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Transcaucasus Conference Helps NGOs Explore Possibility 

of Internet Communities 

 

Paul Lawrence, Project Harmony 

 

 

 

  Internet communication technology often promises a lot, but what can the Internet do for Azerbaijan? 

Foreign governments, private foundations and numerous other regional organizations have done extensive work to 

develop Internet access in the South Caucasus and to ensure that powerful online communication tools are 

accessible. Statistics demonstrate that usage has increased; however, many of the actors building the Internet 

infrastructure have realized that just having access is not enough and that more must be done to effectively use 

existing resources. 

Project Harmony, a US-based NGO, held a conference from March 12-16 in Tbilisi, Georgia on Internet Community 

Development. The conference brought together over 40 representatives from the small business and NGO 

communities from Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan to explore the topic with three US experts who work in the field 

of Internet communication and online networking. 

The conference is part of the Program for Internet Community Development in the Caucasus (ICD), which promotes 

the use of the Internet as a community-organizing tool for professionals in the region. ICD fosters the development of 

two distinct online communities-one serving small businesses and one serving organizations that aid refugees and 

internally displaced persons (IDPs). 

Participants from each country were selected based on their previous experience using online communication tools 

and on their interest and ability to transfer the information discussed during the conference to partners in their home 

country. The meeting did not, however, explore technical aspects of the Internet, but rather issues related to helping 

community leaders incorporate online communication strategies  into their outreach and internal organizational 

activities. While regular Internet access is not available for many NGOs, the strategy of the program is to work with 

NGOs that have the means to create more resources for others, thus increasing the quantity and quality online 

interactive resources that others will be able to use as access improves.  

The two main goals of the Tbilisi meeting were to develop strategies for creating more online resources, especially in 

the languages of the regionand to increase participation in online communication among the two target communities. 

The objectives of the program are not an attempt to make the Internet replace human interaction, but an effort to 

enhance and effectively coordinate human interaction where the Internet infrastructure will permit. Despite the many 

technical barriers, the Internet infrastructure is strong enough to support next steps in Internet community 

development. 

US trainers conducted workshop sessions on creating effective and sustainable strategies for developing Internet 

resources to meet crucial community information needs. While the Americans conducted the majority of the formal 

sessions, the greatest resource at this conference was knowledge of the group itself. All participants brought to the 

table unique skills in Internet development, building communities, training or computer expertise, all of which play a 

crucial role in creating more effective Internet resources for professionals in the South Caucasus. 

ICD staff expect the participants of the conference to form a loose network--exploiting the group knowledge--that will 

continue to explore the topic after the conference by using interactive online space. The basis of the program is that 

that the Internet and online tools give us an unprecedented ability to meet and interact. The work in Tbilisi was an 

opportunity to interact offline, but the group cooperation continues online. 

In April, the ICD program conducted a follow on forum online, the first such event in Russian that included over 50 

local and international NGO representatives from six countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Uzbekistan 

and the US). The pilot event was designed to reinforce the themes of the Tbilisi conference and demonstrate the 

ability of the vast potential of online space for enhancing partnerships and cooperation. The ICD will continue such 

events through July. 

To learn more about the ICD program, please contact Vugar Mammadov, the ICD Azerbaijan coordinator at 

[e-mail]. Telephone: 98-99-50 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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