Foreword

Civic Integration Foundation (CIF) is a non-governmental, non-profit and nonpolitical organization committed to promotion of civic integration, human rights and civil society. CIF is a leading NGO institution in Georgia in the field of civic integration and minority rights protection. The goal of the foundation is to support integration of ethnic minorities who live on the territory of Georgia and to strengthen their civic and political participation in public and political life of Georgia so that every citizen of Georgia apart from ethnical, religious or other group belongings could evenly execute rights and obligations conferred by international contracts and acknowledged by Georgia and constitution of Georgia.

To achieve this aim CIF executes following activities:

- Informative

- Educational

- Publishing

- And other activities, which are not prohibited by legislation of Georgia and serve to the goal of the fund.

Target groups

CIF works with:

• Communities of compact/dispersed inhabitance of ethnic minorities
• Teachers, directors and members of parents committee
• Members of local self- governance bodies (Sakrebulo) of regions compactly inhabited by ethnic minorities
• Nongovernmental organizations working on problems of ethnic minorities
• Governmental structures working in this field
• Community of forcibly displaced Meskhetians

Strategies

• Education - Human resources development and support to education reform through informal education – trainings and seminars
• Civic Integration - Support to the process of integration of ethnic minorities into Georgian state and  society
• Local self- governance - Local self-governance development and their provision with legislative instruments

Structure and staff

The key structures of CIF are as following: Governing Board, Office of Executive Director and the Departments working in the field of Culture, Education, International Relations and Legal Aid.

CIF is composed with young members who represent different ethnic minorities in Georgia. The foundation also has numerous young members with Georgian ethnicity who together with ethnic minorities try to promote civic integration and human rights protection in Georgia. Therefore, the most important target groups of our foundation are young people who live in Georgia and who give their share in development of democracy and civil society in Georgia.

Projects and activities

Project title: Independent Media for Civil Integration

Donor: European Commission

Total eligible cost of the action: EUR 599 470

Duration of the action: 36 months

Partners: Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (Georgia), Civic Integration Foundation (Georgia), Research Centre, REGION (Armenia), and the Committee for Protection of Journalists of Azerbaijan (RUH) (Azerbaijan).

Objectives of the activities:

Overall objective(s): independent media in South Caucasus is developed through the elimination of technical obstacles, awareness-raising among journalists, improving media professionalism and unimpeded civil society access to all media, including the Internet.

Specific objective: civil society in the ethnic minority-populated districts of southern Georgia gains voice through more viable local community media .

Target groups:

Direct group: civic groups, journalists, and media outlets in Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki, Gardabani and Marneuli districts of the Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo-Kartli regions of southern Georgia.

Indirect group: media outlets and independent journalists of the trilateral Caucasus Journalists Network (www.caucasusjournalists.net).

Project title: Legal Education as a Way for Successful Integration of Ethnic Minorities

Donor: Open Society Georgia Foundation 

Total eligible cost of the action: $30 556

Duration of the action: 12 months

Objectives of the activities: The main goal of project is to assist the process of integration of ethnic minorities into the civic society of Georgia. Exact goal of the project is to improve skill and level of professionalism of local employees in Kvemo-Kartli region and creating structure (groups of jurists and translators) which will be ready to grant jurisprudential service for the population of the region and to increase level of knowledge of representatives of ethnic minorities of the constitutional rules and obligations.

Target groups:

Direct Groups: Jurists and translators in Azeri populated Kvemo-Kartli region.

Indirect Groups: Population of Kvemo-Kartli region.

Project title: Education and Development of Civil Society in Kvemo Kartli Region

Donor: USAID/UNAG

Total eligible cost of the action: $29850

Duration of the action: 12 month

Objectives of the activities: The proposed project aims to increase the level of civic education and active civic participation of the youth representatives of ethnic minority and majority. A Youth Centre will be created in Gardabani in which various debates, meetings, training courses, seminars will be carried out. We expect to motivate secondary students and university students for active participation in their everyday scholastic/university life; to help youth initiatives in promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms; to help develop and improve leadership skills of youth representatives from ethnic minority communities; to promote human rights and civic culture among ethnic minority communities of Kvemo Kartli and in capital city trough debating and discussions and to support such public discourse amongst youth representatives in Kvemo Kartli and in Tbilisi that will support effective integration of ethnic minorities in Georgia.

Project title: Support of New-Founded Roma NGOs

Donor: European Centre for Minority Issues

Total eligible cost of the action: 3130 Gel

Duration of the action: 1 month

Objectives of the activities: The proposed project aims to aid local Roma community in Dedoplistskaro and Kobuleti by purchasing office equipment for both new founded NGO’s (one personal computer and printer for each organization and other office equipment including markers, flipcharts, pens, pencils, notepads, paper etc.); by attending one day training course about proposal writing and overall project management, one in Dedoplistskaro and one in Kobuleti.  Our main aim is to increase the level of civic education and active civic participation of the Roma minority representatives in these regions. By carrying out proposed action we expect to aid their initiatives in promotion and protection of their rights and fundamental freedoms;

Members of the organization participated in different training courses, various conferences and cultural activities.

Networks

CIF is a member of:

Council of National Minorities under Ombudsman of Georgia (Tbilisi, Georgia)

UNITED for Intercultural Action (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

European Youth Foundation (Strasbourg, France)

Eurasian Federation for Human Rights (Ankara, Turkey)

The council of Tolerance and Civic Integration within the Public Broadcasting

Partners and donors

Office of the Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia (PDO, Tbilisi, Georgia)

Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD, Tbilisi, Georgia)

International Centre for Civic Culture (ICCC, Tbilisi, Georgia)

School, Family, Society Association (SFSA, Tbilisi, Georgia)

Association Studio Re (Tbilisi, Georgia)

Committee of the Investigative Journalists Association (REGION, Yerevan, Armenia)

Committee for Protection of Azerbaijani Journalists (RUH, Baku, Azerbaijan)

European Centre for Minority Issues

European Union (EU)

United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDF)

Open Society – Georgia Foundation (OSGF)

International Foundation for Elections Systems (ISFED)

Council of Europe (CoE)

International Foundation for Elections Systems (ISFED)

Council of Europe (CoE)