On 18 June 2010, the Heinrich Boell Foundation South Caucasus Regional Office (HBF), in cooperation with the local Batumi-based non-governmental organization – The Center for Regional Development and Initiatives, organized a public debate in Batumi.
The debate was organized within the HBF’s Regional Debates Program. The topic of the public debate was ‘The Challenges to the Civil Society in Georgia’.
The debate took place at the Ilia Chavchavadze Museum in Batumi and was attended by the local non-governmental organizations, media agencies, representatives of various political parties, students and other interested citizens.
The HBF invited Ms. Ia Antadze (Journalist, Radio Liberty), Ms. Eka Targamadze (The member of the Batumi Sakrebulo from the National Movement Party) and Mr. Geno Geladze (Director, Institute for Democracy) as the speakers. The event was moderated by Mr. Zviad Diasamidze, the Director for the Center for Regional Development and Initiatives.
The existence of responsible civil society is especially important for the transitional countries being in the process of building state institutions based on the rule-of-law model. The HBF debate in Batumi was devoted to the development of the civil society in Georgia, with particular emphases on the regional situation.
An active, highly motivated citizen, able to defend his/her civic rights, is a key contributor to the development of the civil society in Georgia. The state has a responsibility to promote the civil society, underlined the participants of the debates, as the strong civil society represents a necessary precondition for the sustainable development of the state machinery and plays an important role in the prevention of the negative cataclysms in the country.
Since the beginning of 2010, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, within its Democracy Program organizes public debates/discussions in various towns of Georgia. The Heinrich Boell Foundation has signed a partnership agreement with the Center for the Regional Development and Initiatives to organize public debates in Gurjaani, Telavi, Poti and Batumi.