EU4Dialogue in Georgia: ‘Hands for Peace’ project presents its results in Zugdidi

The women-led non-governmental organisation ‘Hands for Peace’ hosted a gala exhibition in Zugdidi to present the results of a ‘Handicraft for Social Change’ project, supported by the EU and UNDP through the EU4Dialogue initiative.

The EU and UNDP’s support allowed 40 conflict-affected women to join training programmes in tailoring, embroidery, knitting and macramé to develop professional careers, earn a living, improve livelihoods and increase self-reliance. Six of the trained participants have already found jobs in different local enterprises and one of the beneficiaries was successful in applying for a grant programme.

In addition to handicraft training, ‘Hands for Peace’ helped women master marketing, sales and social media, as well as learning how to write business proposals and applying for grants.

Aiming to build social cohesion in a conflict-affected society, the project brought together internally displaced people and their host communities. Out of 40 training participants, 15 were displaced from the Abkhazia region and 25 were the residents of the Khobi, Tsalenjikha and Zugdidi municipalities.

EU4Dialogue: Support to Conflict Transformation in the South Caucasus and the Republic of Moldova is a joint initiative of the EU and UNDP that aims to improve socio-economic conditions for people, build livelihoods, promote gender equality and youth engagement and support the peaceful transformation of conflict.

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