Art Education: A Sustainable Tool for Strengthening Peace in Today's World

In this interview with Elisso Bolkvadze, Chairperson of Culture Committee at the Parliament of Georgia and UNESCO Artist for Peace, Bolkvadze highlighted the significant position of Georgian tradition, culture and arts. Arts education can be utilized as a significant means to strength- en peace if proper strategies are developed to foster it. Elisso Bolkvadze touched on several brilliant examples and she shared practical strategies being employed by the Culture Committee of the Parliament of Georgia under her leadership.

What do you think is the significance of Georgian culture to world culture? Why is the culture of this small country so important and how can it be further promoted?

Georgia is an ancient country that is rich with history, traditions, and culture trailing thousands of years. These history, traditions, and culture needs to be preserved and presented, both by raising the awareness of citizens within the country, as well as by promoting Georgian culture in the international arena. Georgian choreography, polyphony of Georgian folk songs, Georgian church songs, theater, cinema are known in the civilized world. Georgian Opera and Ballet School has trained many world stars and continues to do so to this day.

Today, in the conditions of globalization, the Georgian nation faces the epoch-making task of spiritual-value, self-preservation, self-renewal, self-reflection, self-creation and self-production of Georgian culture. I believe that it is a priority and important for a country with rich cultural traditions to have state agencies that will help maintain the existing culture, boost its development, and engage in activities that will pave the way for innovations.

Georgia, despite being a small country with a population of 4 million, has many talented internationally recognized artists, including you, what do you think is the reason for this?

The reason for this is the diverse history of the country, her rich traditions, and strong national self-consciousness. Georgia’s geographical location has influenced all cultural spheres. The country developed the cultural forms of Asia and Europe – two great civilizations perfectly combined with each other.

Georgia has been influenced by European, Persian, Arabic, Ottoman, and Far Eastern cultures. All of them have contributed to the formation of the ethnic identity of Georgians, which in turn led to the formation of one of the most unique cultures in the world and the emergence of many talented artists.

In general, what do you think are the main challenges of Georgia in the field of culture and how are you going to respond to them together with the Minister of Culture?

The Culture Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, aims to ensure an active cultural lifestyle in the country.

To do this, it is necessary to maintain and improve the cultural infrastructure, which should be loaded with more activities, to ensure broad involvement of citizens, especially schoolchildren and young people.

The state must ensure the creation of conditions for the development of the private sector and independent activities.

In addition to state funding, it is necessary to find other sources of funding by encouraging the private sector and mobilizing international funding, both for the provision of relevant tourism infrastructure for cultural heritage sites, as well as to support the professional development of Georgian artists.

Our goal is to strengthen the relationship between the national, regional, local and private levels to develop cultural policies through an engagement and collaboration-based process. It is essential to develop and promote cultural diversity. We need to develop cultural and creative industries.

The impact of culture on a variety of areas is important, including culture and sustainable development, education, regional development and tourism, economics and innovation, and the introduction of new technologies into culture. Cultural and creative export, internationalization, and cultural diplomacy.

The Committee is always ready to support the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth in achieving the priority plans of the Ministry, so that the country has a unified vision for the development of cultural policy, which will address existing challenges and develop the creative process in the country.

Since this is your first interview as the Chairman of the Culture Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, I should definitely ask you about the activities carried out by the Culture Committee.

The main function of the Culture Committee of the Parliament of Georgia is to create a favorable legal environment for the development of culture via specific and general laws and regulations related to culture.

The Committee on Culture is actively working on the reform of art education and is encouraging systemic changes. The Committee has identified the problems and challenges in the field of art education. An art education strategy, concept, and recommendations have been developed. We believe that ensuring high quality access to art education should be a priority.

Expanding art education will contribute to an intellectual improvement factor in young people and increase their creative potential. The task of the mentioned reform is to develop art educational institutions, to introduce a new system and methodologies. The transformation of art schools into colleges throughout Georgia, the development and adaptation of modern innovative programs are also being considered. In line with international practice, the Committee on Culture will prepare an art education policy document in the near future and present it to the general public.

The Committee has initiated an amendment to the Law of Georgia on General Education, according to which the status of a teacher will be granted to persons with vocational education.

It is noteworthy that international experts are also involved in the working group established in connection with the reform of art education in Georgia.

The Culture Committee is actively working to implement legislative changes in the Law of Georgia on Copyright and Related Rights. It is necessary to gradually establish a comprehensive and fair legislative framework, which will be the foundation of intellectual property and copyright protection.

The Culture Committee has been working since the day of its establishment to study the state of cultural heritage in the occupied territories of Georgia. We believe that due to the urgency of the topic, all international levers should be activated legally in order to protect and preserve Georgian cultural monuments.

It is noteworthy that the Committee on Culture actively pursues cultural diplomacy under your leadership, you constantly meet with ambassadors and diplomats to discuss the possibilities of bilateral relations in the field of culture, I wonder where the idea of introducing this direction came from and if you have concrete tangible results.

One of the priority issues since the establishment of the Georgian Culture Committee has been to increase the country’s awareness and bring the countries closer through cultural diplomacy. In order to promote the country’s European integration and intercultural dialogue, the Committee works closely with international partners and the diplomatic corps accredited in Georgia.

The committee often holds meetings and working visits to different countries, where we have relations with colleagues in the field of culture and representatives of the field to share experiences or set future goals.

In order to intensify cultural diplomacy with the involvement of international organizations, we plan to implement cultural programs, Georgian Film Week, theatrical performances, book exhibitions, fine arts exhibitions, Georgian folklore evenings, and performing arts.

Batumi International Music and Art Festival is planned to be held on July 23-30, 2022. Within the framework of the festival, a gala concert will be held under the auspices of the “Cultural Dialogue” of the Black Sea countries.

Events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Georgia are also planned within the framework of the festival, with active cooperation with the embassies of Italy, Japan and France.

What is new in your music career, and how much do you manage to find time for it?

Unfortunately, I have little time for new projects in my music career, as all my attention and energy is focused on parliamentary activities. Although I have received invitations to be a member of the jury in Spain, I am thinking of holding some important concerts if the regulations caused by the pandemic allow me to do so.

You founded the Batumi International Music Festival and it has held successfully for the past 10 years, what are your plans for this year?

Batumi International Black Sea Music Festival will be held in July this year and I am glad that the festival has been given the patronage of UNESCO again. We are expecting many international musicians and high-ranking guests. The festival will also pay great attention to the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Georgia and different countries.

You have been re-elected as a UNESCO Ambassador for Peace. How does it feel to get that international trust again and what activities do you plan to implement in this role?

Re-election as a UNESCO Ambassador for Peace is a great honor and a huge responsibility for me. In line with this recognition, I have planned several international projects that I think will further strengthen peace policy through the arts, which is very important and necessary for today’s world.