The South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation hosted a round table entitled “LBT Rights are Women’s Rights” on 12 March 2012. The round table was a part of the Week of 8th March Campaign organized by “Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group”. The photo exhibition “A Room of One’s Own” was also part of the event, where participants could view professional and amateur photographers’ works. 

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History Lessons of the 20th Century: “Our Neighbours” and “Us” (Turkey and the South Caucasus)

- Editor: Sergey Rumyantsev
Tbilisi, 2011
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Ethnic, Religious and Sexual Minorities in Georgian Printed Media

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On December 21, 2011 presentation of interim reports concerning media monitoring was held at the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation. The topic of the media monitoring was highlighting hate speech in print media. The interim report was presented by Internews -Georgia, which is partner within the HBF SC project “Addressing Hate Speech in Georgia: A Litmus Test for Human Rights and Social Tolerance”. The aim of the monitoring is study of hate speech in Georgian print media, towards ethnic, religious and sexual minorities.

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The HBF Regional Scholarship Programme Announcement

- This year South Caucasus Regional Office the Heinrich Boell Foundation will not announce the competition for participation in the programme for 2012. The HBF plans to announce the renewed programme in March-April 2012. more»

Gender as an Issue of Academic Discourse in Azerbaijan

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On 27 September 2011, the Heinrich Boell Foundation South Caucasus Regional Office organized the public debate in Baku. The topic of the discussion was: “Gender as an issue of academic discourse in Azerbaijan”. This was already a second public discussion organized by the HBF in Baku in 2011. As a rule, HBF discussions raise critical issues and actual problems facing the Azerbaijani society.

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After signs of a breakthrough in 2008 diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia are in a bottleneck again. At the same time there is increasing interest in both societies in overcoming legacies of the past, exchanging experiences with neighbors and aiming towards an open border. Since its inauguration in October 2010, the Ani Dialogue — organized by the Heinrich Boell Foundation South Caucasus, the Heinrich Boell Foundation Turkey and the Caucasus Institute in Armenia — is dedicated to bottom-up reconciliation and normalization of mutual ties between Turkey and Armenia. In 2011 the annual meeting of Ani Dialogue was held in Heybeliada, Istanbul on July 7-10. The Dialogue was held in three different formats: plenary sessions as an introduction, working groups targeting specific issues and field trips to various institutions related to the topics of the dialogue. The event was accompanied by different social and cultural activities.

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Ani Dialogue kick-off conference reveals great potential in Turkish Armenian civil society cooperation

- The first meeting of the Ani Dialogue has ended with great achievements in building relations and preparing the ground for future joint projects between the Turkish and Armenian civil society. A new bottom up process was inaugurated, which aims at contributing to a better understanding of both societies and, in a long term, to a relaxation in Armenian Turkish relations. Kerstin Müller more»

Series of seminars in Armenia

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Yerevan-based Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) organized three one-day seminars in regions of Armenia: Vanadzor, Gyumri and Yeghegnadzor, with support from the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation.

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Football diplomacy and beyond

- A breakthrough in Turkish Armenian relations

What would an opening mean for the two countries? What has made the rapprochement possible? How have political leaders handled the delicate process? What are the implications for the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh? How will Azerbaijan react? What new prospects open for relations between Europe and the South Caucasus, or between Turkey and the rest of Europe?

This dossier combines expert analysis and interviews with political leaders to give the latest insight into a complex region, and how conflicts can be peacefully overcome.

Ulrike Duffner (HBF Turkey), Iris Kempe (HBF South Caucasus) more»

July 14, 2009 - After the Prague Summit of May 2009 the relationship between the EU and its eastern neighbour countries have entered new grounds. The Eastern Partnership´s agenda launches closer cooperation and an enhanced vision towards democratization in the region.

• Eastern Partnership: Towards Civil Society Forum
• Beyond zero-sum thinking in the EU’s Eastern Partnership
• Declaration of the Prague Eastern Partnership Summit

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The Reform of the European Neighborhood Policy

- The present paper examines the actual implementation of the Action Plan as an ENP instrument in terms of both its content and its institutional framework following the lessons learned from the experience of Ukraine. It assesses new ENP instruments that have been introduced during the EU presidencies of Finland and Germany (2006-2007) under the ENP Plus proposal, especially when it comes to the strengthened sector policy dialogue and prospects for the accession of ENP countries to European Community Programmes and Agencies.
download pdf (80 pages, 575 KB) Alexander Duleba, Lucia Najšlová, Vladimír Benč, Vladimír Bilčík more»

A strong democracy requires a vibrant, active civil society, said Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia, at the beginning of a roundtable discussion with representatives of Georgian civil society. He offered constructive criticism to the group, which met at the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, in talks co-organized by the Estonian Embassy in Georgia, on 5 July 2011. Ilves highlighted the Estonian case but also urged Georgian NGO leaders to gain a more nuanced view of European values in contrast to the idealized version referenced throughout the discussion. A lively debate ensued between Ilves and the Georgian representatives regarding the level of democracy in Georgia and the approach necessary to address the current situation. more»

Religion, Politics and Gender Equality

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Contrary to modernist predictions that religion would retreat into a private zone of worship and practice, recent decades have seen religion become increasingly salient on the political stage worldwide. Does this matter? From the point of view of women’s rights and gender equality, much is at stake. UNRISD research shows that politicized religion impinges on women’s rights in problematic ways. The challenge to gender equality comes not just from fundamentalist agendas, but also from those who instrumentalize women’s rights for political ends.

• UNRISD Research and Policy Brief 11
• Religion, Politics, and Gender Equality

Project to address hate speech in Georgia begins

- Limiting and preventing hate speech in public life is crucial to Georgia’s peaceful and democratic development, because many of the country’s conflicts have dimensions that relate to ethnic, religious or other vulnerable groups. The Heinrich Boell Foundation, together with partners and supported by the European Commission, has initiated a project — “Addressing Hate Speech in Georgia: A Litmus Test for Human Rights and Social Tolerance” — to examine how much hate speech is present in Georgia’s politics and media, and to limit some of its effects. Existing violations of vulnerable groups’ rights constitute a threat to the stability of the Georgian state, and pose a potential risk to regional stability as well, as they hold potential to escalate into wider conflicts. A. Vasileva more»

HBF plans energy/environmental project in Georgia

- Georgia is dependent on imported energy. While energy consumption per person is less than the average of developed nations, this is not achieved through energy efficiency. Georgia's energy intensity is twice as high as the world average.   High energy prices and increasing demand for fuel and wood negatively impact Georgia's energy balance and also have grave environmental consequences. more»