On 11-15 June, the Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI) and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo held concluding two two-day seminars for the second cohort of the joint certified international course, Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for All. 

The seminars were led by the experts of the University of Oxford, the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, the University of Oslo, Forum 18 and TDI.  

Up to 40 participants of different professions, including human rights organizations, grassroots community centres, religious communities and media were awarded certificates for the successful completion of the course. 

The course was launched on 7 May 2024 and consisted of five online weekly modules and the final face-to-face workshops. 

During two months, online seminars and face-to-face workshops covered different topics: the right to freedom of religion or belief for all; its theoretical foundations; international standards and mechanisms for its protection and advocacy; domestic legislation; State policy and practice related to FoRB in Georgia; the intersection of FoRB with other rights; different models of relations between the State and religious institutions; concepts of religious freedom within different faiths and religions; history of religious tolerance in Georgia and beyond; Laws on “insulting religious feelings” and their incompatibility with FoRB; the impact of authoritarian and non-democratic regimes on FoRB and other human rights; the ways of protection and the advocacy of FoRB in different professional and duty capacities. 

This is the first certified course in Georgia fully focused on FoRB and its relation to other rights, which has been conducted for the second time (The first course was completed in 2023) by the TDI and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo. We plan to continue this cooperation in future. 

The course was conducted with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Norway under the initiative: LEAD „Leadership, Equality, Advocacy, Democracy” and in partnership with the Oslo Coalition for Freedom of Religion or Belief at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, with the support of Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.