Georgia
The EVC has been actively operating in Georgia since 2018 when its representatives started building a network of trusted contact within the expert community during the formal visits. The EVC has gained expertise and deep knowledge of the region from the security and geopolitical perspective also through outstanding relations with numerous local partners. Since then, we’ve been briefing the NATO, EU diplomats, and other high representatives on the topics related to foreign malign influence, mainly Russian and Chinese, and disinformation in Georgia. In 2019, the EVC implemented a project supported by the Transition Promotion Program of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs called “Bringing best practices and lessons learned in exposing foreign malign influence and disinformation from the Czech Republic to Georgia”.
In 2020, the initiative was extended to a bigger scale 2-year project “Strengthening and resilience of Civil Society Organizations in Georgia against malign foreign influence”. The project aims to assist democratic transition in Georgia and aid local NGOs by strengthening their overall resilience to the external influence of authoritarianism. Within the project, the Georgian NGOs were equipped with tools, tactics, and policies on successfully countering and mapping the foreign malign influence activities. Important parts of this project were also practical workshops for Georgian NGOs’ representatives, advocacy meetings with stakeholders and western partners on the regional and EU level, as well as the organization of roundtables, and public presentations. Other project activities with multi-level impact included regular monitoring of the disinformation scene and publication of a bi-weekly newsletter, research studies exposing and countering hostile foreign influence in Georgia, and quarterly reports monitoring recent political developments and disinformation in Georgia.
The project was supported by the Transition Promotion Program of The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Emerging Donors Challenge Program of the USAID.