U.S. Ambassador John R. Bass will officially launch the U.S. Government's Advancing National Integration project (ANI) on Thursday, April 26 at 1:00 p.m. at Europe House on Freedom Square, Tbilisi. Ambassador Bass will join Ombudsman of Georgia Giorgi Tugushi and Chair of the Civic Integration and Tolerance Council Tamar Kintsurashvili (who is also the National Security Council Deputy Secretary) to discuss the importance of tolerance and civic activism and to show support for ethnic minority communities. They will also view an exhibition on ethnic diversity in Georgia. The event is open to the press.
ANI is a four-year, $3.75 million project implemented by the United Nations Association of Georgia (UNAG) under a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. ANI supports national integration across ethnic and geographic communities in Georgia. It will establish NGO-based youth clubs to foster inter-ethnic understanding; use social media and exchanges to expand communications among children of different regions and ethnic communities; build the capacity of NGOs to more effectively explore diversity and civic participation; and strengthen the capacities of the Public Defender's Tolerance Center, Councils of National Minorities and Religions, and Civic Integration and Tolerance Council to promote integration at local and national levels.
