25.09.2009

On September 25, 2009 the meeting of experts was held at GFSIS. It was the first meeting held in the format of Georgian component of “The Black Sea Peacebuilding Network” project. The project is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and in cooperation with the Crisis Management Initiative.

Prior to the meeting the independent experts as well as the representatives of NGOs working in Georgia on conflict resolution, regional cooperation and regional context issues were provided with the information about the project and in case of their interest the questionnaires designed under the project framework had been completed.

In the introductory speech the main goals and the tools for producing the final product were explained briefly by the project leadership. The project is focused on establishing the self-governing civil society councils in the Black Sea region which will elaborate the recommendation on peaceful resolution of the conflicts and regional cooperation. The project structure is directed on ensuring the involvement of society in this process.

Under the project activities the meetings (discussions) will be organized by the established Expert Councils on the issues of resolution of existing conflicts in Georgia (and the Black Sea region). It is also envisaged under the project framework to hold regional meetings with the similar councils of the Black Sea region.

The project Georgian component director (Mr. Kakha Gogolashvili) mentioned that there are fact and features, which prove the development process of The Black Sea as a region. The conflicts existing in this region (Abkhazia, Former Autonomous Republic of South Ossetia, Karabakh, Transnistria), notwithstanding their individual specifications, contain common characteristics that will enable Georgian experts involved in the project to share their experience with the representatives of other countries (Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan), also get some additional information from them as well.

The main directions of the project activity, such as the meetings of Expert Council, issuing newsletter, project website, etc. were also mentioned in the introductory speech. It has been decided that the topics to be discussed at the meetings and to be published in the newsletter should be suggested by the Experts’ Council and so called Advisory Council of the project should approve them. The experts will also work on the topics to be published in the newsletter.

The introduction by the representative of Crisis Management Initiative, of project goals components and the future product to be created was followed by the discussion. The questions of different kind concerning the target audience, interested parties and countries available for participation in the project were asked. The needs and expediency of the discussion on regional level regarding different conflicts was also discussed. The necessity of inclusion of other countries (Russia, Ukraine, Turkey) in the project was underlined.

After discussing the goals, components and final product of the project, at the next stage the meeting was followed by elections. At the meeting 6 (six) participants were unanimously nominated by the group of experts.