At the closing ceremony of the first-ever Georgian NGO Fair on April 3 the organizers of the two-day event awarded Ghia Nodia, Davit Usupashvili and late Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania the Friends of Civil Society Development award for their exceptionally supportive role in development and strengthening civil society in Georgia.

Ghia Nodia chairs the Tbilisi-based think-tankCaucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development(CIPDD) while Davit Usupashvili, a legal expert and respected civil society leader, is now slated to become the leader of the opposition Republican Party this summer.

The recipients for this award were chosen by a group of representatives from Georgian NGOs, the media and the business community.

The two-day NGO Fair, which involved exhibitions, panel discussions, and educational presentations about the activities of NGOs in Georgia, was organized in frames of the USAID-funded, three-yearCitizens Advocate! Program(CAP). This program, which is implemented by Save the Children and a coalition of six Georgian civil society organizations, aims at the promotion of citizens’ interests and to effectively advocate their cause.