The results of fruitful cooperation between the EMCDDA and Georgian drug experts were celebrated today at the closing event of the two-year EMCDDA4Georgia project in Tbilisi. Among the dignitaries attending the ceremony were: Beka Dzamashvili, Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia and Agata Nieboj, Team Leader for Rule of Law, Security and Human Rights at the EU Delegation to Tbilisi.
Representatives of Alternative Georgia, the Ilia State University, the Georgian National Drug Observatory (NDO) and the EMCDDA presented the project’s key achievements. These included:
- implementing a general population survey in Georgia;
- translating and adapting the European Prevention Curriculum to the Georgian context;
- applying EMCDDA standards for collecting and reporting on key indicators; and
- developing a training programme for drug treatment professionals.
The event was attended by representatives of the Delegation of the EU to Georgia, the Ministry of Justice, the NDO, the Council of Europe, experts/observers from a variety of Georgian Ministries and civil society, and EMCDDA staff.
Launched in May 2021, EMCDDA4GE was the first bilateral project between the EMCDDA and Georgia, running from 2 May 2021 to 30 June 2023. The project aimed to enhance national responses to drug-related health and security threats and to familiarise Georgian partners with the EU drug information system, its methodologies and tools. The project focused primarily on knowledge transfer and capacity-building in the areas of drug monitoring, reporting, prevention and treatment.