October 27, 2014
Georgia
Under the patronage of the Embassy of the Czech Republic, Caritas Czech Republic organized a conference about the situation of people with disabilities in Georgia. The October meeting in Tbilisi was attended by the representatives of NGOs, local institutions, delegations from the EU and representatives of people with disabilities.
Since May 2012, there have been various activities designed to reduce discrimination and social exclusion of people with disabilities in Georgia. Through carefully planned activities, these activities managed to contribute to the social integration and active participation in the work process for disabled persons. New relationships were also built between government and non-governmental organizations, the Georgian society, and with potential employers of people with disabilities.
The conference was held on the occasion of completion of the project Caritas Czech Republic called “People with Disabilities: Natural and respected group in society.” In his opening speech the Czech Ambassador to Georgia, Mr. Tomáš Pernický, emphasized the importance of open discussion of the issue of discrimination in all its forms, including social and economic discrimination against people with disabilities. He expressed gratitude to organizations and individuals who were involved and actively participated in the project, particularly on building the relationships between people with disabilities and potential employers.
Irina Inasaridze from the CIL organization, Eka Dgebuadze, the Head of Development for Inclusive Education of the Ministry of Education and Science and Evžen Diviš from Caritas Czech Republic also spoke at the conference.
The program included a presentation of the activities and outcomes of the project, presented by Caritas Georgia, Coalition for Independence Living and the Georgian Association of Social Workers. Most attention was devoted mainly to an internship program for 29 disabled people who could (at least temporarily) become part of the working process in Georgia and who could prepare for future employment. Particular experience of both the trainees and one of the companies that made the internship possible was then also discussed in detail.
This was followed by the award ceremony for the most helpful employer for people with disabilities. It was selected from organizations that participated in the project. The prize was awarded to the Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC), where several trainees worked for past two years. Giorgi Charabidze, deputy chairman of the CEC, said while accepting the award, that, „the people with disabilities have very positively changed the working atmosphere around the workplace.“
At the end of the conference it was agreed that such changes in legislation must be implemented and similar initiatives must be supported in order to defeat the stigma and prejudices of society in Georgia on working abilities and skills of people with disabilities.
The project „People with Disabilities: Natural and respected group of society” was financially supported by the Czech Development Agency.
