Climate Dialogues, a rapidly growing initiative launched in 2020 is back in Tbilisi, Georgia with fresh ideas, challenges and connections. The program brings together climate experts and activists from the EECCA region for professional exchange. Annually organized by CAN EECCA in collaboration with partners like Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) and FES Just Climate, the program focuses on strengthening the capacity of regional climate activists and increasing the influence of civil society on climate policy.
This year 20 participants from 10 EECCA countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) gathered in the capital of Georgia for a three-day workshop. Every year the program continually evolves by implementing new perspectives and setting new goals for participants and the network. This year’s focus was on uniting network members with regional climate activists to strengthen sustainable relationships and drive intergenerational climate action through media advocacy campaigns.
Selected through an open-call and interviews, participants committed to cooperate with each other and create collaborative advocacy materials on climate-related topics developed in their national languages.
Let’s see how things unfolded for Climate Dialogues participants on May 20-22.
Day 1. “Long time no see, climate policy!”
The very first session of the program, led by Olha Boiko (CAN EECCA, Ukraine) and Mariam Devidze (UNEP, Georgia) covered a range of topics like climate vulnerabilities, climate justice, intersectionality and an overview of the EECCA climate policies. Participants then divided into smaller groups to examine/analyze “the reasons for climate inaction in the region”. The session ended with discussion on CAN’s strategy to put the EECCA region under the spotlight at upcoming COP29.
The next session, on advocacy through communication led by Nina Janashia (Climate Basics, Georgia) defined an interconnection between communication, activism and advocacy. During the session participants got the chance to meet and chat with Ana Trapaidze, eco-activist and Dighomi Meadows defender from Georgia.
Dighomi Meadows was a natural riparian area with biodiverse meadowland in the city of Tbilisi turned into a construction waste dump by a private industry company. By sharing her incredible story of eco-campaigning and city rehabilitation, Ana captivated the audience. Participants expressed amazement at her success in suing the government for illegal, harmful actions and winning the case – a truly revolutionary act, which filled our hearts with so much hope.
Day 2. “Breathe. Don’t breathe.”
The second day started off with a data storytelling workshop by Nino Macharashvili (ForSet, Georgia). We learned the importance of correct data visualization, finding reliable data sources and utilizing appropriate resources. Nino showcased the examples of best visual practices for different occasions and media campaigns.
The day ended with a long-awaited field trip to Rustavi – one of the oldest cities of Georgia facing modern pollution issues.
Tinatin Maghedani – the founder of Eco Center, a local environmental civil society organization, has fought for many years to decrease industrial pollution in the city and hold businesses accountable.
We visited the industrial area of the city filled with around 50 factories to witness in real time the harmful actions and neglect leading to the city’s dirty air.
Tinatin shared her experience of advocating for improvement of environment-related legislation and working with the local community. It was a truly shocking sight, which, however, showed how much a couple of dedicated professional activists can do in the face of a big challenge.
Day 3. “Would you like to work with me?”
The final day of workshops was devoted to storytelling techniques and networking. Starting with a session on basics of storytelling by Nazik Mamasadykova (CAN EECCA, Kyrgyzstan), where we learned about the main elements, types and important techniques of storytelling and tried to use this knowledge in simulation cases.
To facilitate peer-to-peer learning, the training was followed by parallel open space sessions hosted by program participants who shared their experience of climate advocacy.
Aizhan Mukhtar Kyzy, Climate Dialogues 2023 alumna from Kyrgyzstan, introduced us to QGIS technologies. She taught us how to use open-source maps to get data and create visuals for climate communication.
Alexey Ovchinnikov, a Belarusian climate activist, led a discussion on environmental activism in exile in the EECCA region, introducing us to its challenges and solutions.
A representative of network’s new member Antonina van Lier from Artcom Platform, Kazakhstan talked about the importance of engaging local communities when doing environmental advocacy and showed the examples of their projects focused on climate intersections with art, culture, gender equality and decoloniality.
Last but not least, Aidai Kydyralieva (CAN EECCA, Kyrgyzstan) showed us how to understand social media algorithms and create great captivating content easily.
For the second part of the day, participants focused on idea generation for their future collaborative media materials and selecting project mentors.
After the end of intense professional training, participants went back to their communities with new regional connections and ideas to transform into research and articles. Despite facing different challenges and speaking different languages, we believe that our regional civil society is awake and ready to make changes.
Stay tuned for project updates soon, ნახვამდის (goodbye in Georgian)!
