Since remote antiquity nestled between the Black and Caspian
Seas on the majestic Caucasus mountain chain, the Republic of
Georgia today continues its centuries old relations with its
neighbors as it seeks to create new alliances. One of the 15
federated republics of the Soviet Union throughout most of the
twentieth century, Georgia declared its independence in 1991.
Its diverse population has since that event actively explored,
created and used the new electronic environment both to foster
their emerging democratic state and present themselves to the
world community. The sites listed in each category of this selective
portal page have been chosen for their utility in providing accurate
narrative (either brief or extensive) information, as well as
directories, extensive portal pages and other resources concerning
all aspects of Georgian life and culture. Most originate within
the confines of the Republic itself. All are either English language
alone or bilingual, unless noted in an annotation which follows.
Many sites offer down- loadable Georgian fonts to make them easily
accessible. For a variety of reasons, the links to Georgia and
the NIS countries in general often are inactive; we recommend
that you try again, should you not be successful in connecting.
For Library of Congress contact information and research and
bibliographic materials on Georgia, consult the Georgia
Country page of the Near East Section of the African and
Middle Eastern Division. See also the Library's
online catalog for books, and materials in other formats
held by the Library and the Library's Thomas
Legislative Information page for legislative materials, bills,
hearings, acts, etc.) on relations between the United States
and the Republic of. Finally, see also An
illustrated chapter on the Georgian collections for an illustrated,
historical analysis.
Private, governmental organizations as well as NGOs , scholarly
associations, and lobbying groups in Georgia.
The American
Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/%7Eaaass/)
‘The American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS)
is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, scholarly society which is the leading private
organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about Russia, Central
Eurasia, and Eastern and Central Europe.'
Association of Business Consulting
Organizations (ABCO) (http://www.abco.caucasus.net/projects.htm)
English language homepage of the Georgian based organization dedicated to coordinating
the activities of the various business support groups in Georgia. Links to its
members' sites are of special use.
Association of Information Specialists (Georgia) (http://www.ais.org.ge/)
‘AIS is a non governmental, non-profit organization. It is a national professional
association of librarians and information specialists in Georgia.' Its
bilingual (English and Georgian) homepage describes its history, its cooperative
activities with international library organizations such as IFLA and its domestic
programs and activities.
AsylumLaw.org (http://www.asylumlaw.org)
"Run by an international consortium of agencies that help asylum seekers
in Australia, Canada, the United States, and several countries in Europe. Over
95% of the content on this site is open to the public, including asylum seekers
from any country and the lawyers or advocates who represent them."
Case Transcaucasus: Center for
Social and Economic Resources (http://www.case-transcaucasus.org.ge/)
Founded in 1991 by a group of Polish economists, this NGO ‘ has actively
been engaged in research, technical assistance, and training activities, supporting
the economic transition to democracy and market economy in a number of countries
of Eastern Europe and NIS.' Its Georgian page offers reports and related
information on the economy of the country in English.
Committee to Protect Journalists (http://www.cpj.org/)
Searching this site results in a list of recent documents from a number of web
sites concerning media activities and press freedom in many countries.
Council of Europe Office (Tbilisi) (http://portal.coe.ge/index.php)
Bilingual (English and Georgian) homepage of the COE's office in Tbilisi.
Development Gateway Country Overview (http://www.developmentgateway.org/)
"The Development Gateway helps communities, organizations, and individuals
build partnerships, share ideas, and work together to reduce poverty." Search
by development projects as well as by country to identify additional web sites
and documents.
Directory of Development Organizations (http://www.devdir.org/)
" The Directory is a compilation of contact data of the main sources of
assistance available for private sector development (micro, small an medium-sized
enterprises) and poverty reduction. A wide range of organizations is included
in the Directory: international organizations, government ministries, private
sector institutions, development agencies, universities, research and training
institutes, NGOs/PDOs, grantmakers, banks, microfinance institutions, and development
consulting firms." Searchable by keyword.
The Eurasia Foundation (http://www.eurasia.org/)
Located in Washngton, DC the Eurasia Foundation ‘is a privately managed
grantmaking organization dedicated to funding programs that build democratic
and free market institutions in the twelve New Independent States (NIS) of the
former Soviet Union -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the
Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.' The
site includes reports on the various NIS countries as well as information on
grants and other economic and financial matters.
Georgian Association in the United
States, Inc. (http://www.georgianassociation.org/)
‘The Georgian Association is a nonpartisan nationwide membership organization
of Georgian-Americans and friends of Georgia that advocates for Georgia and Georgian
issues in the U.S. It is the oldest organization in the U.S. representing the
Georgian American community.' Its English language website provides information
about its structure, programs and mission as well as cuotural and historical
narratives, directories, relevant links, and resources.
Georgian Foundation for Strategic
and International Studies (http://www.gfsis.org/index800.php)
Bilingual (English and Georgian) site of the organization that is an ‘independent,
non-profit policy think tank dedicated to helping improve public policy decision-making
in Georgia through research and analysis, training of policymakers and policy
analysts, and public education about the strategic issues, both domestic and
international, facing Georgia and the Caucasus in the 21st century.' Its
activities, resources and publications are described.
Georgian Patriarchate Charitable Foundation (http://www.lazarus.org.ge)
‘Lazarus is the charity centre of the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate and
the implementing agency for its humanitarian assistance programs. It is a non-governmental
and not-for-profit organization. Its aim is to co-ordinate contributions of humanitarian
aid from both local and international donors and ensure that assistance reaches
beneficiaries directly and effectively.' Though not updated regularly,
this English language site describes the charitable activities of the Georgian
Patriarchate and provides relevant contact information.
HR (Web Page on Human Rights
in Georgia) (http://www.humanrights.ge/eng/index.shtml)
Bilingual (English and Georgian) page on human rights conditions in Georgia provides
reports, bulletins, news and contact information.
Independent Association of Georgian Journalists (http://www.iagj.org.ge/)
‘Independent Association of Georgian Journalists founded by the group of
professional journalists. It was created in order to solve the issues concerning
Journalists' professional activities, also to protect pluralistic democracy and
internationally recognized human rights. Association is independent from all
kinds of ideological, governmental, political and religious bodies.' Its
homepage supplies basic information about its mission, structure, projects, membership
as well as its constitution.
International Committee of the Red Cross (http://www.icrc.org/eng)
A search of this English language version of the ICRC site provides reports on
the current humanitarian initiatives of this organization in any given country.
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (http://www.isfed.ge/)
This bilingual (English and Georgian) site describes the efforts of the International
Society for Fair Elections and Democracy to create fair and democratic elections
within Georgia. Reports, project descriptions and a narrative about the organization
are provided.
Middle East Studies Association (MESA) (http://fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/)
MESA's website provides news, descriptions of activities, lists of members,
dates of conferences and other relevant information concerning this United States-based
organizations dedicated to the study of all aspects of the countries, regions
and peoples of the Middle East.
MuslimGeorgia (http://www.muslimgeorgia.org)
Although the information about this organization is spotty, the site is particularly
useful for its Georgian translation of classic Islamic texts, including the Quran.
United States Committee for Refugees
(USCR) (http://www.refugees.org/index.cfm)
Founded in 1958 to complement the UN's initiative to aid refugees, the
USCR's site offers brief and detailed reports on refugee status in and
from the various countries of the world.
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