With USAID Rule of Law Program support, Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary organized a two-day working meeting in Kakheti. 

Twenty-seven representatives of civil society organizations, USAID/Georgia, USAID Rule of Law Program and media representatives participated in the meeting, discussing the Coalition’s plans, strategy for future advocacy activities and possible partnerships with state and non-state actors. 

In her opening remarks, Rule of Law Program Management Specialist at the Democracy and Governance Office of the USAID/Caucasus, Rusudan Tabatadze, emphasized the role of civil society organizations in ensuring a fair and just judiciary. USAID Rule of Law Program Chief of Party Giorgi Chkheidze, reiterated the Program’s support in strengthening the advocacy efforts of the civil society in Georgia. 

In May 2022, the USAID Rule of Law Program, acting as the Coalition’s secretariat, had carried out a learning exercise, involving the collection and analysis of real-time qualitative data, to examine the relevance and effectiveness of the Coalition’s work and identify priority areas for future interventions. The results of the exercise were shared with the members at the meeting, and the main focus was placed on the Coalition’s successful efforts in research and advocacy, as well as the ongoing challenges of the Coalition’s work.

The media representatives helped in defining future communication and outreach approaches for members to include in their communications strategy. At the end of the meeting, the Coalition representatives worked in groups and elaborated specific short and long-term goals.