Information Sessions: On June 26 and July 9 2015, the youth leadership group initiated by UNFPA Georgia Country Office, which is in charge of the Youth Advocacy Campaign “Youth Voice” in Georgia, conducted two information sessions in the beautiful seaside resort of Anaklia, targeting around 400 young people from across Georgia.

The purpose of the sessions was to enhance the advocacy efforts and mobilize increased number of youth in targeting the decision-makers to voice their priorities: in other words, to contribute to youth empowerment at the national level. The topics of the sessions included Advocacy, Gender Stereotypes, HIV and Youth Healthcare. More importantly invitations to join the Youth Voice were sent to the participants, in order to increase the scope and outreach of the campaign. The sessions are conducted with the partnership of the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs of Georgia. There is one remaining session to be conducted in July, where around 300 young people will engage in exciting activities and awareness raising role-plays, as well as hear the presentations and engage in the Youth Voice Campaign.

Radio Blog: Our lovely member of the Youth Advisory Panel, leading the Youth Voice Campaing in Georgia, Ms. Anuki Mosiashvili started a Radioblog, which is aired on Radio “Hereti” in Georgia. Anuki analyzes and speaks about different youth-related issues in Georgia. Her first radio blog was about Early Marriage in Georgia with the headline “I am against the society, where children give birth to children”. Targeting the local audience, the radio blog is in Georgian language. In case you understand Georgian, make sure you listen attentively, Anuki has great perspective on the above-mentioned topic! http://www.heretifm.com/?p=10999

Meeting with the R4WR: On July 10, the members of the Youth Advisor Panel in Georgia met with the Dutch-based charity organization “Ride for Women’s Rights” (R4WR), in order to share local practices and stories on women’s rights in Georgia, as well as share experiences and youth vision on gender-related issues in the country. The Youth Advisory Panel also introduced the purpose, past and future activities of the Youth Voice Campaign to the members of R4WR. The meeting took place in the Round Garden, in front of the UN House in Tbilisi. Within the frames of the meeting, the outdoor photo exhibition on Youth, Healthy Lifestyle and Gender-based violence was organized.

R4WR was founded by 4 young women from Amsterdam, who “are committed to create awareness for women’s rights worldwide and inspire others to join the efforts in bettering women’s lives”. R4WR has three main focus areas and believing that every girl and woman should have the right to Family Planning, Gender Equality and Education.They started a fascinating 400-day trip last September in Jakarta, Indonesia, and aim to cycle all the way to the Netherlands, which means cycling some 14,000 kilometers and passing through 22 countries in total. The distance that girls pass when on the road is around 70-80km.

Upcoming Activities: There are number of exciting events and meetings coming up next within the campaign, including the town-hall meetings in Kakheti, with the local youth and the representatives of the municipalities to engage in direct dialogue with young people and the decision-makers makers to contribute to placing young people higher on the national agenda and in post-2015 development framework. It is planned to mark the International Youth Day on August 12 as well, making sure that this date doesn’t go unnoticed to the decision-makers.