SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY FEBRUARY 11 - 17, 2022
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The Day of David the Builder BLOG BY ROIN METREVELI, VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE GEORGIAN NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ACADEMICIAN
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n January 26 (February 8 in the new style) the day commemorating the great political figure of Georgia, King David IV “the Builder” (1073-1125) is celebrated. The 12th century saw Georgia politically united and achieving great success, and is otherwise known as the country’s "Golden Age." During that Golden Age, the state of Georgia expanded significantly - from Nikopsia to Daruband and from Ossetia to Aragats. King David took care of political, economic, cultural, ecclesiastical, military, and judicial advancements, making Georgia the strongest state in the Middle East. Georgian kings are known by various nick-names: the Fool, the Small, the Devoted, the Brilliant, the Bad-tempered, etc., and yet David was the only one in the history of Georgia to be honored with the title “The Builder.” As king of the country, “he flourished and built; he was God-fearing and God-loving; he was merciful to the poor, widows and orphans; he was helper of the sick; the builder
of churches and hospitals..." (Batonishvili Vakhushti, Description of the Kingdom of Georgia, Life of Kartli, IV, Tbilisi, 1973, p. 163). From the 1080s, he, as king, was able to mobilize a fragmented population, defeat the enemy, and set the country on the path of reconstruction. This was followed by great transformations, among them political, economic, and cultural revivals. Of particular importance was the founding of the Gelati Academy in 1106. David IV, was thus recognized as a builder by his contemporaries and descendants, and was canonized, with January 26 (February 8) set as the day of his remembrance. King David took measures to centralize and strengthen the country: In 1110, he took control over Samshvilde, 1115 - Rustavi, 1117 - Kish, and 1118 - Lori Fortress. In 1118-19, he settled the Kipchaks and grew the army. On August 12, 1121, he achieved the greatest victory at Didgori - defeating a strong coalition army of Muslims. The subjugation of the old capital of Georgia and other cities was, in fact, a continuation of the Battle of Didgori: "In the second year (1122), the King took the city of Tbilisi. By the first war, it had been under the rule of the Persians for four hundred years, and David thus took it and established it as a household and a house for his children forever." (Life of Kartli,
Tbilisi, 2008, p. 326). After the Battle of Didgori, almost all the lands of the South Caucasus, international trade routes, and cities came within the borders of Georgia. The government, in its religious policy, pursued the principle of freedom of religion - tolerance of law, which was very unusual for that period. David the Builder liberated Shirvan (1123) and Ani (1124). His actions "calmed the country ... filled and rebuilt everyone." The king's writings includes his original work "the Canon of Repentance," which is a medieval cultural, aesthetic, ideological belief, and at the same time is a monument expressing Christian human sorrow. The multifaceted events carried out by David the Builder (also known as "King of the Abkhazians, Georgians, Rans, Kakhs, Armenians, Sharvansha and Shahansha") contributed to the success of Georgia and made it an internationally recognized state. 2023 marks the 950th anniversary of the birth of the great Georgian politician, the "Sword of Messiah," King David IV the Builder. I deeply believe that this date will be celebrated with dignity by Georgian society, government and relevant agencies, our Orthodox Apostolic Church, and everything will be done to see the anniversary of David the Builder widely celebrated around the world.
Image source: archive.gov.ge
Selector PRO International Music Forum 5 is Back! Live-Streaming this February
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n 2021, British Council Ukraine and Music Export Ukraine went digital for Selector PRO, and the format worked so well it decided to go digital again in 2022. Selector PRO, Ukraine’s longest running music educational and networking forum, is turning 5 this year. Musicians and industry reps from the UK, Europe and Central Asia, mark the date, 18-19 February 2022, for an intensive schedule of professional talks, workshops and priceless networking opportunities. Attending Selector PRO is, as always, free-of-charge, but organizers do ask you to register prior to kick-off. 2021 was another challenging year for music industry professionals, but one that also held the promise of real industry-wide transformation. Lockdowns continued to hinder the live music sector with new restrictions and event cancellations, pushing artists to reconsider and diversify their income streams just to stay afloat. Elsewhere, growing music digitalization opportunities continued to give artists a cause to focus on their ownership rights and royalties. Streaming revenues are still low for many, and a large number of voices in the music industry are calling out for alternative approaches to be explored. Successful lobbying has meant some governments are starting to reconsider the current models of music streaming revenue distribution, which could potentially see an increase in payouts for artists themselves. We’ve yet to see where all these will lead, but it’s a positive step that the rights of artists and songwriters have become more of a priority during the past 12 months. It’s not the first turbulent year, and the
industry has been actively working throughout 2021 on pandemic damage assessment. With this year’s forum moto ‘The Ever-changing New Normal’ we are shifting our focus from the more well-known issues and trends like digitalization and online presence, towards those which we feel will become more relevant in future. This year’s forum is rooted in realworld industry issues, but committed to staying a step ahead of what’s coming down the line. We’re calling on the strength of the music community, its hard-won experience and record of mutual support, to do the work of defining “The Ever-changing new normal” on our terms. What does that mean? Simply, that Selector PRO 5 is bringing together dozens of industry professionals from the UK, Europe and Central Asia to tackle the big ongoing and upcoming industry questions. What will it look like? The Selector PRO forum will have 8 moderated panels covering a range of music industry topics. The UK’s Jane Beese from The Factory and Manchester International Festival will be joined by the UK’s Paul McGivern of Playbook Artists and Beril Sarıaltun from Turkey’s My City My Voice project to discuss the pandemic years’ effect on the industry, and share their positive experiences with successful case studies and remote collaborations over the previous two years. Donna Close from the UK’s 5G Festival will discuss recent industry advances that produce engaging hybrid events. She’ll be joined by Ukraine’s Anton Volovyk from Reface, who will talk about how artists can better engage and entertain an audience. The UK’s Jyoty, a DJ from
Rinse FM, will team up with the UK’s Ellie Giles from Step Music Management and Ukraine’s Anastasiya Babicheva from Masterskaya and psychologist Vera Kravchenko to tackle the topic of dealing with internet-based hate. Shauni Caballero of the UK’s Go 2 Agency will lead the workshop of a topic of immediate impact considering the boom in the digital music market, that of copyright issues. She’ll shed light on issues like protecting your work and getting paid, the “rule book” of creative online content, and what to do when a third party uses your work without permission. We’ll also sit in on what promises to be a wide-ranging conversation between delegates from two of the most wildly distinct music markets imaginable: the UK’s Jon Dunn from Parallel Lines and Georgia’s Giorgi Kikonishvili from Electronauts / Bassiani / Horoom Nights. They’ll be talking about how they build their teams, their methods, how they’ve managed to survive the past two
years and what drives DIY music in their countries. Claire O'Neill of the UK’s Greener Festival and Chair of the Green Group for the Association for Electronic Music will be joined by Feimatta Conteh, Environmental Sustainability Manager for the UK’s Manchester International Festival and Ukrainian musical activist Vera Logdanidi of Rhythm Büro to lead a talk on the role of the industry in confronting climate change. They will discuss what artists and audiences can do to better contribute to a more sustainable music sector and workable solutions for systemic change through artistry. And if that isn’t yet enough, we’ll also be looking at new approaches to collaboration, effective time management, the challenge of online teambuilding, audience engagement, monetization in the online space, and much more. The Selector PRO conference will take place in an easy-to-use online platform providing a handful of features such as networking environment, interactive
workshops and discussions, 1:1 matchmaking rooms, and a resource library to watch streams again. Plus, you can’t gripe about the price. The Selector PRO digital forum is freeof-charge with prior registration. The forum is free. To attend all you need to do is to register here https://forms.office. com/r/kHK6jjsKfv Prior to the start of the event, you’ll receive your login details and instructions on how to navigate the online meeting space. — Selector PRO is a program of professional-level events run by the British Council in Ukraine since 2017. It is designed to enhance exchange between the British and Ukrainian professional music sectors, support the development of emerging industry talent, and promote effective music industry business practices. The British Council is the UK’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. Using the UK’s cultural resources, we make a positive contribution to the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust. Music Export Ukraine is an independent initiative formed to assist Ukrainian artists establish international contacts, promote their creative work, and develop their talent and career globally. The core tasks of the initiative include artist consultation, presentation of the best local talents at international business-focused events, collaborative projects, and international exchange programs.
