The South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation hosts public debates since 2004. The geography of public debates expanded from Tbilisi to Kutaisi and Batumi in 2013. Once in a month these three cities provide spaces for deliberation on acute political, social and cultural problems faced by contemporary Georgia. The debates aim to motivate public discussions about the establishment of a constitutional state and civil society and the promotion of the public debates culture.
Public debates in Tbilisi are traditionally held at the Foundation’s office. Centers for Civic Engagement are kindly providing their discussion halls for discussions in Kutaisi in 6 Pushkin Street and Batumi in 62-64 Parnavaz Street. Time for debates vary city after city. Tbilisi hosts debates at 7:00 pm on Wednesdays, Batumi – on 6:00 pm and Kutaisi – on 5:00 pm regularly on Fridays. Announcements of the events are disseminated through the website and via the facebook page of the HBF. News on public debates is also spread by e-mails and posters in public spaces.
For those, who could not attend and participate in our debates, the HBF provides live streaming of the events (only in Tbilisi) and posts articles and short summaries in Georgian on its web-site. Video records of the debates are also available on our YouTube channel.