On 2 May 2018, to celebrate the 5^th anniversary of the adoption of the Law on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, the Council of Europe and the Public Defender's Office held a public meeting for the youth, the theme of which was "The importance of equality and the ways of elimination of discrimination".

Public Defender Nino Lomjaria spoke about the right to equality, existing mechanisms and the role of the Public Defender. She noted that implementation of the right to equality remained a challenge in Georgia, which is often associated with the widespread stereotypes in the country. "So today's meeting is of special significance, since exactly the youth have the main role in the process of elimination of stereotypes," said the Public Defender. She also spoke about the importance of the Law of Georgia on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, adoption of which, on the one hand, determined the mechanisms for combating discrimination, and on the other hand, resulted in the launch of public discussions on equality and tolerance, while the rate of identification of cases has been increased.

Vahagn Muradyan, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, said that equality for children, first of all, means the right to be listened and involved in the decision-making processes relating to them, as well as the right to live in a violence-free environment. True equality is equality between girls and boys, equal opportunities for children with disabilities, orphans and children of minorities. Achieving equality should start in childhood in order to build the basis for our future.

Nino Gobronidze, senior officer of the "I Choose Equality“ project, spoke about the campaign of the Council of Europe.

Participants of the meeting had the opportunity to exchange views on equality, human rights and anti-discrimination policies and talk to them about the importance of democracy,

Participants of the meeting had the opportunity to exchange views on equality, human rights and anti-discrimination policies and to talk about the importance of the above-mentioned for democracy, development and peace. They also received more information about the "I Choose Equality" campaign and about how to support the fight against discrimination, hate crimes and hate speech in Georgia.

The Law on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, which was adopted in 2014, aims at eliminating various forms of discrimination and providing equal access to rights for everyone regardless of their race, skin color, language, sex, age, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or other grounds.

The meeting took place within the framework of the "I Choose Equality" campaign, which aims to raise public awareness of the risks associated with hate crimes, hate speech and discrimination, to disseminate information about the importance of diversity and tolerance and to inform the minorities and vulnerable groups of legal mechanisms.