Portrait of a Shuttle Corporate Volunteer – Giorgi Inalishvili
Text and photos by Carlotta Wichmann
A key part of our Shuttle programme is the engagement of “corporate volunteers” to visit the participants and conduct a thematic session, catering to the needs of the group. This active contribution of the corporate volunteer is used to transfer first-hand knowledge and experience on their profession or sector to the participants, contributing to their learning process.
Giorgi Inalishvili functioned as a corporate volunteer for Action Against Hunger South Caucasus at both the Batumi and Tbilisi Shuttles under the project “Empowering civil society to increase gender equality and counter gender-based violence in Georgia.” In his role as a media literacy trainer, he was approached by Shuttle coach, Ana Kvartskhava to support her Shuttle group. Ana, who came to Georgia from Ukraine in 2022, has been working for Action Against Hunger as the Tbilisi Shuttle coach for Ukrainian women since April last year. Giorgi accepted here request and, to date, has held four training sessions for the Shuttle programmes not only in Tbilisi but also in Batumi.
As part of these media literacy training sessions, the use of information as a weapon was discussed, as well as the use of social media and its role in spreading false information. How to verify information on the internet is a core part of these training sessions, focusing on information filtering and the differentiation of fact from fiction. Here, Giorgi used examples of false information spread online.
One of the four training sessions for Ukrainian women was focussed on citizen rights in Georgian society, as the women joining the Shuttle program need support during the integration process into their new reality. These training sessions also offered the opportunity to discuss challenges and hurdles that each of them has faced; language barriers and lack of employment being the most prominent ones.
Today, Giorgi in his role as Information & Outreach Officer for World Vision Georgia, works on a project called “Ukraine Crisis Response” and organises training sessions for Ukrainian refugees. Action Against Hunger is grateful for the sessions that he has provided and appreciates his support to the programme participants.
This Shuttle project and all its components are supported under the project " Empowering civil society to increase gender equality and counter gender-based violence in Georgia” led by the Center for Information and Counseling on Reproductive Health - Tanadgoma for Equality / თანადგომა თანასწორობისთვის - in partnership with Action Against Hunger South Caucasus, Women's Initiatives Supporting Group, The Union of Azerbaijani Women of Georgia / აზერბაიჯანელ ქალთა კავშირი and the National Network of Women With Disabilities შშმ ქალთა ეროვნული ქსელი. This initiative is supported by European Union in Georgia.
Since 2015, Action Against Hunger has been carrying out the Shuttle programme in the South Caucasus region, with the aim of increasing the professional and personal skills of participants. By strengthening individual competences, initiative and responsibility, participants become more competitive in the labour market. This process is supported by coaches, using a non-directive, facilitation-based approach.
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