“Georgian Development Platform” (GeoDP) held a meeting with local self-government representatives in the Kutaisi City Hall within the framework of the project – “Support partner municipalities to effectively conduct participatory budgeting by FY2024”.

GeoDP chairman and project manager, Tengiz Shergelashvili, introduced the project to the representatives of the municipality, the purpose of which is to improve and strengthen the practice of participatory budgeting in municipalities. The conversation touched on the events and activities planned by the project.

The representatives of the municipality spoke about the practical experience they have gained during the implementation of participatory budgeting in the past years. Implementation of project activities in Kutaisi as a self-governing city requires close communication with local authorities. The local government welcomes the fact that one of the target municipalities of the project is Kutaisi and expressed full readiness for cooperation.

To facilitate the implementation of the project, Petre Adamadze, the head of the administrative service of the Kutaisi City Hall, was appointed as the project coordinator by the municipality. He is also a guest lecturer at Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Economics and Business. In addition, he has many years of experience working in the civil and business sectors. He was a member of the governing board of the “Alliance of New European Universities”, and the president of the “Civic Research and Development Center”. The “Georgian Development Platform” (GeoDP) project – “Support partner municipalities to effectively conduct participatory budgeting by FY2024” started in December 2023. The project is implemented within the framework of “USAID Local Governance Program”.