On 18 November 2019, representatives of the Public Defender's Office, Nino Valikov and Madona Basiladze, held an informational meeting with representatives of the local self-government, local council on the rights of persons with disabilities and kindergartens in the Kutaisi City Hall.

The Public Defender's representatives discussed the mandate of the Public Defender of Georgia, implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and accessibility standards for persons with disabilities. Other topics of discussion were the functioning of the councils of persons with disabilities at the local level and the effectiveness of municipal programmes, as well as the powers and responsibilities of the municipality in the field of preschool education.

Participants of the meeting expressed their opinions and confirmed their desire for future cooperation.

The meeting was scheduled within the framework of the promotion of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and was aimed at raising awareness of the local self-government representatives in the direction of the rights of persons with disabilities.

Similar meetings were held in 2019 in the municipalities of Sighnaghi, Mestia, Batumi, Ambrolauri and Ozurgeti too. The meetings were organized by the Department of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the support of the UNDP project “Strengthening the Government’s Capabilitiesfor the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.