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NEW CARE PROJECT HOPES TO DEVELOP GEORGIA-ARMENIA BORDER REGIONS
By Etuna Tsotniashvili
The Messenger
April 19 2012
Georgia
Yesterday, CARE International in the Caucasus hosted a conference
titled "Joining Regional Actors for Local Economic Development",
organized within the framework of the project "Local Actors Join for
Inclusive Economic Development and Governance in the South Caucasus
(JOIN)".
The conference brought together participants from Georgia, Armenia,
and representatives of donor and international organizations for a
discussion on inclusive economic development, agricultural strategies
of Georgia and Armenia and their impact on local development, and
perspectives for attracting investors to rural areas
"Today's event is really about three things: in the first instance,
we really want to put the target regions, which are the regions that
border the Georgian-Armenian border, on the map in terms of areas
that have economic potential and opportunities for growth. We have
invited a lot of people from the regions who can represent and who
can tell about what that potential is. Secondly, we also want to use
this opportunity in order to map the opportunities that exist though
international investments, though donor projects, or though national
programs that are focusing on regional development of the regions....
Finally, we want to hear the opinions of all of these stakeholders,
how they think we should be running the project in order to facilitate
the process of economic development in the target regions," Anthony
Foreman, JOIN Project Director of CARE, told The Messenger.
The JOIN project will help communities in the regions to identify
for themselves those areas which have potential and to give them the
skills to package it in order to attract investment.
Conference participants exchanged information on local planning
and agricultural development in the border regions of Georgia and
Armenia, between central and local governments, the private sector,
the donor community, international organizations, and stakeholders
from foreign countries, and intend to facilitate these parties to
formulate a strategy on working together.
An important part of the conference was discussing how to make local
development inclusive. Paul Clark, President of TBSC Consulting,
presented a baseline study conducted in the project target regions.
TBSC Consulting interviewed key local actors in 13 municipalities in
Armenia and Georgia including local governments (LG), civil society
organizations (CSO), and the private sector (PS). The results show that
the planning process in municipalities is not very effective, as they
fail to meet requirements and mostly reflect the views of municipal
officials. Private sector and civil society organizations as well
as ordinary citizens have problems understanding the role of LG in
their everyday life. Timely information and effective communication
between LG and local actors is also an acute issue. According to
the survey, most farmers in municipalities do not have relevant and
timely information they need to compete in the emerging economy,
and even if the relevant information is available, many residents do
not know how to access it.
Notably, gender equality is not respected in some areas and gender
discrimination is very common. Another issue is that of language, as
there is often a language barrier between and within communities along
the border. The language barrier acts as an obstacle to integration
in Georgian society for ethnic and linguistic minorities, although the
Georgian government has worked on the issue and created some effective
tools to integrate Armenians and Azeris into Georgian society.
JOIN is a three-year project designed to create an "enabling"
environment for socioeconomic development through participatory
planning, improved cooperation, and the exchange of market-relevant
information among local governments, civil society organizations,
and the private sector.
JOIN is funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and
implemented by CARE Austria and CARE International in the Caucasus
together with the partner organizations the Civil Development Agency
(CiDA) in Georgia and the Center for Agribusiness and Rural Development
(CARD) in Armenia.
As Alexander Bohr, South Caucasus Representative of ADC, remarked at
the conference, ADC has established an office in Tbilisi responsible
for Georgia and Armenia as part of a re-orientation process within
the region. The organization will bring a more strategic focus to
both countries and this will be followed up by the establishment of
bilateral country strategies. This new JOIN project is part of this
new focus, supporting Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti in Georgia
and Lori, Tavush and Shirak in Armenia.
Alongside the conference, an agricultural exhibition was held, in
which products from the border regions were presented for participants
to test, in the hopes of demonstrating the regions' investment and
development potential and competitive advantage.
From: A. Papazian
By Etuna Tsotniashvili
The Messenger
April 19 2012
Georgia
Yesterday, CARE International in the Caucasus hosted a conference
titled "Joining Regional Actors for Local Economic Development",
organized within the framework of the project "Local Actors Join for
Inclusive Economic Development and Governance in the South Caucasus
(JOIN)".
The conference brought together participants from Georgia, Armenia,
and representatives of donor and international organizations for a
discussion on inclusive economic development, agricultural strategies
of Georgia and Armenia and their impact on local development, and
perspectives for attracting investors to rural areas
"Today's event is really about three things: in the first instance,
we really want to put the target regions, which are the regions that
border the Georgian-Armenian border, on the map in terms of areas
that have economic potential and opportunities for growth. We have
invited a lot of people from the regions who can represent and who
can tell about what that potential is. Secondly, we also want to use
this opportunity in order to map the opportunities that exist though
international investments, though donor projects, or though national
programs that are focusing on regional development of the regions....
Finally, we want to hear the opinions of all of these stakeholders,
how they think we should be running the project in order to facilitate
the process of economic development in the target regions," Anthony
Foreman, JOIN Project Director of CARE, told The Messenger.
The JOIN project will help communities in the regions to identify
for themselves those areas which have potential and to give them the
skills to package it in order to attract investment.
Conference participants exchanged information on local planning
and agricultural development in the border regions of Georgia and
Armenia, between central and local governments, the private sector,
the donor community, international organizations, and stakeholders
from foreign countries, and intend to facilitate these parties to
formulate a strategy on working together.
An important part of the conference was discussing how to make local
development inclusive. Paul Clark, President of TBSC Consulting,
presented a baseline study conducted in the project target regions.
TBSC Consulting interviewed key local actors in 13 municipalities in
Armenia and Georgia including local governments (LG), civil society
organizations (CSO), and the private sector (PS). The results show that
the planning process in municipalities is not very effective, as they
fail to meet requirements and mostly reflect the views of municipal
officials. Private sector and civil society organizations as well
as ordinary citizens have problems understanding the role of LG in
their everyday life. Timely information and effective communication
between LG and local actors is also an acute issue. According to
the survey, most farmers in municipalities do not have relevant and
timely information they need to compete in the emerging economy,
and even if the relevant information is available, many residents do
not know how to access it.
Notably, gender equality is not respected in some areas and gender
discrimination is very common. Another issue is that of language, as
there is often a language barrier between and within communities along
the border. The language barrier acts as an obstacle to integration
in Georgian society for ethnic and linguistic minorities, although the
Georgian government has worked on the issue and created some effective
tools to integrate Armenians and Azeris into Georgian society.
JOIN is a three-year project designed to create an "enabling"
environment for socioeconomic development through participatory
planning, improved cooperation, and the exchange of market-relevant
information among local governments, civil society organizations,
and the private sector.
JOIN is funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and
implemented by CARE Austria and CARE International in the Caucasus
together with the partner organizations the Civil Development Agency
(CiDA) in Georgia and the Center for Agribusiness and Rural Development
(CARD) in Armenia.
As Alexander Bohr, South Caucasus Representative of ADC, remarked at
the conference, ADC has established an office in Tbilisi responsible
for Georgia and Armenia as part of a re-orientation process within
the region. The organization will bring a more strategic focus to
both countries and this will be followed up by the establishment of
bilateral country strategies. This new JOIN project is part of this
new focus, supporting Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti in Georgia
and Lori, Tavush and Shirak in Armenia.
Alongside the conference, an agricultural exhibition was held, in
which products from the border regions were presented for participants
to test, in the hopes of demonstrating the regions' investment and
development potential and competitive advantage.
From: A. Papazian