Tsotsne Museliani, is an avid activist in his hometown of Lentekhi working to empower local civil society sector. He is one of the masterminds behind an information portal svanetiinfo.ge and a founder of “Union for the Development of Georgian High Mountainous Regions”.
Tsotne joined the Civic Leadership Program in 2018 with the hope to become more effective in responding to challenges he and his allies are facing in their work. And challenges are numerous with almost half of the region’s population receiving targeted social assistance and youth migrating out of the region: “almost everyone leaves for Kutaisi and Tbilisi after finishing school,” says Tsotne.
Ongoing construction of a hydro powerplant has caused discontent and resistance from the local community as well. But Tsotne is not to be scared in the face of these challenges and continues his efforts to reach out to potential allies and engage youth in a working process with media and local civil society. He also helps local population have constructive communication with media so that problems persisting in the region are not overlooked by the wider public.
Communications and Proposal Development modules turned out to be of great importance for Tsotne which have helped him and his team become more active and effective in using social networks and other channels of communication.
In parallel to his participation in the Program, Tsotne’s organisation in partnership with the Caucasus Journalists Centre obtained funding and implemented a project aimed at monitoring local self-government in Lentekhi. “it is important that we reach out to active individuals in the municipality and seek synergy between the various sectors”, says Tsone as he continues his efforts to strengthen local civil society together with allies.