FIAE has conducted
three follow on programs in Georgia with its Community Connections alumni.
August 2000 follow on program focused on the disability issues in Georgia.
That follow on program lead to a year-long Women's
Leadership project that concentrated its efforts on running a public
awareness campaign on behalf of individuals with disablities. July 2002
and November 2004 follow on were aimed at establishing a community oriented
business association in Georgia. All of the follow on programs included
substantive workshops, conferences and site visits. Please read more
about these programs below.
August 2000 - Follow On Program
Theme:
Disabilities
The Foundation for International Arts and Education (FIAE) is a non-profit
organization created in December 1995 to help protect and preserve the
historical and cultural legacy of the countries of Former Soviet Union.
Since its existence, the Foundation has concentrated its efforts in
Russia, Georgia and Kazakhstan.
FIAE was happy to expand one of its
initiatives under the Community Connections program by assisting Georgia
to raise the level of educational and vocational opportunities for children
with special needs. With the assistance and support of grants from the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State,
the Foundation will focus its exchange activities on this topic.
This is a very sensitive issue for
Georgia, which inherited the legacy of the Soviet social system, discriminating
against individuals with disabilities in direct and concealed ways.
In addition, traditional attitudes and practices of caring for disabled
individuals discourage them from becoming independent. To begin its
concentrated efforts and assistance, the Foundation staff traveled to
Georgia for ten days in August 2000, with four experts from the greater
Washington area.
The main goals of this trip included:
- Initiated an assessment of the current
situation and resources in Georgia for individuals with special needs;
Established database of parents to encourage the exchange of valuable
information and expand the possibility of cooperation;
- Connected parents and interested educators
with support groups dealing with individuals with disabilities, advocacy
groups and other organizations in this field and introduce them to educational
and vocational opportunities that have been developed in the US;
- Began training parents, educators,
and concerned citizens to undertake a public relations campaign and
targeted programs to inform the general Georgian population of the rights
and abilities of these individuals;
- Enlisted support of 80 Community Connections
alumni to coordinate efforts to improve status of individuals with disabilities
in Georgia.
Upon the delegation's return to Bethesda,
the group of experts served as part of the Advisory Board to the Foundation
for development of the long-term ACTion project of Advocacy, Cooperation,
and Training. The ACTion project focused on assessment of current needs;
recruitment of key governmental and NGO organizers in Georgia; ten-day
series of workshops for parents, teachers, and government officials;
and hands-on training in advocacy and NGO development for Georgian specialists
in the Bethesda area.
American Team
is on a break during the August 2000 Follow on Program
July 2002 Follow
On Program
Theme: Building
a Community Oriented Business Association
Greg Guroff and Elena Romanova traveled to Georgia between July 16 –
July 23, 2002, with three business experts and a homestay host from
the greater Washington, DC area for a second follow-on trip on Community
Connections program. During the past five years the Foundation hosted
approximately 130 young entrepreneurs and professionals from Tbilisi
and various regions in Georgia and our hope was to bring all the participants
together in order to establish a viable association.
FIAE recruited three professionals
to help us conduct a three-day conference in Georgia – Kurt Lonsway,
an environmental engineer and a long-time business host for the program;
Robert Ketron, former district Governor of Rotary International; and
Jill Johnson, a communications expert. One of the homestay hosts for
the program also traveled with us, but mostly as a tourist.
FIAE’s goal for this trip was
to develop a viable Georgian business association with the goal of creating
strong business linkages among alumni and improving quality of life
in Georgia through commitment of “giving something back to their
local communities.” Participants were provided with working models
of business associations and their benefits. FIAE introduced the concept
of focusing community activism on initiatives dealing with disability
issues, with an emphasis on education, integration, and legal protection.
The Foundation arranged three days
of group seminars, and allowed two additional days for individual appointments
and a cultural and historical introduction to Tbilisi and the surrounding
areas for those who had not visited the country before. The conference
was held at the Georgian International Oil Company’s (GIOC) office,
which was graciously offered to us by its President, Gia Chanturia.
The attendance exceeded all our expectations.
Approximately 150 alumni participated in the conference, both FIAE’s
alumni and other alumni of the Community Connections program. Ambassador
Richard Miles and National Security Advisor (former Ambassador of Georgia
to the US) Tedo Japaridze opened the conference, and Mr. Gia Chanturia,
GIOC’s President, keynoted the gathering.
During the course of the conference,
even in its early stages, it was clear that the alumni were ready to
get organized to work together on common goals of improving life in
Georgia and FIAE’s timing was just right to facilitate and bring
together the participants and their resources.
The following concepts were used to guide
the discussion throughout the conference:
- Development of an association –
benefits of working together on common goals and realizing the resources
within their own group;
- Volunteerism as a genius of American
society – commitment of its citizens and successful businesses
to give back to the society;
- Opportunity to work with US counterparts
as an association by soliciting advice and contacts;
- Social projects the association can
undertake (emphasis on disability field).
Although the discussions were chaotic
at times and some of the participants expected an authoritarian guidance
on forming such a coalition, definite leaders emerged with a clear understanding
of what steps needed to be taken to form an association and what goals
the association should aim for. The participants wanted to ensure equal
representation of regions in the proposed association, as well as different
groups within the association (i.e. local government officials, special
educators, businessmen, etc.)
The representatives of the disability
field were present throughout the conference and introduced the business
community to their projects and needs. One of the most successful businessmen,
Gia Gvaramia a plastic surgeon hosted by FIAE, made a presentation and
indicated his readiness to provide medical services to disabled children,
which served as an example of which social projects the association
can consider undertaking and the way to implement them.
The Foundation’s lawyer, and
an alumnus of another Community Connections program, and one of the
lawyers from FIAE’s alumni were present at the conference as well.
They volunteered their legal services in setting up an association and
later at a working meeting developed a draft of a charter.
By the end of the conference, the organizing
committee for the association set up four working groups– administration,
business, projects, and communication – and group leaders are
well on their way to accomplishing the initial steps. The business and
administrative groups have already met numerous times since the conference,
looked at the charter for the association and drafted a mission statement,
which was put up on a new web site (http://www.kheta.ge/CCG/index.htm)
for the discussion for all members. The groups proposed to name the
association Cooperation for Consistent Georgia (CCG). The CCG will be
have open membership, but only the alumni of the Community Connections
program will have voting rights.
We were extremely pleased with the
development of the follow-on trip and enthusiasm of the Community Connections
alumni for creating such an association. The conference exceeded our
expectations not only in its attendance but also in its development
and active post-conference work. The participants of the conference
were able to realize the resources within their own group, understood
the potential of their combined efforts and knowledge gained during
training in the US, and expressed a strong interest in working together
to improve life in Georgia by working on community oriented projects.
Business leaders volunteered their offices for regular meetings and
others are gladly contributing their time and services.
FIAE will remain in touch with CCG,
provide advice on an on-going basis, link homestay and business hosts
with their counterparts and colleagues in Georgia, and of course share
this information with other US communities that have hosted participants
from the Republic of Georgia.
Participants
of July 2002 Conference - Community Connections - Follow On program
Presenters
at the July 2002 Conference - Community Connections - Follow On
(from
left to right: Mr. Gia Chanturia, President, GIOC; Mr. Tedo Japaridze,
National Security Council of Georgia; His Excellency Richard Miles,
U.S. Ambassador to Georgia; Mr. Greg Guroff, President, FIAE)
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