From September 29 to October 1, Tbilisi hosted the annual event of the Europe-Georgia Institute and the Swedish International Liberal Center (SILC) – SILC World Seminar. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, this was the first global workshop that SILC has conducted face-to-face.
The seminar aimed to improve the coordination of liberal parties and organizations in the field of environmental protection and to promote sharing of experiences between them. The main topic of discussion within the seminar was the approaches developed by the organizations and the ways of their implementation. SILC chairman
Lennart Nordfors and Giorgi Melashvili, chairman of the Europe-Georgia Institute, addressed the participants of the seminar with a welcome speech. They talked about the importance of environmental protection and the liberal vision regarding this issue.
The representatives of different countries introduced the participants to the ecological problems in their countries, the ways to solve them and the activities implemented in this regard.
“We discussed the environmental protection problems that exist in our countries and the role of non-governmental organizations and political parties in actualizing and solving these issues. During our report, my colleague and I discussed the issue of waste management in Armenia and Georgia, similarities and differences.” – Lilit Tatintsiani, Sose Women’s Issues NGO
Along with that, researcher Keti Sartania spoke to the attendees about the latest history of Georgia. The participants received detailed information on the history of Georgia from the restoration of independence (after the collapse of the Soviet Union) to modern times, they got acquainted with the political situation in the country and the main directions of Georgia’s foreign policy in the international arena.
On the first day of the seminar, a panel discussion was held on the challenges facing liberalism around the world. The conversation addressed the political situation in different countries and the possible approaches that will contribute to the further strengthening and popularization of liberalism.
On the second day of the seminar, Georgian environmentalist and civic activist Irma Gordeladze spoke about the challenges facing Georgia in terms of environmental protection. Special attention was paid to ecological problems in different regions of Georgia.
The importance of activities performed by non-governmental organizations, civic activism and achieved results were noted. Irma Gordeladze emphasized the negative role of the ultra-right forces in the process of developing and effectively implementing environmental protection policy in Georgia.
The participants of the seminar visited Mtskheta, ancient town of Georgia, that used to be a capital in earlier times, where they learned about Georgian culture and history. They also participated in culinary activities. The attended the Tbilisi festival, visited the historical part of Tbilisi and visited various historical sites.
The seminar is a clear example of high-level cooperation between the European-Georgian Institute and SILC.
The seminar contributed to raising the awareness of the participants in the direction of environmental protection, as well as the exchange of views between liberal parties and organizations of different countries, including the deepening of ties and strengthening of coordination.