When women and youth unite, change becomes tangible. At the beginning of the story, those who want to live in a better world, village, and community begin to search for ways, and then, as you seek and you find, you discover like-minded people, supporters, partners, and superpowers of solidarity and unity.
This story is told by the project “Women Act for Peace and Community Empowerment”, within the framework of which, for almost a year (from May 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026), more than ninety of displaced and conflict-affected women and young people were empowered. The goal was clear from the beginning - women and young people should be able to see the needs of the community and take the necessary steps to solve them.
Partnerships that create change - summery meeting
The project was implemented by a coalition of non-governmental organizations: the Women's Information Center, the Internaly Displaced Women's Association "Consent" and the Charitable Humanitarian Women's Fund "Sukhumi", in partnership with UN Women and with financial support from the UK Government.
Women on Achievement, Motivation, and Common Purpose
On March 20, 2026, the Women's Information Center held a project summary meeting. At the meeting, community workers, self-help group members, and representatives of the "Women and Youth Peace Ambassadors Network" shared their achievements and experiences.
Special attention was paid to the final phase of the project (2025-2026), within which, through the efforts of all three organizations, based on a needs survey conducted in 15 target municipalities, 37 community initiatives were selected and implemented within the framework of community work.
Supporting community initiatives designed to address community needs was one of the project's main, but not the only, achievements. The meeting clearly demonstrated the motivation the project had instilled in women.
"The most important change for me was increasing my self-confidence and awareness of my own capabilities. In the process, I realized that ideas that I could only think about can actually be implemented if there is determination and support. Not only my daily life has changed, but also the community - people are more actively involved in common affairs, a desire for cooperation and a culture of mutual support have emerged. It is important that men are also actively involved in the process, which further strengthens the importance of the common goal. Our experience has become a motivation for other women, not to be afraid to take a step and implement their ideas," - Says Amida Akhalaia, a community worker from Tsalenjikha Municipality.
At the closing meeting, community workers and women members of the self-help groups positively assessed the trainings and capacity building programs conducted within the project. It was noted that these types of activities contributed not only to strengthening their knowledge and skills, but also to increasing their capacity and self-confidence.
Past experience - the path to today's changes
The first stage of the project implementation was preceded by information meetings, which were held in all five target municipalities of the Women's Information Center. During the meetings, women were introduced to the project's goals, objectives and planned activities. Also, emphasis was placed on the important components of the social mobilization methodology, which were used at all stages of the project implementation.
This methodology is well known to the Women's Information Center, as the organization, together with the Tasos Foundation, was one of the first to work with displaced and conflict-affected women using the "one-stop shop" methodology. In particular, women, empowered as a result of social mobilization, identified problems themselves, and the Women's Information Center worked on ways to solve these issues.
“Back then, more than 70% of the problems were resolved positively. Today, when we continue to work with new women, we see the results that they have really been able to unite other women. In this way, the bridge between us and local women has been strengthened. We have information about their concerns and what problems they have at the local level. Women and girls are prepared to present the problems of their community themselves and, most importantly, to solve them,” - Says Elene Rusetskaya, founder of the Women's Information Center.
The project "Women Acting for Peace and Local Community Empowerment" once again proved that historical memory is a solid foundation for positive change.
Within the framework of the project, the working area of the Women's Information Center included 5 municipalities: Mestia, Tsalenjikha, Sachkhere, Khashuri and Tetritskaro. The activities were led by five trained community workers, and the formed self-help groups included at least 25 women each, who were actively involved in community development processes.
“Each community initiative is the result of significant changes. Views in the community have changed, routine life has become more diverse, the opportunity to increase knowledge has ensured the involvement of young people among them. This project has united the entire community. A community that has formed on the ground can do a lot of good, I really believe in this, this is unthinkable without women” - Says Eka Gogatishvili, a Community Worker from the Sachkhere Municipality.
Self-help groups in municipalities were guided by the regulations they themselves approved. Each group had a chosen name and a pre-developed action plan, which ensured the structured and sustainable development of their activities.
“During our community work in Chorchana, we faced many challenges, but I am glad that we were still able to do the work. This was facilitated by a structured approach, we knew what we were doing and what our goal was, and we constantly felt supported during challenges. During the implementation of the community initiative, we saw the involvement of the entire village: women, men, young people, and teenagers, everyone helped us within their capabilities. All of this proved that even one positive change can become an example and motivation for others, not only for women, but for everyone.” -Says Manana Gognadze, a community worker from Khashuri Municipality.
A self-help group in the Tetritskaro municipality was named "We Can".
Community worker Madonna Okropiridze has been working with the Women's Information Center for years. She says that it was the organization that gave her the opportunity to develop. Today, the self-help group continues its activities on the basis of strong women, with the involvement of new members.
"We have very good women in the united self-help group, each of them had their work delegated and they knew exactly what they were doing and why. We also chose the name symbolically, "We Can Do It," because we believe that a woman can do anything she wants,"- says Madona Okropiridze, a community worker from Tetritskaro Municipality.
Although the challenges and needs identified by displaced and conflict-affected women differ, for them peace is not just a matter of physical security, but also the well-being of the community.
"Peace is not just a physical moment, peace is an inner state. It is peace when a child is provided with heating, a safe environment, a community is provided with basic needs. You are at peace when all this is resolved and we are fighting for it" - Nato Subari from Mestia Municipality.
Ana Nemsadze, Project Coordinator of the Women's Information Center, summarizes the motivation, development, involvement, and effective activities of women during the project implementation process:
“The most important thing is to interact with women and see how they grow, change, develop and spare no effort for the well-being of their communities. They work so that their activities become the basis for positive changes. This phase of the project was distinctive, as special emphasis was placed on the implementation of community initiatives, the experience gained within the framework of which, in the future, is a solid foundation for the sustainability of self-help groups,”- says Ana Nemsadze.
A video produced within the project reflects the experience of community mobilization, historical memory, community work, motivation of self-help groups, and the work process.
ქალები მოქმედებენ მშვიდობისა და ადგილობრივი თემების გაძლიერებისთვის
Peace Ambassador Women and Youth Network
Uniting around a common goal not only ensured the resolution of community needs, but also contributed to the strengthening of the structure of the “Peace Ambassador Women and youth Network”, which is considered one of the important achievements of the project.
“The network was created within the framework of a UN Women project implemented in Georgia with the support of the United Kingdom. Its goal is to protect the interests of displaced and conflict-affected women and youth, identify their needs and respond to them. The network actively works to ensure that women and youth in IDP settlements and villages along the so-called dividing line have more opportunities and are more actively involved in decision-making processes related to peace and security issues,”- says UN Women representative.
ქალთა ქსელი "მშვიდობის ელჩი ქალები და ახალგაზრდები“
Today, women and youth have the knowledge and skills to continue their activities independently, but for the sustainability of networks and community work, continuous support is essential. This was the take-home message of the concluding meeting of the project “Women Acting for Peace and Strengthening Local Communities”.
We take great pride in announcing that WIC from Georgia has been bestowed with the esteemed CAREC PROGRAM Gender Award—CAREC GENDER CHAMPIONS 2023. Certainly, it is noteworthy that women's organizations from various countries around the world were nominated for this prestigious award
On July 26, 2019, representatives of the Women's Information Center organized a focus group in Kobuleti Municipality that included local leaders and women entrepreneurs who use / do not use the Women's Room Service.The purpose of the focus group was to evaluate the use of women's room services in the municipality for effective planning of further work.
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