On the 1st of February, Lydia Papadaki, researcher at ATHENA RC, joined the Ocean Literacy meeting that we held in Trabzon, Turkey, which aimed at the identification of synergies and development of youth-oriented activities within the Black Sea countries.
She also attended the Multi-Actor Forum (MAF) workshop in Batumi, Georgia, on the 2nd of February 2023, which was the last one from the first round of MAF workshops.
Our MAF workshop represented the first of its kind in Georgia and was conducted in hybrid with over 50 participants in-person and online with an English translation via the Zoom platform. The event was co-facilitated by DOORS country leader for Georgia and by Ms. Nino Chkhobadze, Chairperson of the Greens Movement of Georgia/Friends of the Earth – Georgia and the former minister of environment (1995-2004). Additional support from Mr. Mamuka Berdzenishvili of Tourism Institute and Ms. Salome Kobaidze, the 1st Cohort Black Sea Young Ambassador from Georgia, was much appreciated as well.
The workshop was attended by stakeholders from tourism (kindly represented by Deputy Head of Department of Tourism and Resorts of Ajara A.R., Georgia, Ms. Kristine Dzidziguri), fisheries and aquaculture, maritime education and marine sciences, maritime businesses and NGO sectors, as well as key environmental and enforcement agencies, was held back-to-back with the national consultation for the Black Sea SRIA implementation plan, was officially addressed by Ms. Maia Javakhishvili, Black Sea Commission Member for Georgia, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia. Online participation by the key SRIA stakeholders from the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia was indeed indispensable.
