community of Marneuli through youth activism and increased youth participation in local decision-making.

The project conducted three trainings for young people on local government, civic movements and advocacy campaigns to activate young people living in the community and provide them with relevant theoretical knowledge. In cooperation with the young people, the main problems in the community were identified and three video clips were filmed and published, which contributed to raising awareness in society about the current problems that the local administration will address.

In addition, two blog articles on the needs of the community were published and Radio Marneuli will broadcast programmes on the needs and problems of the community with the participation of young people.s

An advocacy campaign strategy has been developed in collaboration with CEAC and community members to further highlight current issues through a petition.

In the future, CEAC will continue to advocate for the interests of the community and communicate with Marneuli City Council and City Council representatives, attend City Council meetings, and work to ensure that the Marneuli local government considers the needs of the community in the municipal budget for 2024 and beyond.

In collaboration with partner organisation Abkhazintercont and a local facilitator, NESEHNUTI organised a campaign planning and campaign plan update where participants had the opportunity to plan together with two other supported initiatives from Akhaltsikhe and Telavi. NESEHNUTI also provided financial support for the implementation of the campaign and we were in regular contact with the initiative throughout the campaign.