CWN was founded in August of 1997 by the International Center on Conflict and Negotiation (ICCN) and is functioning with organisational support from ICCN.

CONTACT INFORMATION

1. Name of group

The Caucasus Women's Research & Consulting Network (CWN)

2. Address

Location: 5 Machabeli St., Tbilisi 380007, Georgia
Mailing Address: PO. Box 38, Tbilisi 380079, Georgia

3. Telephone and FAX number

Tel: (995 32) 999987;
Fax: (995 32) 939178

4. e-mail addresses:

cwn@access.sanet.ge;
nina.tsihistavi@myoffice.ge

http://iccn.com ge/cwn.html

5. Contact person's name and title

Nina Tsihistavi, M.S. (Biology), Founder and Co-Director

ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION

1. CWN's purpose

To carry out research on gender inequalities, gender socialization; to carry out educational work on gender issues, women's (especially ethnic minority's women's representatives) rights.

To support women's movements and gender studies in Georgia, and especially to provide an alternative to some existing government aligned structures that do not reflect post-Soviet realities and democratic thinking and outlooks.

Our organization is local, national and international according to our activities in the Caucasus.

Via our activities the beneficiaries are vulnerable women's groups and citizens of Georgia, we are trying to help to raise people's awareness towards equality and civil society building.

2. CWN's Structure

The Board (2 Co-Directors) and advisors (3 persons) are involved in decision making process. Our decision making processes include our members and constituencies.

CWN Co-Directors:

Nina Tsihistavi, M.S. (Biology), Founder
Nana Berekashvili, Psychologist

Decision-making processes in the CWN include the discussion of all documentary or oral initiatives, ideas, especially coming from women, regarding the activities, plans, etc.

Members and volunteers: 17 persons altogether.

3. CWN's Activities, Programs

1998 - a series of discussion - workshops "Meeting Place for Women" financially supported by the Dutch organization "Mama Cash" NL.

December 1998 - June 1999 - research project "Study of Gender Stereotypes and all Kinds of Women's Discrimination in Georgia", financially supported by the Global Fund for Women (GFW), USA

2000 - Winner of Competition on Core Collection, "Minority Women's Issues and
Women and Conflict" Collection; Open Society Institute, Budapest,
Hungary

2000 - Research joint project on Trafficking in Women in Georgia, financially
supported by IOM - Georgia; with partners: Women for the Future, UN
Association.

2000 - 'No One Warns Us About That!' A Brochure on Illegal Migration and Trafficking Prevention (in Georgian), publication supported by OSGF and CORDAID, Holland

2001 - 2002 - Core Support for CWN, financially supported by the Global Fund for Women, USA;

May-September 2001 - Women's Participation in Society, Women's rights and Gender Equality" OSCE ODIHR; as a local expert and evaluator of the project; under the ODIHR project "Women's Leadership and NGO Coalition Building" (GND-GE-LW-1720)

June-November 2001 - Book on Evolution of the OSCE ODIHR Programme: "Women's Participation in Society, Women's rights and Gender Equality"; with polling and analysis of training women participants in the 11 Regions of Georgia.

2001 - "Gender Mainstreaming in Practice - Manual (Training, exercises, Gender Expertise, Consulting) ". financially supported by the Dutch organization "Mama Cash" NL.

Our group was involved (since 1998) in the development of the project proposal sponsored by UNIFEM. This project includes NGOs from three South-Caucasus countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia. The project title is "Women and Conflict - Women's Role in the Conflict Management and Prevention".

Apart from this we are conducting a mass/media campaign in order to raise very tabooed or/and hidden problems in our society affecting women. (the publications in newspapers about abortions, trafficking, violence, minority women, IDW problems, ...)

We plan to organize a country wide Women's Rights Watch, in order to provide women's rights, to easily provide assistance to women in regions, to spread educational/consulting information in regions of Georgia, to create the local Women's Forums in the regions, to create a data base on violence, discrimination, and trafficking in women in Georgia, to use the mass media for announcing news on real conditions and some hot problems regarding information from WRW.

Lobby for legislation on gender equality in decision-making structures, in parliament. To influence parliament in order to create laws against trafficking in women, and discrimination toward women.

Link to the CWN publication Study of Gender Stereotypes and Hidden Female Discrimination  in Georgia