City and Citizens - Social and Political Aspects of Urban Development The first debates held in Kutaisi by the HBF were met with high public interest. Two main themes were discussed at the meeting: the city development in terms of urban planning & economic development.
Geneva Process and Peaceful Transformation of Conflicts: A New Political Reality What is the new political reality, and what does peaceful transformation imply? What are the most important problems of the Geneva process?
New City Image: Yerevan and Tbilisi Lado Vardosanidze – architect, expert on urban studies, Professor at the Technical University of Georgia;Hrachya Poghosyan – architect, Deputy Chair of the Urban Planning Council of Yerevan Municipality;Levon Abrahamyan – anthropologist, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. By Vladimer (Lado) Vardosanidze
“Green” Views of Politics in the Context of Sustainable Development: Global and Local Perspectives How do Georgian specialists view “green competitors” in politics within the framework of sustainable development, caring equally for both global and local issues?
Crisis of Democratization and Transformation of Ethno-Political Conflicts in the South Caucasus What hinders resolution of the conflicts in the South Caucasus, especially since there is no fundamental problem of ethnic tension between individuals? Thomas de Waal, Senior Fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace states that the people involved in the conflict have nothing against each other.
Electoral Challenges for Democratic Development of Georgia: A Test to Measure the Efficiency of the European Neighborhood Policy “How can we avoid the threats that we face in the next two weeks? How can we protect democracy in our country?”
Human Beings and Space for Humanity in Totalitarian Uniformity: What Kind of Knowledge do Archives Provide? This discussion held at HBF’s South Caucasus Regional Office concerned archives. What is the knowledge that can be generated, or what is the knowledge preserved by, archives? How can researchers or regular citizens find information and read case materials? What are the problems regarding this issue in Georgia and Russia?
Politics and Religion: the Tendency of Desecularization The discussion participants included Ms. Rusudan Gotsiridze, Bishop of the Evangelical-Baptist Church of Georgia; Mr. Nikoloz Laliashvili, MP, Christian-Democratic Party; Mr. Rati Amaglobeli, poet; and Mr. Giorgi Maisuradze, philosopher and representative of the Berlin Literature and Culture Research Centre.
Poti and Tskaltubo: Empowering Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Parliamentary Election Context On 3rd and 4th of June, 2012 within the frameworks of the project “Empowering Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Parliamentary Election Context”, initiated by the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, two roundtable discussions were held in Poti and Tskaltubo. The goal of the initiated project is to promote and strengthen the civil activism and participation of IDPs in political processes and encourage political parties to integrate into their party programs the issues important and crucial for IDPs.
Discrediting the idea: What Liberalism Means in Georgia The public discussion on liberalism and liberal values held at the Heinrich Boell Foundation on 30 May, 2012 focused on society’s attitudes towards these values and its readiness or reluctance to accept them. The speakers included Ms. Salome Asatiani, a Radio “Freedom” Correspondent, Ms. Shorena Shaverdashvili, Editor of “The Liberali”, and Mr. Gela Bandzeladze, representing the political party Social-Democrats for Development of Georgia.