*[Enwl-eng] 🔔 September Sustainability Bulletin: Dive In for Your Monthly Update! [CENN]

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Environmental issues and other relevant topics from the world and South Caucasus Region

Monthly Bulletin September 2023

News from Georgia

Annual Survey 2023: Georgia Georgia: Call for applications for the Young Professionals Programme

‘Annual Survey 2023 – Georgia. Perception of the European Union was carried out by the EU Regional Communication Programme for the Eastern Neighbourhood (EU NEIGHBOURS East). The survey was conducted in February 2023, with face-to-face interviews. An overwhelming majority of Georgians (84%) feel their country has good relations with the European Union, nine points more than in 2016 when the surveys began. Awareness of the EU’s financial support for Georgia has also risen dramatically, standing at 82% this year compared to just 60% in 2016. Source: euneighbourseast.eu CENN invites young people aged 18-30 living in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti, Georgia, to join its Young Professionals Programme. The EU-supported Young Professionals Programme aims to foster the professional growth of young individuals residing in the region and contribute to the development of civil society organisations in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti. As part of this initiative, CENN will select ten applicants, who will have the opportunity to work for one month with leading civil society organisations in Georgia. Following this, they will receive grant funding to implement their innovative ideas in collaboration with local civil society organisations. The deadline for applications is 1 October. Source: euneighbourseast.eu

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Landscapes of the Invisible: EU4Climate to hold exhibition and discussion on climate change in Tbilisi Georgia Marks 30 Years Since the Fall of Sokhumi

From 29 September to 1 October, Tbilisi, Georgia, will be hosting an exhibition entitled ‘The Landscapes of the Invisible’. The initiative is part of the EU-funded regional EU4Climate project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The event is organised by Georgian organisations Collective Failure, Climate Basics and Tbilisi Multifunctional Libraries with the aim of stimulating meaningful public debate on climate change and communicating environmental and climate change issues in Georgia through the expressive language of contemporary art. The exhibition will open at 19:00 on 29 September. On 30 September, a discussion on ‘Climate Crisis: Seeking Solutions’ will be held at 15:00. The exhibition will take place at the Vake Mediathek (Vake Park, 76, Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi). Source: euneighbourseast.eu National flags are lowered to half-mast at government buildings as Georgia commemorates the 30th anniversary of the fall of Sokhumi on September 27, 1993, marking the end of armed conflict in Abkhazia in 1992-1993. To honor the victims, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, the Cabinet Ministers, Mayor of Tbilisi, opposition leaders as well as the members of the public have paid tributes at the memorial of the fallen Georgian soldiers on Tbilisi’s Heroes Square. The US Embassy in Georgia also reacted, saying that “on the 30th anniversary of the fall of Sukhumi to Russian-backed forces, the Chargé D’ Affaires Alan Purcell and the U.S. military personnel honored the memory of tens of thousands who died. In addition to the countless lives lost, this tragedy resulted in hundreds of thousands of people losing their homes. We remember September 27, 1993, the day of the fall of Sukhumi.” Source: civil.ge | US Embassy

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Digital Competence for CSOs: Apply for a new EU-funded course until 4 October! 15 Years Since Russia-Georgia 2008 War - A Deeper Look EU, EBRD and Sweden boost female entrepreneurship in Georgia

The EU-funded Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility has launched a new course for civil society organisations in the Eastern Partner countries to strengthen their digital competence. The ‘Digital Competence for CSOs’ is a hybrid course – both online and offline. It is composed of a mixture of online diagnostic sessions, physical workshops, and practical one-to-one coaching. CSOs will have the opportunity to focus on their priority needs, from improving the way data is accessed and used and the use of digital tools for communication and outreach, to strengthening cybersecurity. The course is aimed primarily at CSO managers/staff/volunteers who have a direct impact on how the organisation deals with data and technology, and who can describe themselves as entry-to intermediate-level practitioners. The participants should have a working knowledge of English. The deadline for applications is 4 October. Source: euneighbourseast.eu The European Union, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Sweden, is unlocking fresh funds for Georgian women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). A US$20 million EBRD loan to TBC Bank, one of Georgia’s largest banks, will further expand TBC’s lending to women-led firms, with a focus on financing companies outside the capital city. Borrowers will be able to access funds in Georgian laris or US dollars. This loan is part of the EBRD’s Women in Business (WiB) programme, supported by the EU and Sweden. WiB aims to boost women’s access to finance and entrepreneurship through loans and business advice. As part of the programme, female entrepreneurs will also benefit from advisory services, mentoring, and training series. TBC Bank successfully joined the WiB programme back in 2017 with a US$20 million loan, which is now fully utilised. Source: euneighbourseast.eu

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News from Azerbaijan

EU facilitates meeting between Baku and Yerevan Apply now: new call for Young European Ambassadors

The EU has facilitated a meeting between Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and the Azerbaijani President’s Foreign Policy Adviser Hikmet Hajiyev to exchange views on the current situation and efforts to address the urgent needs of the local population. The meeting on 26 September was hosted by Simon Mordue and Magdalena Grono, diplomatic advisers to European Council President Charles Michel. The meeting was also attended by the diplomatic advisers of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as well as the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar. President Michel joined the participants for a brief exchange. Source: euneighbourseast.eu If you are aged between 16 and 26 and from one of the six Eastern partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine), the European Union or the United Kingdom*, you can apply now and until 1 October to join the ‘Young European Ambassadors’ initiative. Successful candidates will engage in online and dialogue-driven activities and represent the youth of their countries both domestically and abroad. You can find out more on the special application page. To apply, applicants should complete this application form by Sunday, 1 October, 2023, midnight CET. Source: euneighbourseast.eu

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News from Armenia

EU launches project in Armenia to strengthen law enforcement and promote security sector reforms Call for Entries for the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2024 is now open!

A new EU-funded project has been launched in Armenia to support the country in its law enforcement and security sector reforms. The opening event took place on 19 September. The ‘Support to law enforcement and security reforms in Armenia’ project will be implemented in line with the priorities identified by the European Union-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that entered into force on 1 March 2021. It will be implemented by the Central Public Management Agency (CPMA) of Lithuania. The Head of the EU Delegation in Armenia Vassilis Maragos told the opening event that was essential to ensure transparency, inclusivity and credibility in the establishment of the new Ministry of Internal Affairs. Source: euneighbourseast.eu The European Commission and its Creative Europe programme invite projects in the field of the conservation of cultural heritage to apply for Europe’s most prestigious awards – the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2024. This year, awards will be given in five categories: conservation and adaptive reuse; research; education, training and skills; citizens engagement and awareness-raising; and heritage champions. Entries can be related to tangible, intangible or digital heritage, ranging from small to large, from local to European and international. The deadline for applications is 13 October. Source: euneighbourseast.eu

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International News

THE CIRCULARITY GAP REPORT 2023 - WE LIVE IN THE OVERSHOOT ERA Sustainable Development Report 2023 is out - Implementing the SDG Stimulus

The global economy is now only 7.2% circular; and it’s getting worse year on year—driven by rising material extraction and use. The global economy increasingly relies on materials from virgin sources. In the six years of the Circularity Gap Report, the global economy extracted and used more than in the entire 20th century1—improving people’s living standards but at the same time breaking through the safe environmental limits of the planet. Source: circularity-gap.world The Sustainable Development Report (SDR) reviews progress made each year on the Sustainable Development Goals since their adoption by the 193 UN Member States in 2015. At the halfway mark to 2030, the Sustainable Development Report 2023 takes stock of progress made and discusses priorities to restore and accelerate SDG progress. Published on the eve of the 2023 Paris Summit for a New Global Financial Pact, this year’s edition focuses specifically on the need to scale up development finance and to reform the global financial architecture to support the SDGs. Source: sdgindex.org

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A UNITED CALL FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS IN THE EU SORTING THROUGH THE TRASH TALK TO SOLVE EUROPE’S PACKAGING WASTE CRISIS

To counter the threats posed to climate, biodiversity, human health and societal well-being, food systems need urgent transformation. Isabel Paliotta and Ben Snelson report. Food connects us all, transcending borders, nationality and language. As Vandana Shiva puts it, ‘food is the currency of life’. From farmers to lorry drivers, chefs to supermarket assistants, entrepreneurs to lobbyists and, of course, consumers, interdependencies and power relations define the structures and processes that shape what we eat. ‘Food systems’ are basically the aggregation of everyone with a stake in food and the dynamics that link them. Source: meta.eeb.org As a raft of new evidence makes the case for reusable packaging, opposition to waste prevention and reuse appears increasingly untenable for policy makers working on Europe’s new packaging law, write Jean-Pierre Schweitzer and Marco Musso. The EU regulation on packaging and packaging waste has been one of the most intensely lobbied and debated files of this political term. Policy makers across institutions have complained about an endless influx of meeting requests, untransparent studies and increasingly aggressive lobbying strategies. Source: meta.eeb.org

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News from CENN

CENN appointed its new executive director – Laurent Georges Etienne Nicole, co-founder of CENN and the Chairman of the Board. CENN invites media representatives to participate in the media tour covering Marneuli municipality

Laurent is a Swiss chemical engineer and health and safety engineer with a strong professional background in environmental audit and natural resources management, waste management, DRR, water safety, humanitarian engineering and EIA around the globe, including Georgia. He first arrived in Georgia in 1993, accompanied the first steps of CENN back in 1998, and since then, he has been involved as an advisor on strategic organizational planning and management as well as the chairman of the governing board. CENN welcomes Laurent G. Nicole as the new director of the organization and looks ahead to new cooperation and opportunities he will bring to the organization! On October 6, within the framework of the ongoing project "PRAISE Marneuli" with the financial support of the Swiss organization HEKS/EPER, CENN invites media representatives to participate in a media tour in the municipality of Marneuli. Those wishing to participate must register by October 4, 2023 at the following link: https://forms.gle/xNWXA97XE2hoMrrD9 Supported by HEKS/EPER, CENN will cover all costs of participating in the tour.

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Stay up-to-date with our monthly bulletin! CENN bulletin provides its subscribers with information on environmental issues and other relevant topics from the world and South Caucasus Region. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of CENN unless otherwise stated. Want to disseminate information? View the CENN Bulletin policy here.

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CENN, 27 Betlemi Str., 0105, Tbilisi, Georgia

 

From: CENN Bulletin

Sent: Friday, September 29, 2023 10:51 AM

Subject: 🔔 September Sustainability Bulletin: Dive In for Your Monthly Update!

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