The National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia organised a training course for municipalities on “Absorption of EU Funds—the case of South East Europe.”
The two-day event objective was to enhance local Authorities’ financing and management capabilities for international projects.
Before the training course began, Nino Rukhadze, the executive director of NALAG, delivered a welcome speech to the audience.
“In light of Georgia being granted candidate status for the European Union, it is critically important to enhance the qualifications of local government representatives in areas such as accessing international funds, drafting projects, and managing respective team members. Today’s training marks just the beginning. NALAG, in close cooperation with partner organisations and municipalities, will actively continue working in this direction and will support representatives from Georgian municipalities in implementing these priorities,” said Nino Rukhadze. She then introduced the association’s newest employee, Mariam Jintcharadze, who will be the international project development manager. Together, they will assist municipalities in securing grants and managing various international projects.
Kevin McLaughlin, the head of USAID’s Local Governance program, also participated in the event. Mr. McLaughlin emphasised the importance of municipalities’ progress in the project jointly implemented by NALAG and USAID.
The training course, led by international experts Kelmend Zajazi and Elton Stafa, commenced with an overview of the EU integration process.
The first day of the seminar was dedicated to discussions about the roles of local authorities and “EU officers” in European integration, along with an introduction to the primary tasks involved in preparing successful projects.
On the second day of the training, municipal representatives received information regarding the general characteristics of the logical framework matrix, an essential tool for preparing project proposals and engaged in discussions about project drafting.
During the seminar, attendees also gained insights into the general structure of the budget and were informed about what to consider when drafting the budget for various programs.
Between sessions, participants actively participated in discussions and thematic exercises, which included examples of project writing and the development of budget proposals.