On October 21, 2019, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria and Deputy Public Defender Ekaterine Skhiladze met with representatives of the media and civil sector in Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda.

The challenges of ethnic minorities in the region, the issue of teaching the Georgian language, shortcomings in the 4+1 programme and the problem of the low quality of general education were discussed at the meeting.

One of the challenges is to get information about the ongoing developments in the country. Due to language barriers and technical flaws, the population only watches Russian channels, as the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) cannot cover their needs, which, in addition to the low involvement of the population in public life, contributes to the Russian propaganda.

Violence against women and domestic violence, gaps in the health system, problems of eco-migrants, peace talks relating to conflict regions and other issues were also discussed. The issue of dual citizenship have been raised as well, particularly for those who have already obtained Armenian or Russian citizenship and want to get Georgian citizenship back or apply for dual citizenship.

The Public Defender also met with the clergy of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church and Akhalkalaki and Kumurdo Metropolitan Nikoloz.