On the 5th of October 2023, Zugdidi LAG hosted a joint meeting of the Lithuanian Local Action Group Association and the Georgian Association of LAGs (GALAG) with the support of Action Against Hunger (AAH). The meeting in Zugdidi came at the end of a long tour organized by GALAG where LAG members from Lithuania had the opportunity to visit and learn about the projects and activities of Georgian LAGs. During this tour, participants travelled first to Tskaltubo LAG, then up into the mountains of Svaneti to meet Mestia LAG and, finally back down to Zugdidi.
Earlier in the day, the members of Zugdidi and the Lithuanian LAGs convened at Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Governor’s office to share their knowledge and experiences of community-led local development. The event began with a welcome speech from AAH’s representative, Nino Logua, who welcomed everyone, providing them with a brief background to Zugdidi LAG and a description of events to come. Then the Deputy Mayor of Zugdidi Municipality, Konstantine Kakava, welcomed the 45 guests and highlighted how important the work of the Zugdidi LAG has been to the economic and cultural development of Zugdidi. Finally, GALAG’s Nino Tikurishvili spoke about the importance of inter-LAG and trans-national cooperation.
Zugdidi LAG members also spoke at the meeting about their experiences on a recent learning tour to Austria which was organized by AAH and where they were joined by members of Akhmeta LAG. The LAG members also used this opportunity to highlight the transnational projects that they have been involved in, such as the Georgian/Moldovan Youth Project where local youth from both countries are creating walking/tourist trails and which will culminate in joint event to mark the opening of the Urta-Tsaishi trail.
This event was organized by GALAG, and supported by Zugdidi LAG and Action Against Hunger with financial support from the Austrian Development Cooperation.