On November 2-3 in Gudauri (Georgia) the General Assembly of International Association of Journalists "South Caucasus" was held. As it has been reported, the Association was established in December 2000 and registered in October 2002 in Strasbourg (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, December 8-14, 2000, and September 28 – October 4, 2002). At this first General Assembly after the registration the reports of the Association Co-presidents were heard and procedural issues were considered, the amount and the procedure for membership fee payments, the mechanisms of new Association member admission, of fund use and financial reporting of the Association were adopted. Also, the development plan of the Association was considered and approved. The plan includes, in particular, the continuation of "Caucasus Media News" electronic bulletin, the development of the web-site of the Association and the preparation for the Forum of Journalistic Associations of South Caucasus.
Elections to the administrative bodies of the Association were held. The Board Members (Co-Presidents) of the Association were elected to be Arif Aliyev (Chairman of "Yeni Nesil" Journalists Union of Azerbaijan, Baku), Elena Imedashvili (Director of “Black Sea Press” Association, Tbilisi), Boris Navasardian (President of Yerevan Press Club, Yerevan), Gegham Baghdasarian (President of Stepanakert Press Club, Stepanakert), Izida Chania (Chief Editor of "Nuzhnaya Gazeta" newspaper, Sukhumi), Fatima Turmanova (Correspondent of Tskhinvali Information Center, Tskhinvali). As the Statutes require, at the General Assembly the succession of the presidency (rotation) was determined: Yerevan, Baku, Sukhumi, Stepanakert, Tbilisi, Tskhinvali. The President in force for the coming six months is Boris Navasardian, the Secretary of the Association – Elena Imedashvili; the Treasurer is Fatima Turmanova.
At one of the working meetings the participants discussed the subject of "Media in Unrecognized Republics", presented by Izida Chania.
The meeting participants were greeted by Gohar Avagian, the Information Officer of OSCE Office in Yerevan, and Volker Jakoby, the Press Officer of OSCE Mission in Georgia.
The General Assembly of the International Association of Journalists “South Caucasus” was conducted with the support of OSCE Office in Yerevan and financial assistance of the Government of Federative Republic of Germany.
