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CONFERENCE ADDRESSES CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION
The Messenger
Oct 21 2011
Georgia
"Development cannot happen in just one country," Thomas Reynolds,
mission director of CARE International in the Caucasus said on the
opening day of a conference on cooperation across the Georgian-Armenian
border. "What happens with your neighbors has an important impact on
what happens at home."
CARE International in the Caucasus and its partner organization
Civil Development Agency (CiDA) have assembled representatives of
civil society and international organizations and those from local
and central government bodies from Georgia and Armenia for a two-day
conference to share results of a 30-month project entitled "Poverty
Reduction and Confidence-Building in Bordering Areas of Georgia
and Armenia by Strengthening Civil Societies in Sustainable Rural
Development" (STAGE II).
The STAGE II project included confidence-building workshops between
different ethnic groups, support for agriculture development and the
promotion of community participation in local government.
This project targets the border regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti and
Kvemo Kartli in Georgia, and Lorri, Tavush and Shirak in Armenia. The
project's target populations are located in remote areas with little
transportation connections to urban centres and a lack of economic
opportunities outside of farming. The project aims to benefit the rural
population and improve their livelihoods by improving representation
and advocacy through more effective civil society and more cooperation
among local governments.
"A wide number of social and economic issues affect local economic
development and it is necessary to take these into account. We strive
to create a forum where various stakeholders will be involved to
identify and address them," said Anthony Foreman, STAGE II Project
Director.
Presenters at the conference included representatives from Georgian
and Armenian governments and organizations who have participated in
a number of cross-border initiatives. Projects included a summer
camp in Georgia that brought together youth from both countries,
the rehabilitation of an important irrigation system in Noemberyan
municipality in Armenia, creation of a guidebook to help farmers and
vendors cross the Georgian-Armenian border and the like.
In the conference's opening session, participants were addressed by
Van Baiburti, advisor to the President of Georgia, Philippe Bernhard,
attache to the EU Delegation to Georgia, and Konstantine Kobakhidze,
Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Georgia.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises are the key to development,"
Bernhard said. "Also, allocating funds for development must be done
in a very transparent way and in a way that involves all stakeholders."
STAGE II is financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC)
implemented by CARE Austria and CARE International in the Caucasus,
along with the partner organizations Civil Development Agency (CiDA)
in Georgia and Center for Agribusiness and Rural Development (CARD)
in Armenia.
The Messenger
Oct 21 2011
Georgia
"Development cannot happen in just one country," Thomas Reynolds,
mission director of CARE International in the Caucasus said on the
opening day of a conference on cooperation across the Georgian-Armenian
border. "What happens with your neighbors has an important impact on
what happens at home."
CARE International in the Caucasus and its partner organization
Civil Development Agency (CiDA) have assembled representatives of
civil society and international organizations and those from local
and central government bodies from Georgia and Armenia for a two-day
conference to share results of a 30-month project entitled "Poverty
Reduction and Confidence-Building in Bordering Areas of Georgia
and Armenia by Strengthening Civil Societies in Sustainable Rural
Development" (STAGE II).
The STAGE II project included confidence-building workshops between
different ethnic groups, support for agriculture development and the
promotion of community participation in local government.
This project targets the border regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti and
Kvemo Kartli in Georgia, and Lorri, Tavush and Shirak in Armenia. The
project's target populations are located in remote areas with little
transportation connections to urban centres and a lack of economic
opportunities outside of farming. The project aims to benefit the rural
population and improve their livelihoods by improving representation
and advocacy through more effective civil society and more cooperation
among local governments.
"A wide number of social and economic issues affect local economic
development and it is necessary to take these into account. We strive
to create a forum where various stakeholders will be involved to
identify and address them," said Anthony Foreman, STAGE II Project
Director.
Presenters at the conference included representatives from Georgian
and Armenian governments and organizations who have participated in
a number of cross-border initiatives. Projects included a summer
camp in Georgia that brought together youth from both countries,
the rehabilitation of an important irrigation system in Noemberyan
municipality in Armenia, creation of a guidebook to help farmers and
vendors cross the Georgian-Armenian border and the like.
In the conference's opening session, participants were addressed by
Van Baiburti, advisor to the President of Georgia, Philippe Bernhard,
attache to the EU Delegation to Georgia, and Konstantine Kobakhidze,
Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Georgia.
"Small and medium-sized enterprises are the key to development,"
Bernhard said. "Also, allocating funds for development must be done
in a very transparent way and in a way that involves all stakeholders."
STAGE II is financed by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC)
implemented by CARE Austria and CARE International in the Caucasus,
along with the partner organizations Civil Development Agency (CiDA)
in Georgia and Center for Agribusiness and Rural Development (CARD)
in Armenia.