Synergy IDP Network
Helping displaced people be heard
More than 200,000 Georgians were displaced from Abkhazia during the 1992-93 war. Although directly affected by the conflict they have had little opportunity to influence the peace process. Politically, they are marginalised. They also face challenges such as unemployment and lack of access to housing, health, education and social services. Many live in isolated settlements with other internally displaced persons (IDPs), exacerbating their sense of separation.
To help IDPs get their voices heard at national and local levels, Conciliation Resources (CR) works with a network of around 20 organisations working on issues affecting IDPs. The network has been in existence for almost a decade, recently adopting the name Synergy.
The network acts as a forum for information exchange and, increasingly, for joint analysis and action. It advocates at local, regional and national level for better inclusion and integration of IDPs and for the protection of IDP rights. The network regularly issues statements, e.g. condemning the forced eviction of IDPs from properties sold to private investors for development. In 2006 several IDP network members were invited to advise the Georgian government on its first ever state strategy on internal displacement.
By working together as a network, the constituent members have more impact and authority. “It’s one thing for a single organisation to lobby the authorities,” says network member Manana Darjania. “But quite another for a network of 20 to do so. They are much more likely to take our concerns into account when we have a unified position.”
Network members also work with a wide range of political parties, informing them about specific concerns and encouraging them to generate more coherent policies on IDP issues and conflict resolution.
As part of a European-Commission funded project from 2007 to 2009, CR produced a report on the work of the IDP network; Out of the margins. Securing a voice for internally displaced people: lessons from Georgia, available in English, Georgian and Russian. Since September 2008 the network has been involved in implementing a five-year grant from the UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID) to ‘increase governance accountability in zones of conflict through public participation in policy making’.
In 2010, as part of a joint CR-Saferworld European-Commission funded project, the Caucasus Regional Research Centers (CRRC) conducted a survey on CR’s behalf into attitudes amongst IDPs living in Georgia towards conflict resolution, return and justice. The results will be published in 2011.
The following organizations are involved in the Synergy IDP network:
• Abkhazintercont (Kutaisi)
• Association of Women Entrepreneurs (Kutaisi)
• Atinati (Zugdidi)
• IDP Women's Association Consent (Tbilisi)
• Ex-combatants Club (Tbilisi)
• Face to Face Georgian-Abkhaz Union (Tbilisi)
• Association Help Yourself (Tbilisi)
• Institute for the Study of Nationalism and Conflict (Tbilisi)
• Association of Journalists Postfactum (Tbilisi)
• Refugee Women’s Union of Tsqaltubo (Tsqaltubo)
• Association Samegrelo-Medea (Zugdidi)
• Saunje (Zugdidi)
• Studio Re (Tbilisi)
• Cultural-Humanitarian Foundation Sukhumi (Kutaisi)
• Teachers’ Union Education and Universe (Kutaisi)
• Women IDPs for Their Rights (Zugdidi)
• Youth Club Our Vision (Kutaisi)
• Youth for Civil Interests (Zugdidi)
Read a leaflet about the Synergy network, Part1 [Georgian pdf 674 kb] and Part2 [Georgian pdf 958 kb]
Read the first issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 2.22 mb]
Read the second issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 1.45 mb]
Read the third issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf
473kb]
Read the fourth issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 221kb]
Read the fifth issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 454kb]
Read the sixth issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 308kb]
Read the seventh issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 262kb]
Read the eighth issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 400kb]
Read the ninth issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 469kb]
Read the tenth issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 436kb]
Read the eleventh issue of the supplement Synergy [Georgian pdf 485kb]
Displacement in Georgia - survey of IDP attitudes
