A Young Generation Holds the Line: Georgia’s Future Academy and the Fight Against Growing Autocracy

In the Republic of Georgia, the struggle for liberal democracy has entered a perilous chapter. For more than a decade, the ruling Georgian Dream party—controlled by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch with deep ties to Russia—has tightened its grip on the country’s institutions. As Ivanishvili’s influence has grown, so too has the government’s willingness to deploy force, coercion, and propaganda to entrench its rule.

This shift has placed extraordinary pressure on Georgia’s civil society. What began as political maneuvering by the regime has hardened into a systematic campaign of repression: violent crackdowns on mass demonstrations, legal harassment of NGOs, and disinformation campaigns portraying civic actors as enemies of the state. Independent organizations that once served as vital watchdogs now find themselves navigating a landscape where dissent is punished, truth is manipulated, and young people fear for the country’s democratic future.

Yet amid this darkening trajectory, a bright force stands out: Georgia’s Future Academy (GFA)—an Atlas Network partner organization and the winner of the 2025 Templeton Freedom Award—and the thousands of young people it has equipped to peacefully defend Georgia’s fragile freedom.

An Authoritarian Turn—Met With Courage

The gravity of Georgia’s democratic crisis became unmistakable in 2023 and 2024 as unprecedented crowds—many of them students—flooded the streets of Tbilisi to resist the government’s authoritarian drift. These were not isolated protests but massive civic uprisings fueled by patriotic determination and led in part by networks built through GFA.

The state responded with escalating brutality. Peaceful demonstrators were met with tear gas, water cannons, physical assaults, and organized violence carried out by mobs linked to the police. Even elected opposition figures and student leaders faced targeted beatings. The intent was unmistakable: break public resistance through fear.

At the same time, Georgian Dream intensified its multi-pronged offensive against civil society. Authorities weaponized courts to demand sensitive personal data from NGOs—including minors—under threat of severe penalties, including prison sentences and asset seizures. GFA was directly targeted with such demands in 2025, a chilling escalation designed to intimidate both staff and participants.

Parallel to legal harassment, the government launched a sweeping disinformation campaign. State-aligned media portrayed independent civic groups as traitors, foreign puppets, or destabilizing extremists. GFA’s leaders were singled out for propaganda attacks, reputational smears, and even physical aggression against individuals associated with the organization.

Despite this hostile climate, Georgia’s Future Academy did not retreat. Instead, it expanded its mission.

Training a Generation That Refuses to Be Intimidated

Georgia’s Future Academy has become the country’s most effective engine of democratic resilience by investing in the one resource authoritarian actors cannot easily control: informed and empowered young citizens.

Through its flagship programs—including the #IDEBATE initiative, the Franklin Academy, and other civic education platforms—GFA has built Georgia’s largest pro-liberty youth network. More than 5,000 alumni have passed through its programs, many of whom now lead civil society efforts, organize demonstrations, document abuses, and engage their communities.

These programs do more than teach theory. They develop practical democratic skills: evaluating evidence, understanding rights, countering propaganda, analyzing budgets, fact-checking information, and conducting local civic projects. In a country where disinformation and state pressure are pervasive, such skills are not academic—they are essential safeguards of democratic culture.

GFA also uses digital engagement to cut through misinformation. Its #MartisIdebi video series, which turns complex civic concepts into accessible content, has reached over 10 million viewers, helping counter state narratives with clear, principled messages about freedom and accountability.

Defending Elections When Institutions Fail

Perhaps the clearest measure of GFA’s impact emerged during the fraught 2024 parliamentary elections. With trust in institutions collapsing, GFA mobilized more than 2,000 trained election observers in its “My Vote” mission—creating one of the country’s most credible forces for electoral oversight.

As GFA founder Alexander Zibzibadze notes, the struggle underway is not simply political but existential. “For us, it’s a fight for our identity,” he said. “And our identity is based on ideas of liberty… that is what we’re protecting.”

The government’s campaign of intimidation has made this work dangerous. But instead of bending, GFA has grown more adaptive—developing secure communication systems, operational resilience strategies, and decentralized leadership structures that allow it to continue functioning even under severe pressure.

“The situation in Georgia is very challenging right now,” said Executive Director Mari Kapanadze upon accepting the 2025 Templeton Freedom Award. “But despite this, we have a strength and motivation which is empowered by two forces. First, the courageous Georgian people, and especially the young generation. And second, our Ukrainian friends who are at the front line of defending liberty, not only for their homeland, but for all of us.”

A Generation That Will Not Give Up

Georgia stands at a crossroads. The regime’s repression threatens to extinguish decades of democratic progress, yet the determination of its young people—educated, mobilized, and connected through organizations such as Georgia’s Future Academy—shows that the country’s democratic spirit is far from defeated.

By training thousands of students, documenting government-perpetrated abuses, and building a civic culture grounded in classical liberal principles, GFA is doing more than resisting authoritarianism. It is preparing a generation capable of reclaiming Georgia’s democratic future when the moment comes.