Kick-Off & Workshop: Network building

The project

The project "Strengthening Civil Society SDG Networks in the South Caucasus", which is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, was launched with an online event! The project is being implemented by the German organization Forum Environment and Development and the Georgian organization CENN (Caucasus Environmental NGO Network). The aim of the project is to strengthen the development of civil society networks in the South Caucasus and to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of the participants on the topics of SDG monitoring, SDG networks and SDG lobbying. In addition, cooperation and exchange between the EU and the South Caucasus will be strengthened. The participants in the project are civil society representatives from the countries of the South Caucasus: Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Many activities are planned in the coming weeks and months to achieve the project goals: various online workshops on different topics, a one-day and a multi-day conference in Tbilisi as well as a study trip to various stakeholders in the EU.

Kick-Off

During the kick-off event, the participants had the opportunity to get to know each other and learn more about the project. It became clear why it makes sense and is important to continue working on the SDGs, even if the implementation status currently looks so bleak: the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda are a document negotiated by governments. This gives civil society the opportunity to demand implementation - and this should be used. At the kick-off event, the SDGs, their relevance and their implementation in the South Caucasus region were once again presented in order to bring all participants up to the same level.

Workshop: SDG network building

In the subsequent workshop, an expert from SDG Watch Europe provided training on how civil society networks can be established, what hurdles there are and why it can still make sense to work in networks. In group work, the participants carried out a network analysis to gain an initial overview of which actors exist in the SDG area in their country and how they can work with them if necessary. The results of the group work will serve as a basis for the SDG conference in November.

This project is financially supported by the Federal Foreign Office.