Platform “Komentari” brings together professionals that offer the public a critical view of the events taking place in Georgia and the World.

Platform Komentari unites a team of professionals that provides the public with critical vision on the processes in Georgia and abroad. Our function is to increase accessibility to knowledge, share professional and impartial opinions to the public and protect citizen interests in public political processes. For this reason, we establish a new, special platform for unity that will try to make a change in the life of the Georgian public.

Today, political processes do not respond to the needs of the society; There is virtually never a “right” time to think carefully and conscientiously about public issues, because political polarization and a constant state of emergency kill the opportunity to disseminate real information, as well as important knowledge and opinions.

Our Concerns

  • Polarization empties processes from political content and eats away anything rational. For this reason, alternative opinions are practically banished from the discussion space and everyone who does not tolerate mainstream political taste and ideas becomes exile;
  • Radical ultranationalist forces or political groups try to benefit from this environment and increase their electorates. They provide the public with pseudo solutions to fundamental issues. Their approach is mostly based on denial of human rights and sovereignty of the country;
  • Public engagements among leaders become a field for insolent, personal confrontations. Mainstream discussions in the parliament, media or internet are held on falsely important topics;
  • Issues that concern citizens and hinder advancement of Georgian democracy are left beyond the attention whether they involve social-economic-cultural policy or those related to the public institutions;
  • Important part of the Georgian population is isolated from the diverse knowledge and discussion of the modern world.

Finally, on the one hand, this situation does not allow the society to thoroughly consider ways to solve important challenges and see Georgia in the light of the global context. On the other hand, all this incites people’s hopelessness and distrust towards political institutions and processes.

What Changes We Bring?

We do not publish solely information or analysis. Our authors are professionals who suggest new discussion topics, positive agenda, and solutions to public;

Our aim is to increase knowledge and create materials in Georgian on crucial topics of the community so that they are free and accessible for everyone. 

We create an alternative space for discussion that will respond to existing questions in public. We spread information that is based on the principles of democracy, justice, and equality.

editorial
მერაბ ქართველიშვილი
Merab Kartvelishvili
Co-founder, Editor of Social Policy Direction
Merab Kartvelishvili holds a Master's degree in Law and Public Policy Administration.  Merab has worked in the field of human rights for over a decade. For years, he cooperated with civil society organizations, including the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), where he led the human rights protection program. 
ვახუშტი მენაბდე
Vakhushti Menabde
Co-founder, Editor of Democracy Direction
Vakhushti Menabde is an expert in politics of law and an associate professor at the Law School at Ilia State University. For 15 years, he has cooperated with such organizations as the Public Defender's Office, Social Justice Center (former Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC)), and the Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA). 
სოფო ვერძეული
Sopho Verdzeuli
Co-founder, Editor of Politics of Law Direction
Sopho Verdzeuli holds a master's degree in constitutional politics, law, and theory. She has worked on judicial and law enforcement reform for more than ten years. She is the author/co-author of more than 10 researches/reports on the judicial system, drug policy, political neutrality of police, and institutional arrangement of law enforcement agencies. 
authors
ალექსანდრა აროშვილი
Aleksandra Aroshvili
Researcher of Social Policy
Aleksandra Aroshvili is an independent researcher working primarily in the field of social policy.
ნინა ჩიხლაძე
Nina Chikhladze
Lawyer
Nina Chikhladze holds a master’s degree in public law. She has completed the flagship professional traineeship with the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights at the Council of Europe.
ომარ გორდეზიანი
Omar Gordeziani
Sociologist
Omar Gordeziani holds a Master’s degree in Sociology. He is an invited lecturer in the field of sociology and evaluation and development specialist of learning process at Ilia State University. 
ანა გვალია
Ana Gvalia
Sociologist
Ana Gvalia holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and Social Development. Her fields of interest include women's labor rights, labor migration, unemployment, and unemployment benefits.
ზურაბ ქარჩავა
Zurab Karchava
Political Scientist
ნინო ხელაძე
Nino Kheladze
Sociologist
Nino Kheladze holds a Master’s degree in Sociology and is an invited lecturer at Ilia State University in the field of sociology. Her research interests are social equality, solidarity, activism, and labor issues.
მიხეილ სვანიძე
Mikheil Svanidze
Sociologist
თეკლა ზუხბა
Tekla Zukhba
Sociologist
მარიამ სვიმონიშვილი
Mariam Svimonishvili
Lawyer
Mariam Svimonishvili holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law. Currently, she is a student of the master's program of law at Tbilisi State University. As part of exchange programs, she studied at Masaryk University during her bachelor studies, and at Lille Catholic University on the master's program of International and European Law.
თორნიკე გერლიანი
Tornike Gerliani
Lawyer
Tornike Gerliani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Tbilisi State University.
ია ერაძე
Ia Eradze
Consultant in Economics
Ia Eradze holds a Ph.D. in social and economic sciences. Her main field of research is the historical political economy of the financial sector and state formation. Currently, Ia is a research associate at the Institute for Social and Cultural Research at Ilia State University.
თამარ გვასალია
Tamar Gvasalia
Lawyer
Tamar Gvasalia holds a Master's degree in Law and Law Enforcement Leadership. She has worked on human rights, security and law enforcement issues for the last ten years. She cooperated with such organisations as Social Justice Centre for the couple of years. She worked on the operative-investigation, prosecutorial and investigative reforms.
ზეზვა ზანგურაშვილი
Zezva Zangurashvili
Political Economist
Zezva Zangurashvili holds a master's degree in political economy from the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR Berlin). He also studied at Tbilisi State University at the Faculty of Economics and at Adam Mickiewicz University at the Faculty of Political Sciences.