The materials produced during the project support vulnerable groups by raising awareness about violence against children in schools, issues faced by LGBTQ+ children, as well as highlighting stereotypes and prejudices faced by children pursuing their dreams. The materials include an article, an interactive multimedia piece, seven videos, and a book. The videos produced as part of the project have been viewed over 370 000 times as of May 2023. The director of one of the videos, Kristine Gogoladze (top photo), received the EU Prize for Journalism 2022  in the category of Best Student Work in print, online, or broadcast media for her video “We play football”.

Youth voices on youth issues 

The project’s organisers felt that it was key that young people took leading and active roles as they would be the primary targets for the materials being developed. During the project, children and young people engaged in content production as interviewers, camerapersons, illustrators and other roles, exercising their right to freedom of expression and ensuring their own feelings and opinions were reflected.

“Platform for Children” allowed children and young people to exercise their right to freedom of expression in different ways, reflecting their own feelings and opinions. It was essential for the organisers that the project’s leading roles were given to young people – they were the primary respondents and protagonists of all materials, and they were also engaged in content production as interviewers, camerapersons, illustrators, etc. 

The final event and discussion of the project was attended by 200 teenagers and adults in Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum on December 10, 2022.

During the project, Indigo Fund hosted a takeover of its Instagram account allowing two teenage project participants to share what it means to be a teenager in Georgia to the organisation’s 17,500+ followers. It was an opportunity for them to use media and communicate directly with their peers and a diverse audience. 

“Participants emphasised the importance of the projects, where teenagers are primary agents and the sense of safety during the [final] event, where they were heard and recognised without judgment.”

Project Manager, GCRT

A turning point for the relationship between parents and children

Screenshot from the project video “Dialogue between parents and teenagers”. Pictured: Keti Geliashvili and her son Davit Megrelishvili.

Positive feedback from the audience was not exclusive to the young people – parents also shared positive feedback on what they learned thanks to the project, some calling it a “turning point in the relationship” with their children. 

“I always thought I was a good mother, but at the shooting of the video, I started asking questions to myself. I realized how lack of conversation contributes to misunderstanding and increases the gap between parents and their children”.

Keti Geliashvili, participant of the “Dialogue between parents and teenagers” video.

Following up on the project, Indigo Fund contracted two of the teenage project contributors for a continued paid partnership to help with video shooting and creating illustrations. The project allowed Indigo Fund and GCRT to develop their audience – by the end of the project, followers in the 18-25 age range was increased by 5%, which means a better reach to the youth audience for the two organisations in the future. 

100 copies of the book were distributed during the project’s final event. The book includes texts and artworks of teenagers from all over Georgia and is a printed version of the multimedia material “I don’t know how much is the fault of being a teenager”.
Funded by the European Union.

This project was co-organised by the Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (member organisation of Human Rights House Tbilisi) and Indigo Fund with the support of Human Rights House Foundation under the framework of STRONG Civil Society, and was implemented with the financial support of the European Union.