GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW: TEONA PURTSKHVANIDZE, PROJECT MANAGER AT PEOPLE IN NEED (PIN) GEORGIA
Teona Purtskhvanidze is a Project Manager at People in Need (PIN) Georgia. PIN Georgia is a part of the PIN’s big family — one of the largest relief and development organizations in Central/Eastern Europe, which has administered projects in 37 countries over the past 30 years. She is a certified trainer and youth worker and has over seven years of experience in the fields of social protection, tourism and rural development, supported by USAID, EU, and Czech Development Agency (CzDA).
People in Need (PIN) Georgia has been registered since 2006, supporting displaced families, entrepreneurs, civil society actors (CSAs), youth and local authorities among others. Can you give us a brief history of PIN Georgia?
Before talking about PIN Georgia, I would like to highlight that People in Need was established in 1992 by a group of Czech war correspondents who were no longer satisfied with merely relaying information about ongoing conflicts and began sending out aid. It gradually became established as a professional humanitarian organization and lately, it has grown to include other topics, like human rights, education, and social inclusion on its agenda. The organization was founded on the ideals of humanism, freedom, equality, and solidarity.
People in Need has been working in Georgia since 2006, starting in the Tkibuli municipality, and now has offices in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Gori, Zugdidi, Tskaltubo, and Dusheti. PIN Georgia supports displaced families, entrepreneurs, civil society actors (CSAs), youth, and local authorities among others. We believe people should not suffer from poverty, injustice, or inequality and we trust that people who are in need can play an active role in making global development more inclusive and sustainable. Our mission is to support them in such efforts and nourish an environment that enables these changes to happen.
2. With more than 15 years of expertise in building sustainable businesses and civil society in the country, PIN Georgia has demonstrated experience of successful multi-sectoral projects, multi-million portfolio budgets, and multi-country cooperation with a range of donors including USAID, EU, World Bank, Ministry of foreign affairs of Czech Republic (MFA), Czech Development Agency (CzDA), ECHO, and various bilateral institutions. What are some of the PIN Georgia greatest achievements since its establishment?
During its 16-year history, PIN Georgia has had many achievements, which we are proud of. PIN Georgia has three priority areas:
· Rural Development
· Strong Civil Society and Good Governance
· Social Protection and Inclusion
In the Rural Development sector, more than 30 cooperatives were set up and trained, 5 vocational education institutions were supported to offer better quality agriculture education, and more than 150 small and medium-sized enterprises were supported.
The main achievements in the Strong Civil Society and Good Governance sector have been strengthening cooperation among local governance and civil society through establishing advisory committees at the local level, involving more than 3000 people directly in the decision-making process in different regions of Georgia; teaching through documentary films (known as PIN OWIS methodology) which have been introduced to 600 schools and adopted by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, empowering people and grassroots-based civil society organizations by providing the tools and knowledge required through training and workshops, enhancing the capacities of more than 50 civil society organization in policy dialogue, strategic planning, and development, networking, media literacy, etc., and involving more than 5000 young people in different kinds of project.
In the Social Protection and Inclusion sector, the social fieldwork standards were elaborated by PIN and adopted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia, specifically, 4 social enterprises and 15 businesses employing vulnerable people supported by 58 direct and more than 1500 indirect beneficiaries. Also, PIN was able to enhance the capacities of decision-makers in social protection, develop strategic documents, and establish new services in four municipalities. Other municipalities inside the country also shared the PIN Georgia’s best practices.
As one of the USAID EDGE grantees, together with your partners from Armenia and Georgia, you are implementing the “The Transcaucasian Trail — Promoting Cross-Border Tourism” Project which aims to develop new hiking trails in Georgia and Armenia and connect them to the growing Transcaucasian Trail initiative. What activities do you plan to implement to achieve these goals?
The project is being implemented by PIN Georgia with active and close cooperation of PIN Armenia and project partner organizations: Transcaucasian Trail NGO of Georgia and Armenia. To achieve the set goals, we have several activities, such as conducting 12 days of trail maintenance training in Georgia and Armenia; desk review and identification of 4 new hiking trails in Aragvi, Akhalkalaki, Lori, and Shirak regions; marking of the new hiking trails on Open Street Map; and developing an international and domestic trails promotion campaign.
Furthermore, the project aims to build the capacity of target MSMEs and set up networks between value chain actors. In terms of this, we plan to enhance the marketing and promotion capacities of MSMEs operating alongside the new trails through theoretical and practical training in both countries. Also, we are conducting 4 regional assessments of tourism infrastructure and gaps analysis, creation of tourism promotion materials for 16 target SMEs, development and publishing of multi-media Aragvi cultural trail guide, etc.
During June and July 2022, representatives of the local, public, civil society and private sector from Aragvi and Akhalkalaki (Georgia) and Lori and Shirak regions (Armenia) have taken part in a joint four-day practical training on trail development and maintenance. Can you tell us briefly, what were the key takeaways from this joint training, and what PIN Georgia and its partners achieved?
The activity aimed to address the different interests of stakeholder groups, and ensure the widest possible buy-in for the new trails and their sustainable maintenance in the future.
The training was guided by project partner organizations — Transcaucasian Trail (TCT) NGO of Georgia and Armenia, which served to increase community awareness of hiking trails as a key way to develop high-quality, low-impact tourism, and representatives of local, public, civil society, and private sectors gained theoretical and practical knowledge of trail standards. The training increased community awareness of the trails surrounding their area and motivated participants to take care of and improve the trails, as well as to advocate for infrastructure to support the development of outdoor tourism in their respective regions.
An important aspect of the training was the opportunity for the participants to see trails at different stages of trail development. 32 people in both countries are actively involved in the restoration and maintenance, design, and marking of trails. Teamwork and team-building activities were also very productive, and the participants fully understood the importance of the trail work. The most engaged participants were invited to join TCT in scouting new trails and learning further mapping and maintenance skills in their home regions.
PIN Georgia’s communication team is planning to coordinate a multi-country and multi-language promotional campaign of the newly developed trails in order to attract tourists locally from Georgia and Armenia, but also from wider Europe. How do you plan to achieve that? What are the best practices for increasing trail usage by hikers?
There are five best practices to increase trail usage by hikers: 1. Collaborate (trail planning, development and management, dialogue with partners and trail users, develop strong linkages and partnerships across various sectors, and develop collaborative strategies); 2. Enhance the trail experience (great trails, activities, trail users); 3. Identify target groups; 4. Market the experience; 5. Evaluate and modify the program.
In order to coordinate a multi-country and multi-language promotional campaign for the newly developed trails, PIN Georgia’s communication team plans to develop various materials for three key audiences: 1. Domestic and international tourists interested in adventure, rural, and ecotourism; 2. Tour operators; and 3. Tourism service providers.
Furthermore, promotional visits will be organized to bring tour operators to visit the newly identified trails and meet the supported enterprises in order to forge new business partnerships.
The media and information products will include online marketing, media interviews, press releases, and an online webinar presenting the project achievements delivered by TCT to its strong global audience. At least 20 media products will be developed promoting the new Transcaucasian Trail regions and the locally available services. We will also produce an online promotional campaign targeting audiences in 10 Eastern and Central European and Caucasus countries plus the US, and a webinar presenting project achievements.
Since the beginning of 2020, the tourism sector has seen severe disruption and many SMEs from Georgia and Armenia have closed or been forced to reduce their employee numbers. As the economy slowly recovers, regional data show that new opportunities have arisen in the tourism market. Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed what tourists are looking for? What are the new trends in tourism sector in Armenia and Georgia, especially relating to outdoor recreation?
The COVID-19 pandemic completely changed the needs and demands of tourists. Relaxation in nature, an active lifestyle, and health are of greater importance. It promoted the establishment of new trends in the tourism market as well. Various services (for instance, food service, event organizing services, etc.) moved from indoor to outdoor spaces. As a result of COVID-19, domestic tourism has developed a lot. People, not having the opportunity to travel abroad, started to explore their own countries and discover new destinations and activities. Now, some obscure places have become top destinations. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the development of Glamping as a new trend in the tourism sector, which has recently become very popular in Georgia and Armenia. However, Georgia and Armenia also show high potential for rural and adventure tourism. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, over 33% and 14% of Georgian and Armenian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) respectively came from tourism and related services. Since the beginning of 2020, the sector has seen severe disruption and many SMEs have closed or been forced to reduce their staff, but at the same time, new opportunities have arisen in the tourism market: greater international demand for outdoor activities, and stronger domestic markets borne from travel restrictions.
PIN Georgia works closely with local partners to develop new hiking trails in Georgia and Armenia, and connect them to the growing Transcaucasian Trail initiative. These trails will act as a “honeypot” to attract new visitors to rural areas, while local MSMEs receive capacity building and promotional resources to maximize the business possibilities this brings. The project seeks to identify those MSMEs that have been forced to downsize in the COVID-19 economic downturn and support them to increase local employment opportunities.
