Alex Tsevelidze is a chair and founder of a non-profit organization The Voice of the Blind. In Georgia, where learning and working environments suffer a dire lack of universal design or adapted infrastructure, where comprehensive research into the needs of persons with disabilities is lacking and no updated statistical data pertaining to the situation of persons with visual impairment is available, Alex believes that raising awareness of the public, self-organization and economic empowerment of PwDs are of utmost importance: “we must not live our lives waiting for pensions. Nor should we be dependant solely on allowances. What is needed is the support to informal education and employment-oriented legislation – this is not just an economic issue but concerns socialisation and social inclusion”, says Alex.
Alex, joining battles with like-minded people, actively works with the community of the blind in Adjara. He hosts a TV programme, works with active civil society organisations in Batumi and Tbilisi and tries to reach out to allies in education and business organizations: “we run programmes, reach out to people through social networks so that we are stronger together”, says Alex.
Determined to improve his knowledge and get to know people working on similar issues, Alex decided to enlist in Civic Leadership Programme. Knowledge he acquired from the Programme helped him develop and implement projects. “we were successful in obtaining funding from Strategic Research and Development Centre to carry out an awareness raising project in three municipalities which hopefully sparked up the communities”.
Currently Alex and his allies are planning to broaden the scope of their work in rural communities of Kobuleti municipality to change public attitudes and fight off stigma and discrimination against people living with disabilities.