‘I met a lot of incredible people, professionals from different countries’

Badri’s main role is the editor in chief of the Georgian-Abkhaz Context, an online analytical platform promoting discussion of political and social issues related to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict*.

The Georgian-Abkhaz Context platform aims to foster understanding by collecting and producing multimedia content on the conflict, bringing together voices from both sides. Badri describes the importance of the work they do:

‘One of the most important things we can do is to challenge disinformation, and to face this alienation between the conflicted sides, because we have not been living together for three decades. Every project that is directed to somehow bringing these conflicted societies closer is one step closer to a peaceful resolution. Media work, in my opinion, is one of the cornerstones of solving the problem. One of the biggest challenges for our media is to tackle Russian propaganda and distribute independent analysis, without any influence from political parties.’

Badri joined the Swedish Institute’s Leader Lab because it aims to help people solve specific problems related to managing and coordinating teams.

‘One of the challenges I face with my work is that we have a team with representatives from different backgrounds, and these people sometimes have drastically opposed opinions on very fundamental things. In the Leader Lab programme, I really appreciated that we had private sessions with trainers to discuss our specific problems, merging theory and practice. That was really helpful.’

Another key takeaway for Badri was the networking opportunities provided by the programme.

“I met a lot of incredible people, professionals from different countries. Without participating in this kind of programme, meeting so many people in such a short period would be impossible.”

Badri spent a week in Stockholm with other Leader Lab participants. The experience left a lasting impression.

‘This was probably the best-organised programme I’ve ever participated in. I’ve never seen so much attention to detail. If people are considering applying to this programme, they are going to be really satisfied with the approach and attitude of the organisers. Even though there are a lot of participants, you’re going to get individual attention that makes a big impact.’

*The Georgian-Abkhaz conflict refers to two regions that declared their independence from Georgia in the early 1990s, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This led to armed conflicts between Georgia and separatist groups, which ended in 1994 with ceasefires and Russian peacekeeping forces being deployed in both regions. Today, Georgia and the West regard Abkhazia and South Ossetia as Russia-occupied regions, while Russia recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, with a military presence in both regions.