LINC Project: an initiative bridging two communities

In 2016-17, Action Against Hunger implemented its Employment Shuttle approach in Georgia to bring together young people from two communities – ethnic Georgians from Akhmeta town and ethnic Kists from Pankisi Gorge in Akhmeta Municipality – that ordinarily have little contact and interaction. The programme was part of the Confidence Building Early Response Mechanism (COBERM) funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP. The project created a space for dialogue and intercultural exchange, breaking down the stereotypical views that exist in both communities. A female Kist participant described her experience in the Shuttle with this words: “my parents always tell me to never have any kind of interaction with Georgians, but having met them and having the opportunity of travelling together, I know that they are people whom we can trust”.