Advancing Municipal Child-centered Social Programmes – Higlight of the National Best Practice Conference

Tbilisi, 28 March 2026. The National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), in cooperation with UNICEF and the Youth Agency, held the eighth National Conference of the Best Practice Programme, where the best municipal practices of 2025 were announced.

Within the conference, and as a result of NALAG’s cooperation with UNICEF, a new award category was introduced two years ago: Child‑centered social programmes, child rights protection, and prevention of harmful impact on children. In this category, the 2025 Best Practice Programme awards were granted to the Municipalities of Senaki and Kazbegi.

"With the adoption of the Code on the Rights of the Child, the role of municipalities within the national child protection and support system has significantly increased, which has strengthened local practice in planning and implementing child‑centered social programmes" - said Ketevan Melikadze, Social Policy and Economics Specialist at UNICEF.

"UNICEF continues to stand by municipalities in fulfilling this important function," added Melikadze.

A key segment of the conference was the panel discussion “Municipal Child Protection and Support Programmes”, aimed at presenting innovative approaches and practices designed for children and families with children across municipalities.

Panel participants - representatives of child protection and support units from the municipalities of Senaki, Kazbegi, Poti, and Batumi - shared their hands‑on experience with successful municipal programmes. They highlighted the value of methodological tools developed by UNICEF in cooperation with NALAG. These tools support municipalities in needs assessments, service planning, and child‑responsive budgeting.

Municipal representatives also emphasized the importance of UNICEF’s support, noting that it enables the introduction of child‑rights‑based approaches at the local level and strengthens social programmes.

As a result of the conference, municipalities exchanged initiatives grounded in international standards and reinforced cooperation to promote child well‑being and advance local governance.

The role of local government in ensuring child protection and social welfare is important. Local authorities are closest to the citizen and the needs of the community can be better identified and responded to at the local level. UNICEF supports municipalities in fulfilling their the increased role defined by the Code of the Rights of the Child. This role is two-fold: municipalities should be able to identify families and children in need and support them through social work and services in the community; and, municipalities should also be able to identify social needs and address them by developing child-centred social programmes.