For the first time in the history of the Red Cross, the Georgian Red Cross hosted the International Conference on Europe and Central Asia. The conference was attended by representatives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies of 53 countries, an unprecedented case seeing all the national societies of Europe and Central Asia come together in Georgia. The conference was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Tbilisi over three days, from 12 to 28 April. The conference covered three issues: migration, Covid-19, and climate change.
The conference was important, reflecting the fact that the situation in Europe and Central Asia has changed dramatically over the last four years. Covid-19 claimed the lives of nearly 2,000,000 people; the scale of migration and IDPs is growing critically; and climate change is causing a humanitarian crisis across the region. In addition, there is the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which has forced millions to flee and in need of immediate humanitarian assistance.
As always, the Red Cross and Red Crescent are at the forefront of all these challenges, helping those who need it most. The 11th Red Cross Regional Conference being held in Georgia was a great honor and success for the Georgian Red Cross. The leaders of the National Red Cross and Red Crescent of Europe and Central Asia gathered at the conference to discuss ways to deal with the region’s most critical humanitarian crises.
During the three-day conference, the invited guests summarized the important work done during the last four years. In addition, current and future challenges and effective strategies for dealing with them were discussed.
“This conference covered three issues – migration, Covid-19, and climate change,” said President of the Georgian Red Cross, Natia Loladze. “We also summarized the issues that came up since the last conference and, of course, we talked about future plans as well. It is very important that due to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, we continue our action and plan future steps.”
“I think that this conference came at the right moment,” said the President of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Francesco Rocca. “All the national societies from the continent united to discuss how we can improve our work, how we can skill up our activities, how we can learn from good practices, to share good practices, and to learn from each other.”
“This conference is one of the most important meetings. We met each other and we tried to reach common understanding. We will carry the values and opinions to the general assembly from this region,” said the Vice President of IFRC.
By Mariam Mtivlishvili
