NALA 15th Anniversary Celebration Held in Tbilisi

Yesterday, the National Association of Local Authorities (NALA) celebrated 15 years of operation with an event in Tbilisi at the Sakrebulo (City Assembly) building.

The celebration was attended by Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, Chairman of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo Giorgi Tkemaladze, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Maia Tskitishvili, local government representatives,  and members of the Sakrebulo and Parliament of Georgia.

Kaladze, who is also President of NALA, talked about the organization's achievements and noted that the organization has played a significant role in the strengthening and refinement of self-governance since its founding.

"15 years ago this organization set out a very ambitious goal - to unify all local self-government units and to work towards the development of local self-government and development of local democracy. From the very beginning of this organization, the Council of Europe and the European Commission supported me, for which I want to thank them. In addition, many other international organizations were involved in the process. Today we can say that their purpose was justified. In this period, the Association has gained recognition in Europe and it is considered one of the best organizations working for the development of local democracy and self-government," said Kaladze.

He continued, "The organization has implemented over 25 major programs, with a total budget package of up to four million EUR since it began. Several months ago, the Coordination Council was created within the Association of Gender Equality Platform, which aims at promoting equality between women and men at local level."

The Mayor explained that to create a network of cooperation and good practices between local self-governments, the Association conducted a best practices competition within the EU-funded "Efficiency and Development Network" project. 24 municipalities participated in the competition, where they presented a total of 34 projects on gender equality, social-economic development planning and citizen engagement issues.

During the event, Kaladze announced the winners of the competition and their projects. The overall winner was submitted by Bolnisi municipality, titled "Social-Economic Development Planning." The Commission on Gender Equality awared projects implemented by Tskhaltubo and Lagodekhi. Tskaltubo, Tetritskaro, Gori, Ozurgeti and Akhaltsikhe municipalities were recognized for outstanding civic engagement projects. Kutaisi and Tkibuli municipalities were awarded with special certificates for the success of social program management.

The National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia unites all local governments throughout the country. The aim of the organization is to improve the local self-government system and develop local democracy, decentralize state power and develop local self-government institutions.

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: Tbilisi City Hall