Georgia Today Education #29 February 2020

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• FEBRUARY 2020

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In this issue... «francophonie» ou «Francophonie»?

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Carrefour Joins Ministry of Agriculture’s Initiative to Care for Endangered Brown Bears PAGE 3

American Diploma as an Easy Perspective PAGE 4

UNICEF on Georgia’s Child Poverty Data PAGE 5

FOCUS

ON TEAM WORK

You can do anything if you work as a team- clean up the environment, change people’s ideas, protect wildlife, help the poor, and create art. Find out how inside!

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Looking forward to the Challenge: We Interview the CEO of Euronews PAGE 10

Dreaming Big to Paint the World INTERVIEW BY NINI DAKHUNDARIDZE

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n February 15, an international concert organized by an organization called “Paint the World” took place in Kuching, Malaysia. If you’re wondering why it should be an interesting topic for GEORGIA TODAY, here’s the twist: the founder of the Paint the World organization, and one of the main organizers of the international concert, is Lika Torikashvili, Georgia’s Youth Ambassador to the United Nations.

“Paint the World - Gauperade Sam-

karo - was originally established in 2012,” Lika tells us. “I was 14, and I wanted to find a way to contribute to society. I noticed that some people live grey or black and white lives, because they are suffering or going through difficult times and need support. I associate colors with happiness, so I united my friends and we started going to orphanages, hospitals, centers for young people with disabilities, old folks’ houses. We ‘painted their world’ by using all the skills and resources we had: made them dance, sing, organized carnivals and concerts, performed plays and held magic shows, asked famous TV stars to join us and visit the kids with us. And every time, we had tons of colorful

objects with us- balloons, facepaints, toys, and presents: we wanted our visits to be very colorful, metaphorically and literally. Soon, the Movement went international and now we have many supporters and various branches around the world.

“It was our 4th annual concert in Malaysia this year. We invited guests that could help the kids feel happy.

There were 300 children from orphanages, centers for the deaf and blind, centers for children with autism, and centers for children with disabilities.

We also had 400+ youth volunteers from all over Malaysia, helping to us to bring it all together.

“We made everyone dance and sing all day. We shared knowledge about

sustainability, wildlife preservation, women’s right to education, youth leadership and entrepreneurship. We had guest speakers at the event- Young Peace activists and Malala Yousafzai’s friends Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan.

“This year, the concert was supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Sarawak, Borneo, and we hosted the Minister of Youth, Datuk Karim, who is now a very good friend of Paint the World. It means a lot to us that now we have the official support of the Government of Malaysia”.

“The story of Paint the World is a real life example that you must dare to dream big- because dreams turn into goals and goals turn into reality.”

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EDUCATION

GEORGIA TODAY

FEBRUARY 2020

«francophonie» ou «Francophonie»? forcer, d’élargir son champ d’actions et de s’étendre à de nouveaux pays.

En 2005, l’ACCT prend son nom actuel, l’OIF. Cette organisation compte aujourd’hui 54 membres, 7 membres associés et 27 pays observateurs.

«francophonie» est un terme employé pour la première fois par le géographe Onésime Reclus en 1880 pour désigner les espaces géographiques où la langue française est parlée. L’adjectif «francophone», quant à lui, est utilisé de nos jours pour désigner les locuteurs natifs ou non, en langue française.

La Francophonie, en revanche, renvoie à une construction culturelle, éducative et politique qui s’organise autour d’une institution intergouvernementale appelée l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) dont le cœur est la langue française.

QUELQUES DONNÉES SUR LA LANGUE FRANÇAISE Pour comprendre la force et le potentiel de la francophonie, il convient de rappeler quelques données.

La francophonie, ce sont 300 millions de locuteurs sur le globe, répartis sur tous les continents, c’est-à-dire la cinquième communauté linguistique mondiale. Ensuite, c’est une langue attrayante et dynamique, le français, appris par 132 millions de personnes. Enfin, c’est la quatrième langue utilisée sur Internet.

BREF RETOUR SUR LA CONSTRUCTION DE L’OIF La Francophonie prend appui sur l’usage d’une langue commune, sur une volonté d’échanger et de s’enrichir mutuellement au sein d’un espace linguistique partagé.

Cette idée naît d’abord dans l’esprit des écrivains francophones dans les années 1920 avec la création d’une association, «l’Association des écrivains de langue française» (Adelf). Les journalistes prennent à leur tour part à la construction de cet espace interculturel francophone en créant dans les années 50 «l’Union internationale des journalistes et de la presse de langue française».

Le 20 mars 1970, avec la signature de Niamey, soutenue par des figures emblématiques de la Francophonie comme Léopold Sédar Senghor, Habib Bourguiba, Hamani Diori ou encore le Prince Norodom Sihanouk, l’Agence de coopération culturelle et technique (ACCT) est créée. 21 Etats et gouvernements inscrivent ainsi leur désir de mettre à profit la langue française pour créer des liens entre les peuples et développer la solidarité entre eux.

Cette organisation n’aura de cesse d’évoluer au fil du temps, de se ren-

alloués à la formation et au perfectionnement dans la maitrise du français, des jeux ou concours sont proposés aux apprenants. Sur le plan politique, l’OIF met à disposition son expertise pour soutenir la démocratie et accompagner les proQUELLES VALEURS cessus électoraux. Les dispositifs de DÉFEND L’OIF? QUELLES mobilité à des fins professionnelles SONT SES MISSIONS? ou formatives, la possibilité d’obtenir Les valeurs fondamentales de l’OIF des bourses ou des stages au sein sont énoncées dans sa devise «Egal- des pays membres sont aussi des ité, complémentarité, solidarité». outils du renforcement des liens qui En effet, cette organisation veille unissent les Etats membres de l’OIF. à ce que chacun de ses membres soit entendu et respecté dans la EN GÉORGIE COMME prise de décision et la mise en œuvre AILLEURS, EN MARS, des projets. De plus, elle se base sur NOUS CÉLÉBRONS LA l’idée que la diversité culturelle des FRANCOPHONIE ! pays membres est une richesse pour Chaque année au mois de mars, les l’ensemble du groupe, qu’elle favorise acteurs de la francophonie à travl’émergence de projets d’avenir et ers le monde (étudiants, enseignants, le développement de tous grâce à institutions) célèbrent le mois de la coopération et à l’entraide.

Sesmissionsprincipaless’organisent la Francophonie avec comme point d’orgue le 20 mars qui en est la autour de quatre axes majeurs: • La mise en valeur de la langue Journée internationale! Ce mois est française, participation à son ray- l’occasion de mettre à l’honneur le onnement et promotion de la diver- français dans toute sa diversité d’expression, les cultures francosité culturelle et linguistique • La promotion de la paix et des phones et les valeurs chères à l’OIF. En Géorgie, de nombreux évèneDroits de l’Homme • Le développement de la forma- ments destinés aux petits et aux tion, de la recherche et de grands auront lieu à travers le pays : rencontres littéraires, lecture de l’enseignement supérieur • Le développement économique contes, concours, spectacles musidans le respect de l’environnement c a u x , p r o j e c t i o n s c i n é m a Pour ce faire, de nombreux projets tographiques. Un beau programme sont mis en place. Dans le cadre à découvrir, alors nous vous attenéducatif, des moyens financiers sont dons nombreux!

Mots clés le globe - დედამიწა attrayant - მიმზიდველი s’enrichir - გამდიდრება emblématique - სიმბოლური le rayonnement - გავრცელება allouer - გამოყოფა (ფინანსების) une bourse - სტიპენდია un stage - სტაჟირება, ტრენინგი

Matière à réflexion  Et vous, comment avez-vous appris le français?  Avez-vous déjà voyagé dans un pays francophone?  Voulez-vous participer à la célébration de la Francophonie?

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GEORGIA TODAY FEBRUARY 2020

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Carrefour Joins Ministry of Agriculture’s Initiative to Care for Endangered Brown Bears

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oday, protection of animal rights is a global issue, seeing nations worldwide adopting conventions and laws to safeguard those rights. Legislation and standards have developed and the focus on animal welfare in society has increased; however, there are still countries that need to do much more, including Georgia.

There are many plant and animal species included on the National Red List of Georgia, and our country is at high risk of losing them due to inappropriate behavior from the public and serious conditions surrounding them.

One of the obvious examples of the need to care more about wild nature is the case of Georgia’s Brown Bears, rare and unique animals which also have a place on the Red List of Threatened Species.

Countrywide, Brown Bears are at risk of dying out due to hunting, although hunting this species of bear is prohibited by law and can be punished by a fine, correctional work for two years, or by up to three years in prison plus three years without permission to work.

But despite the punishment, Brown Bears are still hunted, killed and captured for people’s entertainment.

Some bears have been held in captivity for years to entertain guests at petrol stations, restaurants, hotels,

monasteries, circuses and in private houses throughout the country.

This summer, the Georgian Society for the Protection and Safety of Animals (GSPSA) reported the disappearance of Brown Bear cubs, which were seen outside a restaurant in the village of Variani near Gori. An eyewitness heard the bears crying inside a small, dark building, recorded the scene on their phone, and sent the video to the GSPSA. When the restaurant owners found out, they hid the bears. Luckily, the cubs were soon found alive and given to the Head of the Zoological Center for rehabilitation. Sadly, this is not they only time animals have become victims to cruel humans, kept in too-small cages in cold, dark

and lonely conditions: there are many such cases still hidden from the public.

In 2010, to solve the problem of bears in captivity, the Brown Bear Shelter was established by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection. Once rescued, the bears are rehabilitated by the Shelter so they can go back into the wild.

The Shelter is near Tbilisi, in Tskhvarichamia (Sabaduri Forest), on land bought by the founder, Soso Jikurishvili. The Shelter is funded by him and through public donations.

To contribute to the protection of animal rights in the country, Carrefour, one of the largest hypermar-

ket and supermarket chains in the world, represented in Georgia by Majid Al Futtaim since 2012, decided to join the campaign initiated by the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture, which aims to get food for its Brown Bears with the help of the private sector.

On March 4, a Memorandum of Collaboration will be signed between the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia and Carrefour, so they can work together to improve living conditions for these endangered animals.

Carrefour implements a lot of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects, helping to improve living conditions for people in need and caring for the environment, but this is its first time it has decided to change the lives of animals for the better.

Although the Memorandum hasn’t been signed yet, Carrefour employees are already helping the Brown Bears- by providing the food and often visiting the Shelter in Tskhvarichamia.

The list of products the bears need to eat is sent to Carrefour by the Shelter representatives, which Carrefour delivers twice a week. Each bear is then fed, meaning they are getting healthier and stronger.

Carrefour plans to take care of two bear cubs that were recently born in the Shelter and ensure their rehabilitation.

There are 15 bears at the Shelter now, all rescued from very bad conditions that they suffered for years.

They don’t know how to live in the wild, and so they live in the Shelter for their own safety.

It isn’t cheap to keep them there and the Shelter can’t survive without the help of the private sector.

Thanks to Carrefour, the shelter is now fully provided with food by the Carrefour chain stores.

The involvement of each citizen can significantly improve living conditions for these unique animals, so any kind steps and actions taken by companies and individuals will be welcomed and highly appreciated.

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EDUCATION

GEORGIA TODAY

FEBRUARY 2020

American Diploma as an Easy Perspective

BY MARIAM MERABISHVILI

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he Georgian-American School ‘Progress’ has set a new standard for modern education in Georgia. In its 18-year history, branches have been opened in Kutaisi, Tbilisi and Batumi, where hundreds of youth with the same values come together and make progress the real buzzword.

The Progress team has added to its Batumi branch by opening the ‘American Academy’. The small seaside town is now a place that offers a great educational opportunity; where getting a US diploma has become a real prospect.

After the Tbilisi and Kutaisi branches, with the opening of the

American International Academy ‘Progress’ in Batumi, the AP (Advanced Placement) program and curricula for senior pupils (IX, X, XI, XII grades) was introduced. The program prepares students for admission to accredited universities in Georgia and abroad, helping them accumulate university material, credits, to then be enrolled in higher education institutions worldwide.

Most importantly, it is possible to receive a dream education, and for excellent students in academy to get co-funding or scholarships at American colleges and universities. As with formal education, participation in various educational camps or international projects is a source of informal education and is a prerogative of ‘Progress’; as is working enthusiastically to earn the skills needed for successful study abroad, critical think-

ing, time management, etc.

And language will be no barrier, as young people in the Academy prepare for English language tests such as SAT, SAT-subjects, AP-subjects, TOEFL, and IELTS. As the school’s founder, Nino Chikvashvili, says, educating progressive youth is a constant challenge for the branches in all three cities.

“Our goal is to educate progressive youth. Now, with the establishment of the Academy, like the children of Tbilisi and Kutaisi, we also want to give large-scale opportunities to the children of Batumi to receive a high quality modern education without needing to leave the city.

“Students in any public or private school can complete part-time modules in full or in part after class,” says the Director General of the

Academy.

The American Academy is accredited by American accrediting agency AdvancED, the highest Board of Colleges, and enables the Academy to issue a worldwide recognized American diploma.

‘Progress’ as a progressive space, whose successful results can already be seen in the work and achievements of its students.

The American High School International College-Progress Tbilisi branch will host an open day for visitors on February 28, at 2 PM. One of the themes of the presentation will be news of the Batumi opening, another a pre-school planned for September, as well as the achievements of the last year and future plans that will be introduced to the audience by school team members.

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GEORGIA TODAY FEBRUARY 2020

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UNICEF on Georgia’s Child Poverty Data What’s That?

Info Box HOW CAN WE HELP STOP CHILD POVERTY? HERE ARE FIVE IDEAS: 1. Increase Household Income More money means more education, and more chance for children to escape poverty, so helping mothers to work in quality jobs, offering childcare while she is working, and offering free school meals, could all help.

2. Support Parental Relationships Happy homes help children grow up healthy. Mothers and fathers should have support to talk about their problems, and father’s should be able to spend more time with their children.

3. Develop Kindergartens and Schools A good education can help to make happy, educated and healthy children. The money the government gives should support sustainable programs for all children in the country. Teachers should be trained to understand children and their problems, not only to teach them in the classroom.

4. Post-16 Learning Give children better access to higher and vocational education by pushing universities and businesses to better support the development of the labor market.

5. Leadership and Commitment There needs to be strong leadership and commitment, not just in government but across the whole public, private and third sectors, and all need to listen, really listen, to the views of people living in poverty.

Adapted from: bevanfoundation.org

extreme – serious, very bad poverty – without enough food/money to live well welfare – health/happiness/safety monitoring – watching policy-makers – the politicians, the people who can change the laws assistance – help urgent – emergency, quick, very important vulnerable – weak, most likely to suffer benefits – money to help

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he latest data on the problem of extreme child poverty in Georgia dates back to 2017 and is based on the UNICEF population Welfare Monitoring Study (WMS), conducted several times between 2009 and 2017 in Georgia.

“The survey is used to measure big socio-economic issues: education and healthcare, child welfare, social protection, etc.

The recommendations based on the study findings help policy-makers to introduce changes to make social protection, health and education systems stronger and better,” reads the UNICEF statement of 2009.

According to WMS, extreme child poverty rates in 2009-2017 in Georgia were: 11.5% in 2009; 9.4% in 2011; 6% in 2013; 2.5% in 2015; and 6.8% in 2017.

Extreme poverty means that Georgian kids have to live with only 3 GEL a day.

According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia, in 2018, 20.1% of the Georgian population lived below the poverty line. Of these, 25.5% were aged 0 to 17.

The 2017 report by the Public Defender talks about the ‘Emergency Assistance Program for Families with Children in Crisis,’ which has 928 families on its list. The Public Defender says that although this program is designed to meet the urgent needs of families quickly, joining the program can take a long time- months or even years.

The 2018 report by the Public Defender said that child poverty in the country had not changed and that children living and working in the streets were in the most vulnerable situation.

“In 2009, in response to increased child poverty rates, the Georgian Government introduced a five-fold increase in child cash benefits. Currently, UNICEF is supporting the government in carrying out an indepth evaluation of the Targeted Social Assistance and Child Benefits program. The results of the evaluation will be available by the end of 2020,” UNICEF says.

Food for Thought

Source: Thinkstock

 Talk about the ideas in the info box. Can you think of any others?  Imagine you only have 3 GEL per day for one week.

What would you buy each day?

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FEBRUARY 2020

Georgians’ Contribution to Integrating the Georgian Language into Microsoft Programs

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efore 2015, the majority of the Georgian population used the Latin alphabet while texting. Considering that probably half of the world population uses the Latin alphabet when writing, this may not seem strange.

But it really is, as Georgia has its own alphabet, created back in the 10th century, and is something the Georgian nation is proud of.

TBC, one of the leading banks in Georgia, wanted to challenge Georgians to use the Georgian alphabet while texting, and started a campaign named #writeingeorgian, which resulted in increased use of Georgian Unicode in the digital world (by 68%), the hashtag #writeingeorgian (#წერექართულად) was used over 300,000 times,

and that’s not all.

Contributors to the campaign digitalized up to 30 fonts and GeorgianEnglish dictionaries. And now, if you use the Latin alphabet for a Georgian text, boy, you’re in trouble and people will probably Latinalphabet-shame you, and yes, TBC is the one to “blame”.

Following the #writeinGeorgian campaign, TBC has taken up a new challenge: to integrate the Georgian language into Windows OS. While the process of integration seemed quite intimidating at the beginning, with the help of the Georgian population, 100,000 Georgian sentences translated into English have already been submitted to Microsoft. As part of the project ‘Kartulad’ (“In Georgian”). The project aims to integrate the Georgian

language across Microsoft’s various software. To be able to do so, Microsoft’s AI system has to learn the language first using those 100,000 sentences.

TBC has created a dedicated platform to facilitate and speed up the translation process, www.kartulad. ge, and any citizen can participate voluntarily in the translation process. We are glad that citizens of Georgia, especially students and teachers, were so enthusiastic about the ‘Kartulad’ project. Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, the leading and the oldest university in Georgia, donated 50,000 alreadytranslated sentences. Microsoft’s office in Georgia, innovative technology laboratory ‘GEOLAB’, and the electronic book house ‘SABA’ have also participated in the project.

Sentences translated to English will be loaded into the learning systems developed by Microsoft as the translation system is mostly data based. After the system analyzes the information, we get a program that is almost fully aware of the Georgian language, and its explicit linguistic systems. The translation machine will be able to translate from English to Georgian and vice versa.

Successful implementation of the project enables numerous Microsoft programs to use GeorgianEnglish translation programs. Also, web developers and programmers who create programs for Windows will be able to use an automated translation program.

The first stage of the project is already completed, and now we’re looking forward to commencing the next steps, aka integrating the Georgian language into Windows OS. TBC Bank, has a big role in promoting the Georgian language and culture. “We are pleased that with Microsoft’s support, translation to and from the Georgian language will come handy for everyone using Microsoft programs. We wanted to involve Georgian citizens in this project as the outcome is first and foremost beneficial for them; every Georgian speaker will be able to participate in the adaptation of the Georgian language to computer programs.”

Source: news.microsoft.com

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Winners of Media Competition ‘Journalists for CSR 2019’ Awarded What’s That? awarded – gave prizes to CSR – a way of doing business that also helps society and/ or the environment submissions – applications (the stories different journalists sent in for the competition) prominent – important challenges – difficulties achievements – good things that they have done accurate – correct, no mistakes raise awareness – increase people’s knowledge

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n February 18, the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) awarded the winners of media competition ‘Journalists for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 2019’. The competition was held as part of the ‘Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative’ funded by the European Union and co-funded by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The award ceremony was held at Writer’s House in Tbilisi.

Five journalists were awarded for their works on CSR topics in the following categories: 1. Best TV report: Manana Gigineishvili, First Channel - http://bit.

ly/3229cJM 2. Best Radio coverage: – Nino Khugashvili, Radio Imedi - http:// bit.ly/2vHv2pU 3. Best Online/printed article: Katie Ruth Davies, Georgia Today - http:// bit.ly/2P3OBiY 4. Best Multimedia, video material: Nino Vartapetiani, TV Borjomi http://bit.ly/328B9Qb 5. Best blog: Marika Mchedlidze, Forbes Georgia - http:// bit. ly/326wTAB The competition was opened in 2019, and submissions were evaluated by an independent jury of prominent journalists and CSR experts. 36 materials were submitted by 33 journalists across Georgia.

Winners won 1,500 GEL each. The

Info Box The Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia, established in 1995, has multi-year experience in the field of civil sector development in Tbilisi and the regions of Georgia. CSRDG focuses on results that can improve the lives of people and society. It was the first Georgian organization that prepared and published: a sustainability report in accordance with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines; the first Georgian-language textbook on CSR for higher education institutions; and did comprehensive analytical research on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and the Public Sector’s Role’ (analysis and recommendations for the Government of Georgia).

partner company of the award, Japan Tobacco International (JTI), chose two journalists, Shorena Labadze (Kviris Palitra) and Vakhtang Daraselia (Fortuna), to attend the European Publishing Congress in May 2020 in Vienna, an event that media professionals from all over the world go to, to talk about challenges and achievements in media.

During the award ceremony, Eka Urushadze, Executive Director of the CSRDG, told the guests: “The role of media is very important in the process of telling people about CSR and helping them to understand it.”

Dominika Skubida, Attaché, Program Manager for the Civil Society of European Delegation to Georgia stated: “When media write about and make programs about Corporate Social Responsibility, they help develop human rights, labor and environmental standards in businesses, and help companies to better meet clients’ needs and support

socio-economic development.”

‘Journalists for Corporate Social Responsibility’ aims to promote active and accurate media coverage of CSR and to raise awareness and understanding of the CSR concept. Before the competition, there were some training and consultation meetings with journalists from all over Georgia.

Since January 2017, a consortium led by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, in partnership with Georgian civil society organizations: Center for Strategic Research and Development (CSRDG), Civil Society Institute (CSI), Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC) and Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC), has been implementing the Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative (CSSIGE) in order to address key challenges of the Georgian civil society sector.

The project is funded by the European Union and co-funded by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

Food for Thought  Recycling, charity work with elderly/poor/children/ animals, making employees happy, cleaning the park/ woods/streets, using fewer cars, raising money, planting trees, using less paper/water/electricity – these and more are done by different companies as part of CSR. But they must happen often, not once. What could your school/ City Hall/local business do often to help society and the environment?

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GEORGIA TODAY

FEBRUARY 2020

National Library Opens Small Libraries in Akhalkalaki Schools Info Box

What’s That? deprived – poor, not having much gained – got, won sustainment – long-life, continuation advancement – development, moving forwards pioneered – started, invented

BY ELENE DZEBISASHVILI

T Giorgi Kekelidze was born April 10, 1984 and is a Georgian poet, essayist and the founder of the first Georgian digital library lib.ge. Born in Ozurgeti, Kekelidze graduated from the Department of Philology at Tbilisi State University with a master’s degree in Humanitarian Sciences. From 2006 to 2008, he worked at Rustavi prison as a Georgian Language and Literature teacher.

He started writing for Tabula in 2010 as a literary columnist and delivered lectures on Classical Literature at the Free University of Tbilisi. In 2012, he founded charitable organizations ‘Lib-Equilibrium’ and ‘Lib-Club’, which unite students and have social and educational functions.

In the same year, he became an author and host of the TV show ‘Litarea’. He was awarded the literary prize “golden wing” for this program.

In 2012, he was appointed as Director of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. At the age of 27, he was the youngest head of the National Library of Georgia of all time.

Food for Thought  These days, reading books is not as popular as using computers/phones. Why? Is that good or bad?  Does your school/town have a library? Think about the positives and negatives of libraries and what we can do to make more people read books again.

he educational mission started by the National Library of Georgia to set up small libraries in the schools of deprived Georgian towns and villages continues its mission in Akhalkalaki.

“The great educational movement continues in Akhalkalaki, which has welcomed us with real Javakheti weather: minus 20 degrees, snow and wind. We visited 12 villages, and we set up small libraries in three schools in Burnasheti and Baraleti (Georgian and Armenian)” - reads the Facebook post of General Director of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia, Giorgi Kekelidze.

Following his appointment as Director in 2012, Kekelidze has gained respect as the initiator of many reforms directed at the

library’s sustainment and advancement. Georgian libraries have been opened in Istanbul, Kiev, and Vienna.

He also created a library based on e-learning, uniting several regional libraries. As a result of Kekelidze’s activities in 2012, the National Library was awarded the title of ‘Tolerance of the Year.’

In 2017, on Kekelidze’s initiative, the biggest Book Museum in Georgia was opened to provide a space for educational meetings and seminars.

In 2020, some of the most important advancements pioneered by Kekelidze include the opening of a Georgian Library at the University of Qatar; the opening of The Folklore Hall in Building 2 of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia to support and promote the Georgian chant tradition and other forms of Georgian folklore; and collaboration with the France’s Bibiliotèque Mazarine.

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Meet the British Vampire Author Living in Georgia

biggest shock was living with my parents-in-law when I first came (I left home when I was 18) and how orn in the UK, Katie much people ate and drank at Ruth Davies has lived “supras”. But it was the nature and and taught in Spain, potential that really inspired me! the UK and New Zealand, before finding her DO YOU SPEAK heart and home in Georgia. She’s GEORGIAN? the Editor-in-Chief of Georgia’s I’m sorry to say that I don’t speak leading English language newspa- it perfectly- the grammar is quite per and the Literary Program Man- difficult. But I have a teacher and ager at the International Vampire I’m trying to improve. I understand Film & Arts Festival in Transylvania. a lot more than I speak.

She also has three kids who speak My children, Lily, Dali and Tornike, better Georgian than she does and speak Georgian and English perwhen she’s not playing with them, fectly- they go to a Georgian school she’s writing books about vampires and have Georgian friends. They and demons. It’s an unusual life, are more Georgian than English, I and we spoke to her to find out think! more.

BY TAMZIN WHITEWOOD

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HOW DID YOU END UP IN GEORGIA? I was an English teacher in the UK and I fell in love with a Georgian man. I hadn’t heard of Georgia before I met him, so it was very exciting to come here.

WAS GEORGIA A SURPRISE? Well, I immediately saw it wasn’t as “developed” as the UK, but I liked that, and I still like it. It’s nice to see a country changing and learning how to be better and stronger, even when times are difficult. The

TELL US ABOUT YOUR VAMPIRES AND DEMONS. One morning in January 2005, I woke up with the memory of a dream and the pull to write it down: me, sitting in bed in my childhood room at night with the window open. I could see a boy- a vampire - sitting at the window, watching me. I wrote it down, named him Elias and started to imagine the conversation we had and what happened next. I wrote for hours every day and after six months, I had two books and in the next 10 years, I wrote three more.

It’s about a teenage girl called Dea who has special blood that the vam-

pires need to take over the world, to save it from the damage the humans are doing to the environment. It is fantasy, but it happens in OUR world, now, and it makes readers question what is good and bad, and it’s full of action, romance, adventure, mystery and a few fighting scenes- great fun! In English it’s called The Blood Omen Saga and people can buy it on amazon. I have an agent in the USA and I hope this year or next my book will be published in America, maybe even made into a film or TV series (which my fans tell me “must” happen)! In 2014, the first book was translated into Georgian, called ‘Vampiruli Omebi’ and the other four books came out after- one every Halloween, with covers that my Georgian fans designed. People can buy the books in bookstores or online at saba.com. ge. I have Georgian fans and visit them in their schools and libraries around Georgia to give book presentations. It is an amazing feeling to see your own book on the shelves in bookstores, and then to hear how other people also love (or hate) your characters and want you to write more!

tasy book for my fans that happens in Georgia, because what they read now is translated from other countries. ‘Dark Wings: Angel’ was the first modern urban fantasy book for teenagers set in Georgia. The characters are Georgian and the scenes happen in Tbilisi, Borjomi, Ureki and other places around the country. It was also a lot of fun to writeand I am finishing the second book now, ‘Dark Wings: Demon.’ At the moment, it is only available in English, on amazon, but maybe one day it will be translated into Georgian too!

WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT WRITING? Well, I don’t have so much free time but…ok, I’m vegan, which means I don’t eat or use animal products, and that I support animal rights (which is funny because I write about vampires and blood!). I also support projects that clean the environment and make our world a better and cleaner place to live in. And I read lots of books and watch lots of films! It’s a busy, happy life!

Find out more about Katie and her SO WHEN YOU FINISHED books on KatieRuthDavies.blogspot.

THE VAMPIRE SAGA, YOU com and on facebook (‘Katie Ruth STARTED WITH DEMONS? Davies- author page’ and ‘Blood Yes. I wanted to write an urban fan- Omen’)

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GEORGIA TODAY

FEBRUARY 2020

Looking forward to the Challenge: We Interview the CEO of Euronews What’s That?

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

BY BEKA ALEXISHVILI

E

uronews is opening its third franchise here in Georgia this summer.

Before Georgia, Euronews opened franchises in Serbia and Albania.

GEORGIA TODAY met Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews, who is from France. In September 2019, he and Giorgi Ramishvili, the Chairman of Silknet’s Supervisory Board, signed a partnership agreement between Euronews and Silknet to officially launch the European organization here in Tbilisi: Euronews Georgia.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR HEAD OF NEWS AT EURONEWS GEORGIA, AND ABOUT YOUR FUTURE PLANS HERE.

tioned. I want Euronews to be unbiased, and we had to find a person who shared this value 100%, which is Vasilis Bitsis. He operated and set up Euronews in Greece, so he is very skilled and knows Euronews by heart.

One of his missions is to identify, recruit and train someone Georgian who will, in 6, 9 or 12 months, be our new Editor-in-Chief.

franchise – a local office with the name and quality of the main brand (like McDonald’s Georgia) positioned/biased – here, it means supporting a particular political party over others recruit – employ, hire, take a new person into the company adapt – change it to make it more comfortable for perspective – view, vision, understanding vice-versa – the opposite engaging – interesting show off – dramatic, exaggerated

GEORGIA IS A PRO-EUROPEAN COUNTRY. WHAT WILL EURONEWS DO TO SUPPORT EUROPEAN INTEGRATION? I strongly believe the role of the media is not to lead any cause; but to empower people; to help them to make their own opinions, and to give them all news, all views. We don’t come here to teach people about Europe, but we will use a lot of material from Europe and adapt it to the Georgian audience. We will not only take content and translate it into Georgian; we will give Georgia a much better idea what Europe and European culture are, in a balanced and quieter way.

Everything is going well with our partners and we have chosen where to have our headquarters.

Head of News will be Vasilis Bitsis, a Greek journalist and the director of Euronews Greek Service.

When we launched the project, we received hundreds of applications. GEORGIA WILL BE THE In Georgia, TV media is very posi- ONLY COUNTRY IN

Food for Thought  Do you think Georgian media is biased? Think of some examples.  Do you believe everything you see on the news? Do others in your family/town? Why is that bad? How can we change it?

THE REGION TO HAVE A EURONEWS OFFICE. WHY GEORGIA? The geopolitical situation in Georgia makes it very interesting and sensitive for us, and challenging.

We also found the right partner in Silknet, so we are happy with our choice.

HOW WILL EURONEWS GEORGIA MIX GLOBAL AND LOCAL NEWS? There will be a lot of content made

by Euronews that will be adapted to the market, and the local office here will have total freedom to take whatever they want. It will be for the people here, with their Georgian perspective, to ‘echo’ the news from Europe to Georgia and viceversa. The local content that we produce will come from an international perspective and will always be factual and meet the editorial values of our network. Of course, when there is a big issue in Georgia, we will talk about it. We will bring

Europe to Georgia and take Georgia to Europe.

When something very important happens here, we will use it for Euronews World. Georgian journalists will cover the events, and reporters from Germany, France and other EU countries will cover it in different languages, engaging the European audience in the internal political or cultural affairs of Georgia.

THE ARRIVAL OF EUROENEWS IN GEORGIA IS EXPECTED TO HAVE A VERY POSITIVE EFFECT ON THE MEDIA SYSTEM HERE. It’s not easy, but our approach is more an intellectual one, and less of a ‘show off’. To make things quiet, although as humans we like ‘spicy’ things, our main mission is to get viewers open-minded and to try to give both sides of the story.

Many people are stuck in a bubble of opinion, and to get them out of this biased living is not easy and is quite a challenge.

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GEORGIA TODAY

FEBRUARY 2020

Gamarjoba! I’m the Editor-inChief of the Georgian edition of Entrepreneur magazine and I’m here to share the top Entrepreneurial news with you:

Emocia is a brand that offers beautiful accessories made from natural stone, wood and leather for women, men and children. Founder Tamar Abuladze recalls that when she decided to start up her own business, she spent nights making accessories. Emocia has been online for five months now, but because of the increasing demand and Tamar’s wish to develop her business, the team behind Emocia is planning to go beyond the online platform.

Goalchecker is a Georgian journal, made to help you formulate your small and big goals, and turn them into reality. With the mind-set that "a goal is a dream with a deadline," Goalchecker was created a few years ago, when the team behind it started actively working in the field of coaching and mentoring. "We often came across similar planners but they were never perfect. So we decided to create an improved version ourselves. Goalchecker's main concept is that, by using it, we can easily HOUSER is a legal expertise center turn our dreams into goals," say the founders of the start-up. offering consulting services to those looking to become property owners.

Despite the ever-changing The founder of the company is Tazo tendencies, leather and Chakhunashvili. Clients tell the accessories made from it are company’s qualified personnel which always in style. Georgian property they are interested in and brand bestMark has been an active investigation is begun into responding to the internathe background of the building, its tional trends for years, safety architecturally and its legal creating handmade chic status. Alerting clients to any risks, accessories from natural and giving out recommendations leather. “Made in Georgia, and advice, is what HOUSER is and always will be” is the phrase that presents the major principle of there for. the brand.

Women in Wine Expo (WIWE) works to unite winemaking women worldwide, aiming to break through the gender stereotypes in the industry. Women from different continents will meet at Lopota Lake in May to help create a future in which gender difference won’t play a role in the winemaking industry. Many more will join via the web.

In Georgia, the biggest speaker will be Karen MacNeil, author of the book “The Wine Bible.” WIWE is the first initiative of its kind in Europe, with participants from the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon, South Africa, Nigeria, and Georgia.

Bushet is a Georgian brand founded by Irakli Ghoghoberidze near the end of 2017. The brand’s service is exclusive: customers can customize the wine label on Bushet wines of limited bottling. As of February 1, Bushet offers wine bottles in not only the standard 0,75 litres, but 1,5 and 3 liters too.

Rio Beauty Box offers eye-catching colorful boxes combining a variety of sets, from decorative cosmetics and self-care products to advent calendars. Founder Ani Danelia has always wanted to offer consumers beauty boxes at reasonable prices, and do all this under the name of a Georgian brand with refined taste.

Ani is working hard to minimize the supply costs so that Rio Beauty boxes can reach everyone.

Liza Eliava and Salome Dumbadze founded Collier a year ago. They offer scarfs with prints of Georgian painters, seasonal hats, rings, bracelets, and different accessories. Having successfully and actively collaborated with various Georgian artists, Collier already has up to 20 different contemporary art compositions on their silk scarfs. Their scarfs were successfully presented in Prague in the frames of ‘An Evening of Georgian Culture’ exhibition.

Follow the Entrepreneur Georgia Instagram page to get the latest updates from Georgian Entrepreneurs.

For doing business with Georgian Entrepreneurs, write us on business@entrepreneur.ge

EDUCATION

GEORGIA TODAY FEBRUARY 2020

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BI Auction for Young Georgian Artists Info Box Check out some modern Georgian artists here: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/georgia/articles/georgia-s-10-contemporary-artists-and-where-to-find-them/

BY NINI DAKHUNDARIDZE

I

ka Bokuchava, an art collector and gallery owner, and Bengü Akçardak Küçük, met each other in 2015 at an art event, and in 2016, BI Auction Company was officially founded.

BI Auction is the first art auction in Georgia to promote Georgian art and artists, and the culture of artmaking, while growing the art market.

For their 7th annual BI Auction event, they chose to focus on young Georgian artists, calling the 2020 auction ‘BI Auction for Young Artists.’

“They are the future,” Bengü said.

“We want to encourage them to keep making their art. It can be very difficult for an artist to create while also stressing about selling their works. We’d like to make that a little easier for them, give them experiences, teach them a few

things.”

The event, a competition and exhibition, ran from January 31 to February 6, and was sponsored by IArt and WE’AR ART. On opening day, five winners were announced. Their awards included the chance to participate in ‘BI Auction Classical’ with famous Georgian artists.

“They are all winners to us. I was very impressed with the quality of the young artists’ works. You can really see that they have put their heart and soul into their art,” Bengü told GEORGIA TODAY. Mariam Baidoshvili, a graduate of Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, and Mari (Ia) Chanturia, were two of the 22 artists who applied to exhibit their works.

“I heard about this exhibitionauction online. Three of my pieces are here tonight,” Mariam told us.

“This exhibition definitely serves a good cause: not many things happen in Georgia that help artists. The BI Auction is a step forward. We’re

all very excited to have our works exhibited. I really hope the organizers keep on developing their events.”

“I’ve been painting my whole life,” Mari told us. “But it’s only a few years since I started showing my works in public. I’m happy these kinds of events are happening in our country because they help artists shine some light on their pieces.

As society gets to know these artists, they want to continue their hard work.”

In four years, BI Auction has organized six events and presented more than 350 paintings by 100 Georgian artists, always encouraging young artists to show their works next to established artists.

“I think this event was a big success: we discovered great artists and encouraged them to develop their skills and techniques even more,” Bengü told GEORGIA TODAY. The exhibition was open until February 6.

What’s That? annual – every year encourage – push impressed – amazed, excited, wowed applied – ask officially keep on – continue

Food for Thought  What kind of art do you like? Find an artist and/or artwork you like and present it to others in your group.

Artist: Mariam Baidoshvili

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GEORGIA TODAY

FEBRUARY 2020

CENN Launches Green Scholarship for Young Climate Activists Info Box

Image source: CENN

O

ur home, Earth, currently has a lot of environmental problems to worry about, like global warming, acid rain, air pollution, urban growth, waste disposal, ozone layer depletion, water pollution, climate change and many more, which affect every human, animal and country on this planet.

Environmental causes are being supported by celebrities, politicians, and many organizations and movements. More people are aware of environmental issues now than ever before, and many of them are thinking about “going green”.

Environmentally-conscious youth are now being awarded scholarships by different organizations to help them on their green missions- be they sustainable agriculture majors to those who have ideas for making their communities more ecofriendly. If you want to have a career in an eco-oriented field, winning a green scholarship can be a great way to start.

Nowadays, climate change is a global challenge that unites the efforts of the international community, and Georgia is also part of this process.

In Georgia, CENN, a non-governmental organization working to protect the environment, has been implementing various activities to motivate and inspire society, especially youth, to think and do more to protect natural resources.

2019 was a big year, with more young people thinking about the importance of the environment around the world. For more than 10 years, CENN’s Green Camps have enabled young people across Georgia to learn more about environmental and sustainable development, meet interesting people and return to their communities with innovative ideas.

Since 2015, CENN has run nominations for the Niko Ketskhoveli Prize for School Environmental Competition, which has united 350 eco-clubs across Georgia around sustainable development goals.

Food for Thought  Find out more about these problems and what they mean, with examples: global warming, acid rain, air pollution, urban growth, waste disposal, ozone layer depletion, water pollution, climate change.  Now think what we can do to help in each case.

In order to receive the CENN green scholarship, a candidate must fill in an application form, describing their contribution to protecting the environment, the activities they implemented, and explain how the award will help them to achieve their future goals.

You must be aged 10-26 and your environmental projects should have happened in 2017-2019.

The total amount of a scholarship per nomination is GEL 1,000, which will be distributed over 5 months.

The application deadline is March 1, 2020.

After choosing finalists in each nomination, in March 2020, the winners will be announced at the CENN Green Scholarship Award Ceremony.

Now, from 2020, CENN will be awarding young climate activists with green scholarships, which will further encourage them to continue to work more actively in their communities and change the environment for the better.

The 2020 future leaders in environment protection will be awarded with scholarships in four categories, with one winner in each nomination: 1) CENN Green Scholarship for Contribution to Sustainable Waste Management, Circular Economics, and Consumer Behavior Change; 2) CENN Green Scholarship for Contribution to Sustainable Forest Management, Promoting Ecotour-

ism and Biodiversity Protection; 3) CENN Green Scholarship for Contribution to Climate Change Awareness and Reducing Environmental Impact at the Local Level; 4) CENN Green Scholarship for Contribution to High Social Responsibility in Green Entrepreneurship and/or Business.

“We want to create new possibilities for future leaders and, at the same time, thank them for their work, so it is quite likely that the green scholarships will become a tradition which will contribute to increasing the involvement of Georgian youth in the global fight against environmental issues,” noted Giorgi Orkodashvili, CENN Project Officer.

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GEORGIA TODAY FEBRUARY 2020

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Sleeves Up: Etseri, Svaneti Info Box Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer and photographer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with nearly 2000 members, at www. facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/ He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti

BLOG BY TONY HANMER

I

t’s been a year since my friends brought a pottery wheel, kilos of clay, and tools to our house to give the local children after-school classes in ceramic arts.

They’re back now, with two wheels, 100 kg of clay, and a lot more experience. Again they have transformed one of our rooms into a plastic-covered safe area for the kids to get their hands “dirty”.

This time, to inspire them, there is music and a visual slideshow on the wall.

The children have been waiting for this for weeks. New ones are

trying the wheel for the first time ever. Sometimes, because of the snow, the power cuts off, but we switch on the generator and the wheels continue to turn. The big Svan stove provides heat, along with some sun melting the snow outside and warming our hearts.

Those who fell in love with ceramics last time are back for more.

Others who never gave themselves a turn at the wheel are feeling the magic of the clay changing in their hands, arms, fingers, growing up, shrinking down again, opening out into a vase or bowl. They’re hand-building too, with all sorts of tools to roll out, add texture, pierce, carve. Once everything is air-dry or fired in the oven, they can paint

their works.

Last year I discovered, because it was too easy not to try, that my Svan wood-burning stove will get hot enough for firing. We’ll use it again this time- the wood is ready!

We’re not glazing yet, partly because the glazes are virtually impossible to find in Georgia, and partly because my oven is not hot enough to do the second firing that is needed. But we’re already think-

ing about future clay camps, including an outdoor “raku” firing, which involves taking red-hot pieces out of the oven, putting them into a container of combustible material, like hay, letting that catch fire, then putting a lid on it. The fire, trying to continue burning, takes oxygen from the ceramic’s glaze and puts salt onto it, along with some very nice cracks. Exciting, if we can do it.

Food for Thought  Have you ever tried making ceramics?  Some people use art to relax. Why do you think it works?

What’s That? transformed – changed cuts off – stops working stove – oven, cooker melting – turning from ice to water shrinking – getting smaller glazing – covering the ceramic to make it stronger combustible – material that burns easily lid – cover PUBLISHER & GM

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