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Issue no: 799
• DECEMBER
DECEM
4 - 7, 2015
• PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY
PRICE: GEL 2.50
Current Challenges In this week’s issue...
it Loud: A New Player
in Environmental Sing
on the Political Stage
Technologies POLITICS PAGE 4
Development UN Partners with Youth to
the World AIDS Day
and Coping with Mark
in Georgia
Climate Change SOCIETY PAGE 9
CLIMATE
IN FOCUS
Global warming has already started to have
a significant impact on nature and people in
Georgia. We spoke to Head of the National
Environmental Agency, Tamar Bagratia.
SOCIETY PAGE 8
Georgia to Tighten Car Emission Control
BY TAMAR SVANIDZE
A
new draft law, laying out new
amendments for car owners, has
been reviewed at the Government’s
Meeting on December 3rd.
A new study exposed car emissions as the main factor in air pollution in Georgia’s capital city Tbilisi, which is a cause of major
concern for citizen health.
“In several cities, including Tbilisi, a study of
air samples has shown that the main polluting
source of air is automobiles. This mainly depends
on the overdue vehicle park, together of the poor
quality of fuel and consistence of toxic gases in
the emissions, which is the result of incomplete
combustion,” said Gigla Agulashvili, Minister of
Environment and Natural Resources Protection.
According to Agulashvili, one of the main causes
for this is ordinary citizens removing and selling
the catalytic converters from their cars. Catalytic
converters are one of the most important parts
of a car’s emissions control system as it converts
harmful pollutants into less harmful emissions
before they leave the car’s exhaust system.
The Environmental Minister highlighted current data, which shows that air quality indicators
in some districts of Tbilisi meet the medium
level of euro standards. To improve the situation, “we need to take steps to change our vehicle park,” he added.
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili
also supports to the initiative and emphasized
that, in terms of ecology in Tbilisi, “we have a
disaster”.
“I hear a lot of complaints from very angry
people about the lack of catalytic converters
used in cars moving in the city. I would also like
to ask you to control the quality of fuel,” Garibashvili told the members of the Government.
The Prime Minister also announced that in
order to increase availability of catalytic converters, companies selling them are asked to
install them a well. Mandatory insurance of cars,
including technical inspection, will be introduced
in the near future.
“Of course, this process will take time and we
will not ask people do it right now,” Garibasvili
said at the Government Meeting. “We will develop
a plan which will be presented in the near future
to the public, but before that, we suggest you
conduct a survey of public opinions and understand what the citizens’ approach is to this issue.”
The announcement to restrict car related air
pollutants comes alongside that of a new draft
law presented by the Minister of Internal Affairs
Giorgi Mgebrishvili prohibiting the registration
of right-hand drive vehicles.
Tbilisi’s Own Billyy
Elliot: A Ballet
Success Story
SOCIETY PAGE 11
Chaos or Law? Svaneti
SOCIETY PAGE 12
The 16th International Film
Festival Begins
CULTURE PAGE 13
Movie Night in Old Tbilisi
Raises Questions for Future
of City’s Walkers
CULTURE PAGE 14
Erisioni, The Light on the
Mountain Top Standing
Strong
CULTURE PAGE 15
2
NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
DECEMBER 4 - 7, 2015
Georgia Still
Waiting, Did
Montenegro
Do Better?
BY ZVIAD ADZINBAIA
O
n Wednesday, Foreign
Ministers of NATO countries, following on from a
Ministerial, released a
statement concerning the
Alliance’s Open Door policy.
The declaration says that at the 2008
Bucharest Summit, NATO agreed that
Georgia will become a member of NATO
with MAP as an integral part of the process: “Today we reaffirm all elements of
that decision, as well as subsequent decisions. We welcome the significant progress realized since 2008. Georgia’s
relationship with the Alliance contains
all the practical tools to prepare for
eventual membership.”
According to the statement, the Alliance welcomes the important progress
made in implementing the Substantial
NATO-Georgia Package, including the
start of joint exercises, and the inauguration of the Joint Training and Evaluation Center which helps strengthen
Georgia’s self-defense and resilience
capabilities.
NATO said it remains committed to
the Open Door policy, a founding principle of the Washington Treaty. And, as
a result of that principle, NATO has now
formally invited Montenegro to join the
Protesters in Tbilisi Join World-Wide Protest
Preceding Climate Change Conference
BY ROBERT ISAF
L
Christmas comes early for Montenegro as it is
invited to join NATO. Milo Dukanovic, Prime
Minister of Montenegro. Photo: v-montenegro.ru
military alliance as its 29th member.
It is the first expansion of NATO in six
years and has already prompted a backlash from Russia, who calls the move a
threat to their own national security.
“Moscow has always noted at various
levels that the continuing expansion of
NATO and NATO’s military infrastructure
to the East can only lead to responsive
actions from the East, namely from the
Russian side, in ensuring security interests and supporting the parity of interests,” Dmitry Peskov Kremlin spokesman
stated, according to the TASS news agency.
The decision to let Montenegro in,
described by NATO Secretary General
Jens Stoltenberg as “historic”, comes 16
years after the alliance bombed Montenegro during the Kosovo war, when it
was still part of Yugoslavia.
Stoltenberg announced the invitation
of Wednesday, the culmination of a process that began in 2009. The mountainous Adriatic state, with only 650,000
people has a very small military of around
2000 active members.
Accession talks are expected to take
about a year to complete.
Montenegro already supports NATO’s
efforts in Afghanistan and has actively
cooperated with the alliance in other
ways.
NATO expects Montenegro to make
progress on reforms “especially in the
area of rule of law.”
Apart from Montenegro, three other
countries are partnering with NATO and
are interested in becoming members:
Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Macedonia.
Georgian experts assessed the declaration positively; however, recent developments on media freedom (Rustavi 2 case)
and rule of law, which were included in
the statement, are considered as part of
the government’s instability in terms of
democratic advancement. The experts
emphasized that the government should
act meticulously not to damage the
democratic principles and give fuel to
some Georgia-sceptic members of NATO.
Last week Reuters published an article
concerning Georgia’s hopes and the
existing situation in NATO to grant
Georgia membership.
“NATO allies are split over what message to send Georgia over its long-delayed
membership bid, diplomats said, with
some European capitals arguing the alliance would be unable to defend the exSoviet state in the event of a conflict
with Russia,” the publication reads.
The Georgian Prime Minister, following his visit to Paris this week, stated
that the Government of Georgia does
not want to create any special expectations regarding NATO. Garibashvili said
that this message comes on the specific
recommendation of the Alliance Secretary General and partner countries.
ast Sunday, a day before the
official opening of the 2015
UnitedNationsClimateChange
Conference in Paris, activists
in Tbilisi joined a movement
of roughly 2,500 marches, protests, and
demonstrations organized around the
world to show their support for a strong
international agreement on how to combat global climate change. The conference
has been hotly anticipated by those pressing for legally binding action by the world’s
governments. The global turnout Sunday
was intended to send a message to the
conference participants, and whether or
not the message is heeded it was at least
made; one estimate puts the number of
demonstrators world-wide at over 570,000.
Tbilisi’s contribution was undeniably
sotto voce. There were only around 70
attendees, the vast majority of whom
were either associated with the European
School itself, whose students and teachers organized the Tbilisi march, or were
foreigners visiting or living in Georgia.
Marchers were asked to wear green, and
bring some kind of noise-making device.
After gathering outside the Freedom
Square metro station, the crowd made its
way down the block to Parliament, in
front of which some speeches were made
and pictures taken.
Though numbers were small, enthusiasm
among all attendees was high. Glaxo, 18, a
student from the European School, joked
about his reasons for attending – it’s an
easy way to fulfill his extracurricular activity requirements, he said, with a broad
grin – but betrayed himself seen, and heard,
open-palm hammering the soundbox drum
he’d brought along. His joking aside, he
made clear that he wasn’t only addressing
the silent parliament building facing him.
“To the person who will be reading this,”
he said, “I’m telling you that you should
be more concerned about the world. And
even if you already are, you should be
more concerned.”
Ana Dosoudilova, one of the staff organizers, considered the small turnout prag-
matically. “Actually, bearing in mind the
situation here in Georgia, I think (the
turnout) is good, and I love the amount
of people,” Ms. Dosoudilova said. “I guess
people have enough of their own worries,
so they’re not used to being active, they’re
not used to fighting for something else
than their own life, and I understand that
totally… If you talk to people, and they
say let’s go to the streets, let’s have a demonstration, they don’t really know what
to imagine, or what it means.”
That doesn’t mean she’s not optimistic.
“Although most of these are our kids from
our school, I’m happy that they came,
because in the future it’s going to be them
organizing similar events,” she said. “I
think that this kind of a people’s movement is just the beginning.”
Alongside the European School students,
the international presence could be distinctly felt. Small circles formed of slightly
higher heads of slightly lighter hair, marking out groups of visiting foreigners, each
echoing the other when asked why they
attended.
“I think it’s good that the people all over
the globe see that it’s a global movement,”
Jakub, a young man from the Czech
Republic currently living in Mtskheta,
told Georgia Today. “It’s not just happening in Paris or Berlin… people in Tbilisi
also care.”
Pointing to his friend, he added, “And
partly I’m here just because we can be.
She’s living in Baku and just visiting, and
in Baku it would not be possible.”
Strikingly, one city where the march
certainly wasn’t possible was Paris itself.
In the wake of last month’s Islamic State
attacks on the nation’s capital city, France
has been under a state of emergency,
which resulted in authorities refusing to
allow the long-planned march through
Paris.
For Alice, one of the activists in Tbilisi
on Sunday, the decision to ban the Paris
protests was personal.
“I’m French, and I have a lot of problems,” she explained. “I have a lot of
friends who would like to demonstrate
on the streets in Paris, and they can’t.”
“So, I walked for a friend,” she said. “And
for myself.”
NEWS
GEORGIA TODAY
Second Wardrop Dialogue
between Georgia and UK
Held in London
Toyota
Unveils
Regional
Training
Center in
Tbilisi
A
new Toyota training center
was opened in Georgia’s
capital Tbilisi by Toyota
Caucasus on November
27th.
The official opening ceremony was
attended by training managers from
the head office, partners from Ukraine
and Russia, all the local and regional
dealers, as well as representatives of
state agencies, media and business sector. Among the honored guests were
the Japanese Ambassador in Georgia
Mr. Toshio Kaitani and Tbilisi City
Hall.
The training center opening is truly
a significant event not only throughout
Georgia, but for the entire Caucasus
region, and this step directly reflects
the philosophy of Toyota, company
representatives noted.
“We do not just build cars, we build
people!” - This well-known motto clearly
mirrors the company’s basic principles.
It is a widely recognized fact that Toyota philosophy KAIZEN (continuous
improvement) and respect for people
represents the foundation of years of
success that runs throughout the company history which also implies continuous care for the development and
professional growth of employees.
“Every step forward in the field of
3
BY STEVEN JONES
education and professional training
yields remarkable results and outcome
throughout the entire Toyota network.
We are proud to have initiated the
regional scale project in Georgia”, the
Toyota Caucasus representatives noted.
Considerable investments were made
for the training center launch. Multifunctional training center spreads over
850 square meters. Built on Toyota’s
top standards, the center embraces the
cutting-edge machinery, modern technologies, systems and equipment.
The training center includes:
• Three sections with 4-ton crane
• Emissions Pumping System
• Tire Fixation Complex
• Electricians training zone
• Hybrid Automobile Service System
• Training zone for service of aggregates
• Theoretical Training Zones
• Two training zones for training service management specialists (department of sales, customer service department, spare parts department)
• Kaizen Dojo class simulation (service and sales management)
• Storehouse
• Shower
Ms. Natalia Rud, the Manager Learning Technologies manager consumer
experience training at Toyota Motor
Europe, and Mr.Yuji Wagata, Toyota
Caucasus president, delivered a speech
at the event.
“The Toyota training system will enable technicians to apply modern technologies and refine Toyota automobile
service skills. It should also be noted
that prior to commencement of sales
in regional markets, each new model
will be studied in detail for Toyota personnel to be fully equipped with knowledge and skills when introducing new
automobiles to consumers.
All these efforts ensure ultimate comfort and safety to the customers. Toyota
considers consumers to be top priority
(following the principle: Customer
First). The driving mechanism of the
company’s whole performance is conveyed by Akio Toyoda: “Our goal is to
be number 1 in the hearts and minds of
customers.”
At the training center, Toyota Caucasus plans to implement expanded educational projects on the regional level
in the future.
Toyota Caucasus (TCA), a Toyota’s
official distributor in the South Caucasus, has been operating with its head
office in Tbilisi since 2006. The official
representation also serves Azerbaijan
and Armenia markets, in addition to
Georgia.
O
n 30 November, the second
meeting of Georgia-UK
Wardrop Dialogue was
held in London.
The Georgian Foreign
Ministry (MFA) says the discussions
focused on existing bilateral relations,
on Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration, and on issues of co-operation and security in the sphere of defense.
According to the MFA, Great Britain
and Georgia have agreed to develop trade
and economic relations.
“Discussions focused on the current
trade and economic relations between
Georgia and Great Britain and on the
prospects for developing these relations.
Foreign Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili
informed UK Minister of State for Trade
and Investment, Francis Maude, on the
reforms the Government of Georgia has
carried out in different sectors of the
economy.”
The MFA says the British side expressed
interest in holding a series of events with
the participation of the UK business
circles that will increase their awareness
of and interest in Georgia’s business and
investment opportunities.
Georgia’s regional role and leading
position were underlined in terms of
economic reforms and ease of doing
business, “which make the country more
attractive for international investments.”
“The sides positively assessed the
Georgian Prime Minister’s initiative to
hold the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, where
Members of the Wardrop Dialogue,
including British Ambassador to Georgia,
Alexandra Hall Hall (Center left) and
Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgi
Kvirikashvili (center right)
Georgia’s international transit opportunities were demonstrated,” the Foreign
Ministry added.
The Georgian Minister and his British
counterpart discussed the Georgia-EU
Association Agenda and its fulfilment,
and on the process of implementation
of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with
the European Union, underlining the
opportunities the FTA gives to Georgia
and EU countries to develop investment
and economic ties.
Prior to the plenary session in the
Wardrop Dialogue, Kvirikashvili met
with UK Minister for Europe, David
Lidington. At the bilateral meeting, the
parties talked over a number of lucrative
issues between Georgia and Great Britain.
Lidington said that Great Britain remains
a stalwart supporter of Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration, as
well as of its sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
“We firmly believe that Georgia has a
sovereign right to decide its own future
and choose its own path of development,”
Lidington emphasized.
4
POLITICS
GEORGIA TODAY
Sing it Loud: A
New Player on
the Political Stage
OPED BY ZAZA JGHARKAVA
G
eorgian politics is awaiting the world’s bass. The
renowned opera singer
Paata Burchuladze is ready
to exchange the world
opera scene into a political tribune and
has already taken the first steps on his
way. While his surname has been
removed from the 2016 events calendar
of La Scala, Covent Garden and the
Metropolitan Opera and all of his concert contracts have been canceled, 2016
is marked as his governmental year on
the Georgian political calendar. What
the political party of the world’s operatic bass will look like, will be revealed
in autumn, but before that Burchuladze
invites his supporters to join the Development Fund of Georgia.
The appearance of new faces in politics is always connected with new hopes
and expectations. This is the case with
Burchuladze, too. It isn’t unlikely that
he will become the hope of those 45%
of voters, who, in the last survey by
NDI, stated they do not support any of
the active political parties. To put it
simply, practically, the power today lays
in the street and nobody’s there to take
it. Based on his personal rating and
authority, Burchuladze really does have
serious perspective among those who
have the ambition to influence the current events taking place in the country.
The opera singer has been engaged in
charity for years. Burchuladze founded
the international charity fund Iavnana
with the slogan “Let’s save the future
together” in 2004, stating the provision
of shelter for orphans and unprivileged
children as its mission.
It was believed for years that Burchuladze had the support and was the
favorite of the Georgian Orthodox
Church, by which we mean the scheme
with which Bidzina Ivanishvili came to
power in 2012 and kicked out the government of Saakashvili. The opinion of
experts on the issue of whether history
will be repeated varies. Expert Ramaz
Sakvarelidze finds it unlikely that Paata
Burchuladze will come to state power
and thinks that he will not be able to
substitute Ivanishvili. While the political analyst Soso Tsintsadze states that
the name Paata Burchuladze can accumulate a certain level of finances, though
insufficient, as Burchuladze is surrounded by a total collapse and that
society is not so enthusiastic about
individuals who desire to become part
of the great construction of a new political project.
It should be noted that Burchuladze’s
name was also heard in politics in 2013
when the leader of Georgian Group
Jondi Bagaturia named him among the
possible presidential candidates. At that
time, the singer refrained from opposing Georgian Dream, while Jondi Bagaturia was soon found in alliance with
the pro-Russian oriented political power
of Nino Burjanadze. Whether Burchuladze will be found in direct opposition
of Ivanishvili and the Georgian Dream
this time is not yet clear, however, the
signs of a standoff are evident.
It is obvious that the segment of
electors of Georgian Dream are the
same for Burchuladze and that they
Paata Burchuladze has given up the
opera and has his sights set on politics
are competitors. It is hard to believe
that the ideological supporters of the
National Movement will move into
Burchuadze’s camp. Therefore, it is
the Georgian Dream and the organizations moving around its orbit that
Burchuladze’s political union will get
the votes from. If Burchuladze’s newly
created fund really turns into a party,
the need for strengthening its political component will soon become a
necessity, whether those people who
Burchuladze already presented will
be on the list or not, be it the former
advisor of President Margvelashvili,
Vano Machavariani, or the political
analyst Khatuna Lagazidze.
The need to bring new people to the
foreground is already apparent. To put
it mildly, today’s composition is insufficient for attaining serious political
goals. Thus, it should be substituted.
The question is who will these ‘new
faces’ that Burchuladze needs to bring
to the front be? Alasania, whom he has
already had talks with? Or Inashvili,
Burjanadze, or Natelashvili? Or someone else entirely?
SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY
Campaign Against
Domestic Violence Kicks
Off Around Georgia
BY TAMAR SVANIDZE
T
he world came together at
the United Nations (UN)
HQ two months ago to agree
on the new Sustainable
Development Goals agenda,
committing globally to specific targets
on ending violence against women for
the first time.
“The message from experience across
nations is clear - if women and girls, who
represent half of all human potential,
are not able to fully realize their rights
and aspirations in all spheres of life, free
from violence and all forms of discrimination, socio- economic development
will be impeded – and no country is
excepted,” Shombi Sharp, Deputy Head
of UNDP in Georgia said.
A series of public meetings is being
organized by the Swiss Cooperation
Office for the South Caucasus and United
Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) in cooperation with the Public
Defender’s Office of Georgia and AntiViolence Network of Georgia. Photo:
UNDP Georgia. These meetings focus
on violence against women in the six
regional administrative centers of the
country in December, as part of the UN
worldwide ongoing 16-day campaign
against gender based violence.
The first such meeting was held in
Ambrolauri, Racha, on December 1st,
followed by meetings in Samegrelo-Zemo
Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhumi – Kvemo
Svaneti, Guria, Imereti, Mtskheta-Mti-
aneti and Kvemo Kartli, with local civil
servants, civil society representatives,
students and activists coming together
to discuss the reasons behind violence
against women in Georgia and ways to
prevent it.
The participants watched a documentary “Speak Out!” which featured true
stories of domestic violence survivors
in Georgia which was filmed in 2014 by
Georgian film director, Zurab Inashvili
with support from UN Women and the
Georgian National Film Center.
According to the Deputy Head of UNDP
in Georgia it is encouraging to see people embracing the understanding about
both fundamental human rights for
women and girls and a better life for all,
men and boys alike.
“Through a series of public discussions
in different regions of Georgia, we are
helping break the silence and offering
opportunities for non-governmental
organizations, local authorities and citizens to speak out and take action. After
the first dialogue in Racha, we can already
see that public interest is very high. People are writing to us from all over Georgia asking to organize similar discussions
in their communities,” Sharp said.
He emphasized Georgia’s achievements
in terms of gender equality, fighting discrimination and gender based violence,
and the President declared this the Year
of Women and Gender Equality.
“But a lot of work remains in translating this framework into real change in
communities and households across the
country as women continue to face serious issues of inequality and vulnerability to gender based and domestic violence,” Sharp said.
5
Community Service May
Become an Alternative
Punishment for Female Criminals
T
he Georgian Professional
Psychologists Association
(GPPA) with the support
of the Foundation of the
Open Society Institute
(FOSI) has conducted the project
‘Community Service – Alternative Punishment for Women,’ which aims to provide non-custodial punishment- community service – for certain categories
of women through the presentation of
a legislative initiative, mobilization of
public opinion and eradication of defects
in legal practice.
Community service, one of the forms
of alternative punishment, is considered
by the Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe to be a corrective and
positive sanction. This form is used in
Europe and the USA as a main and independent, as well as alternative kind of
punishment.
According to Part 4, Article 44 of
the Criminal Code of Georgia, pregnant women and women having children of less than 7 years of age, disabled of the I and II group, and
pensioners, do not at present have any
possibility to undergo punishment by
community service. This group also
unites women who gave birth to their
children in prison. This restriction,
derived from legal practice of the
Soviet period, has to date remained
unchanged in the Criminal Code of
Georgia, as well as in the republics of
the South Caucasus.
Executors of the project (Anna Kanjaradze, Tamar Abuladze, Nino Lordkifanidze, Nato Gugava) conducted a whole
number of works, on the basis of which
the presentation of the legislative initiative is planned to eradicate just this very
defect.
Beds for the Better: The
Success of a Fundraiser for
Palliative Unit Children
BY MERI TALIASHVILI
T
wo years ago, the Samaritan
Association of Georgia
launched a project at the
Children’s New Clinic
aimed at palliative care for
children with inborn incurable diseases.
Today, 25 children from four months to
12 years are hospitalized at the Clinic
under constant attention and care. Irina
Kldiashvili, Director of the Georgian
Samaritan Association wanted to say a
big thank you, through Georgia Today,
to those who have not turned a blind eye
to those children in need and who have
helped the hospital and nurses create
the much needed improved conditions
for them. One ardent supporter and the
initiator of this act is Katie Ruth Davies,
Editor-in-Chief of our biweekly Georgia
Today newspaper.
Irina Kldiashvili: “The project we started
two years ago was the idea of one of our
volunteers from Germany, Delia Jakubek,
who had come to Georgia to work for a
year.
Continued on page 6
6
SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY
Beds for the Better:
The Success of
a Fundraiser for
Palliative Unit Children
Continued from page 5
When she saw the conditions of the
palliative unit, she decided to help, and
began to write a project to renovate it
and bring it in line with European standards. We submitted the project to several
organizations and one offered to assist
in the first phase of the project, giving
their financial support to the carrying
out of construction works. Unfortunately,
the hospital was unable to arrange the
works to be done within the time limit
set by the organization and so the support was withdrawn and reallocated.
Thankfully, however, German organization Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund
Deutschland had already funded the
second part of the project and we were
able to successfully train 12 nurses within
the unit in specialized palliative care.
The course was carried out in spring
2015 and, what’s more, two therapists –
an occupational therapist and physiotherapist- were employed to work with
those children unable to sit or stand.
The maximum we can do for children
in such serious conditions is to help them
to make us understand that they want
something, or to simply show a reaction.
We work to bring all their resources to
life.
“When Katie Davies heard about the
difficulties we were facing following the
withdrawal of financial support, she was
deeply touched by the children’s conditions and problems in terms of the lack
of vital equipment (such as monitors
and aspirators) and the condition of
some of the children whose beds were
too small and clothes and sheets old and
worn.”
Katie Ruth Davies: “One photo really
got my blood boiling. My reaction
prompted me to immediately donate
what I could and to get on facebook.
This is what I wrote: ‘This is Yusuf. He
is 9 years old and suffers from microcephaly and mental retardation. He
cannot be cared for at home so this bed
is his home. This bed is in the ward of
a palliative care unit in a private children’s hospital in Tbilisi. Yusuf has kind
and well-trained staff to feed him, wash
him and give him physiotherapy. But
this bed is his home. You can see it’s
too small for him, right?
As I’m typing this my legs are stretched
out. Last night my three children slept
in a giant bed with all the space in the
world to stretch and move around in.
This small bed is what Yusuf has.
Last year an NGO received funding
from a reputable organization to get the
palliative unit where Yusuf lives renovated. The sum was supposed to go
towards renovation (bright paint, happy
stickers), two monitors to add to the one
the many children on the ward share
with Yusuf, a bath-bed, and five big beds.
One of those beds was supposed to be
for Yusuf.
For reasons I don’t understand there
were delays in renovating the palliative
unit. The beds and monitors could not
be bought until the renovation works
were complete. And while the NGO was
waiting, the contract with the donor
organization ran out and the money was
The photo which started the
fund-raising for the
palliative care unit of
Children’s New Clinic
taken back to give to someone else. No
doubt that someone else is just as needywe all know there are many, many good
and worthy causes in Georgia. But the
worthy cause I see right now is Yusuf.
As I lay with my legs stretched out
tonight, I will be picturing Yusuf sleeping, just the other side of the city from
me, in the position you see him here.
A new bed costs $470. For some of you,
that equals a month’s salary or more. For
others it is the sacrifice of one less pair
of good shoes, skipping that weekend
away, or the price of that phone that you
desperately wanted but are already bored
with. For each of us $470 has a different
meaning: easy money or a mountain to
climb.
For Yusuf it is the chance to spend the
day with his legs stretched out. To spend
every day of what remains of his life in
more comfort than he is now.
I want to raise money to buy him a new
bed. It can be done by donating to the
NGO whose project funding was withdrawn this month. I’ve never done anything like this before and now I ask myself
‘Why not?’ So many people need help,
it’s overwhelming. But this little boy’s
life can be transformed with nothing
more than a new bed.
Can you help me raise this $470? If it
was Lari, I wouldn’t even ask- I would
give. But I need to ask. Can you help me
buy Yusuf a new bed?’
Within 16 hours we’d raised enough
money to buy that bed. I couldn’t believe
it. And the money kept coming..!”
Irina Kldiashvili: “Katie said that nothing was impossible and that what we
could not do before due to time limits
was possible to make happen now. Within
a few weeks, with her support, we’d collected so much money that we were able
to buy a total of four beds, a therapeutic
bath-bed (which enables nurses to wash
the children in comfort rather than having to bend over to hold them in the tile
basin previously used) and a monitor
for those children in the most critical
conditions. What Katie has done is priceless. Even today, there are still people
transferring money and offering to volunteer in some way. Additionally, other
organizations and embassies have got
involved. We hope to be able to continue
to do more for the children. Although
they’re getting a great medical service
at the Children’s New Clinic, we’re eager
to equip each ward and also to get new
bedsheets, and clothes and other daily
things for the children.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to
Katie, and to each and every person who
stood by our side. I also want to thank
our co-workers, our nurses and therapists who daily give their all to caring
for the palliative children. I’d like to put
the spotlight on our energetic and wellloved therapist, Irakli Sharangia, who
helped us to bring the beds so quickly
from Turkey. My thanks also go to the
border guards who exempted us from
extra fees and Irakli’s Turkish friends
and all those involved in this kind act.”
Katie Ruth Davies: “I’d like to offer my
own thanks to all those people who saw
fit to make a difference to the lives of
these poor children. It went above and
beyond anything I imagined when I
posted that plea for help. But it’s made
me ambitious and I hope to do more
fund-raising for more needy children in
future, so watch this space!
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8
SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY
Head of National Environmental
Agency on Current Challenges
in Environmental Technologies
Development and Coping with
Climate Change
E
stablishedin2005,GEO
is a voluntary partnership of governments
and organizations that
envision “a future
wherein decisions and actions
for the benefit of humankind are
informed by coordinated, comprehensive and sustained Earth
observation and information.”
GEO Member Governments
include 96 nations, the European
Commission, and 87 Participating
Organizations comprised of international bodies with a mandate
in Earth observation.
The Twelfth Plenary Session of
the Group on Earth Observations
(GEO-XII) and Ministerial Summit was held in Mexico City,
Mexico, on 11-13th of November,
2015. Approximately 410 delegates
attended the Plenary and Ministerial Summit, representing 87
entities, including 41 countries
and 37 participating organizations.
Georgia Today spoke to Head
of the National Environmental
Agency, Tamar Bagratia, who was
invited to participate.
GEO-XII WAS TRULY A
LARGE-SCALE EVENT
ATTRACTING THE
ATTENTION OF GLOBAL
Tamar Bagratia, Head of the National Environmental Agency
MEDIA AND SEEING
MANY OF THE WORLD’S
ORGANIZATIONS
AND INSTITUTIONS
PRESENTING THEIR
ACHIEVEMENTS.
UNFORTUNATELY,
GEORGIA CAN’T BOAST
OF TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCEMENT FOR NOW
BUT THE EXPERIENCE
SHARING AND BEST
PRACTICE APPLICATIONS
SERVE AS A BASIS FOR
THE DEVELOPMENT IN
THIS REGARD. HOW
DID GEORGIA FIT IN?
meetings included the adoption
of the Mexico City Declaration
and approval of the GEO Strategic Plan for 2016-2025. The importance of using Earth observation
and related information to help
the world achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) will
be a focus for GEO activities in
the coming decade. The delegates
once again confirm that full and
open access to Earth observation
data, information and knowledge
is crucial for humanity as it faces
unprecedented social, economic
and environmental challenges.
warning systems and shared
their best practice on natural
hazard monitoring processes
and early warning systems as
set up in their counties.
In this context, I must refer
to the fact that one of the main
work directions of the Mexico
Ministerial was Public Health
Surveillance that foresees the
raising of public awareness and
supporting policy-making and
management through accurate
monitoring and early warning
at local, national, regional and
global levels.
I think this is an important platform to look for partners, to gain
information about new achievements and to fully integrate into
the existing systems. However,
in reality, Georgia is far from upto-date technology integration
and we found quite a big gap in
this sphere. This is due to the fact
that, for a long time, the field of
technology was not considered
a priority. But we intend to work
hard in this direction and we are
aware that if we choose the right
course, we have a chance to
approximate to international
standards.
The principal outcomes of these
TELL US ABOUT THE
RECENT CONFERENCE
THAT WAS HELD IN
TBILISI REGARDING EARLY
WARNING SYSTEMS
YOU MENTIONED
IN AN INTERVIEW
THAT THE CURRENT
NATIONAL [GEORGIAN]
METEOROLOGICAL
OBSERVANCE SYSTEM IS
INCOMPLETE AND DOES
NOT COMPLY WITH
MODERN STANDARDS
I would like to highlight that
recently, as a response to the current top issues on the global
agenda, an international conference on environmental monitoring technologies and early warning systems was held in Tbilisi,
initiated by the National Environmental Agency with the assistance
of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Swiss,
French, Finnish and other international experts spoke about early
I should say, that the current
reality leaves a lot to be desired.
The out of date methodologies
of the soviet times are still being
applied in meteorological observation activities on a daily basis
in Georgia. There is wide range
of other problems in this sphere:
the NEA has no meteorological
radars (at least 2 meteorological
radars are needed), there is lack of
information for modelling, and we
are not sufficiently integrated into
database sharing systems. What’s
more, there is shortage of human
recourses in regards to modern
technology usage. In this matter,
our major objective is to transfer
timely from the post-soviet system
and approach modern international
standards on a national scale. As
they say, a dollar invested into meteorology gains 20 dollars profit.
WHILE TALKING ABOUT
THE ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS ONE MUST
MENTION THE MAIN
PROBLEM ON THE
GLOBAL AGENDA- THE
CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUE
The twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and
the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the
meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol (CMP) will take place from
30 November to 11 December 2015,
in Paris, France.
It is evident that the climate change
problem won’t be avoided by Georgia and the South Caucasian region.
Global warming has already started
to have a significant impact on nature
and people in Georgia– effects
that will become even more severe
in the future. With regard to climate change, Georgia already
shows climate induced changes
with increasing temperatures,
shrinking glaciers, sea level rise,
reduction and redistribution of
river flows, decreasing snowfall
and an upward shift of the snowline. More extreme weather events
have also characterized the last
ten years with flooding, landslides,
forest fires and coastal erosion,
with significant economic losses
and human casualties as a result.
In countries such as Georgia,
the risks of climate change for
the agricultural sector are a particularly immediate and important
problem because the majority of
the rural population depends
either directly or indirectly on
agriculture for their livelihoods.
Currently, the NEA is working
intensively in collaboration with
the Ministry of Agriculture and,
especially for this sector, climate
change studies for all regions
were elaborated. The NEA plans
to address the climate change
issues in Agrometeorology and
develop this field, providing farmers with agriculturally relevant
weather forecasts, as well as to
develop strategic plans to assist
climate change mitigation process.
Despite the fact that the current
national environmental observation network is scarce and inadequate, the NEA, with maximum
aptitude, is carrying out its daily
environmental monitoring activities and processes, acquiring data
for final delivery to the affected
parties.
And, finally, we are strongly
committed to the fact that the
Agency must continue to grow
and develop in order to respond
to the current and future requirements.
SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY
9
UN Partners with
Youth to Mark
World AIDS Day
in Georgia
BY MARIAM SIKHARULIDZE
S
ince 1988, December 1 has
been marked as the World
AIDS Day to raise awareness
on HIV/AIDS, show support
for people living with HIV
and commemorate people who have
died. This year the UN marked World
AIDS Day with ‘new hope’, as the world
leaders committed to end AIDS epidemic by 2030, within the new Sustainable Development Agenda. With Georgia being no exception, the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
(UN Women) and Georgian Youth
Development and Education Association (GYDEA) in partnership with University of Georgia (UG) joined the global
marking and organized an event in the
Round Garden opposite the UN House
in Tbilisi.
At the event, which aimed to increase
awareness on HIV prevention among
youth, the TV public service announcement (PSA) promoting free of charge
HIV counseling and testing services
among youth and women, was launched.
The PSA is a collaborative initiative of
the UNFPA and UN Women in partnership with the Georgian AIDS and Clin-
ical Immunology Research Center. The
presentation of the video was followed
with the Awards Ceremony of the winners of the Youth contest on the most
creative media pieces on the topic of
HIV prevention, announced by UNFPA
earlier in November. After the awards
ceremony, popular youth bands “Ghost
Vision” and “King Monkey” performed
for the audience.
Currently, Georgia stands among HIV
low prevalence countries; by November
2015 there have been 5 328 registered
cases of HIV, the majority of which belong
to 29-40 age group. The correlation
between violence against women and
HIV & AIDS is high and women and girl
victims of violence represent those of
the high risk group. Although the infection is mainly located among the male
population (69% of total reported cases),
during the last year the proportion of
women affected increased from 25% to
31%.
“In order to support HIV prevention,
it is of utmost importance to increase
awareness on the issue, especially among
adolescents and youth. Although Georgia is an HIV/AIDS low prevalence country, the number of registered cases is on
the rise, which represents a serious public health challenge. Increasingly, HIV
impacts women, thus our efforts and
responses to HIV must be targeted to
addressing their needs,” – said Ms. Lela
Bakradze, Assistant Representative of
UNFPA Georgia Country Office.
The United Nations has a significant
role and is committed to support implementation of the new Global UNAIDS
strategy globally and at the national
level. HIV control and management
Invitation to Participate in the Sales Procedures
Announced by the Embassy of the Republic of
France in Georgia on the Sale of 3933 sq/m
Land Plot Located in the Center of Tbilisi
The Embassy of the Republic of France in Georgia has
announced a Sales Procedures on the sale of land plot
located adjacent to the Rustaveli Avenue at 4 Khazina St.,
Tbilisi, Georgia. The land plot has the following characteristics: cadastral code – 01.15.04.007.010; total area of the
land plot - 3933 sq/m. The land plot qualifies as type 2
recreational zone with the following coefficients:
K1= [0,2], K2=[undefined] and K3=[Undefined].
Please, take into account that the Sales Procedures n will
be conducted in accordance with the Rules for Submission
of Offers available on the web-page of the Embassy:
ambafrance-ge.org, or by e-mail request at
[email protected]. The interested
Parties shall submit their Expression of Interest in a form
and to the addressee(s) envisaged in the Rules for
Submission of Offers.
In case of additional questions, please, contact [the
consul or hes representative] at the following e-mail
[[email protected]] or call at
[(00 995 32) 272 14 90] from Monday to Friday
from 9:30 AM till 12:30 PM.
The Expression of Interest shall be submitted to the
Contact Person indicated above no later than
15th of October 2015.
continues to be a central plank of global
strategies to improve women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health. HIV
prevention among youth has been one
of the key focus areas of UNFPA Georgia Country Office for more than a decade now. UNFPA supports strengthen-
ing of integrated HIV and sexual and
reproductive health services and strongly
believes that increased national investments in HIV prevention, especially for
young people and key affected populations, will contribute to ending AIDS
epidemic by 2030.
10
SOCIETY
‘There Will Be
Khinkali and
Drinking!’ Ogden
on Hospitality
OPED BY TIM OGDEN
A
ny foreigner in Georgia,
whether he be the seasoned
expat or a new arrival fresh
off the plane, will know (or
at least have heard) about
the great Georgian pride in their national
hospitality. I should point out that there
are many forms of Georgian hospitality,
but for young foreign chaps like me, the
initial encounter comes in the form of a
Georgian man performing the celebrated
let-me-be-your-brother role: ‘There will
be khinkali and drinking,’ he says, with
the air of the Creator establishing land
and sea. These parties, whether
impromptu supras in a modest home or
in a grand restaurant booked and paid
for, usually seem to be what is referred
to when one hears the phrase ‘Georgian
hospitality’. They typically result in one
drinking enough wine to sink a ship and
listening to inflated complimentary toasts
that leave you feeling sure that you are
in possession of the best qualities of
Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln and
Mike Tyson.
However, the notion of Georgian hos-
pitality incurs a great deal of cynicism
from foreigners. For sour English sceptics like myself, the sight and sound of
Georgians toasting you, dubbing you a
‘good man’, wishing you every success
in life and heaping blessings on your
ancestors on first acquaintance can come
across as ludicrously insincere. Besides
which, a significant number of my own
forebears were lawyers, politicians or
career criminals (or a mixture of all
three), so whether they deserve a blessing at all is highly debatable.
This, of course, is the view of one Englishman, and we are notoriously cold;
we tolerate rather than like our friends,
endure our families for legal reasons
(murder and assault being frowned upon
these days) and marry due to a genetic
instinct that the English race must survive, if only to point out to the rest of
the species just how damn silly they all
are, and if they would just drink tea and
vent their anger towards each other with
curt remarks or a timely sniff then there
would be no more war.
For us, manners are one thing, but
heaping praise and good wishes on perfect strangers is nothing short of madness.
Georgians are hospitable...though with
GEORGIA TODAY
A traditional Georgian supra
table painted by Pirosmani
certain Georgians, this only lasts as long
as one agrees with absolutely everything
they say. It can be unnerving to hear a
crowd of ten Georgian men growling
about how Stalin was a great man, how
homosexuality is a ‘sickness’ and how
women are either prostitutes or mothers, then look them in the eye and say
‘No’. (I’ve lost count of the amount of
houses I’ve left in disgrace, though thankfully that type of ‘conservative’ Georgian
seems to be a dying breed.)
Some years ago, an American friend
of mine got into a fight, and seeing his
face bruised I asked what had happened.
It turned out he’d been at a supra.
‘I just didn’t want to do a traditional
toast with [a guy]. He pushed me, so I
hit him.’
Naturally, most Georgians cringe at
such stories, and such ugly incidents are
rare. These ‘traditional’ Georgians are
just over-bearing and slightly pushy,
aggressively friendly in a way which can
be annoying rather than offensive; in the
same way, foreigners can be entirely
tactless and unspeakably arrogant: I’ve
seen both sides kick the tension off.
Don’t get the wrong idea; after all, as
an Englishman with a smattering of
Welsh blood, I don’t particularly like
anybody. When one finds a real Georgian
friend (and not the type who puts his
paw on your shoulder, promises to show
you where his grandfather makes wine,
then asks if you like football and strip
clubs), you’ll never find a truer compan-
ion. Just endure the endless toasts, the
half-hearted offers and forceful friendships that borderline on violations of
personal space until you find one of the
many normal Georgians who are as sick
of their hospitality as you are.
Georgia Participates in the OSCE
Ministerial Council Meeting
T
he 22nd meeting of the
OSCE Ministerial Council
has opened in Belgrade.
The Georgian delegation
is headed by the Vice Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister Giorgi
Kvirikashvili.
Kvirikashvili is expected to deliver a
speech at the Ministerial Council plenary
meeting, in which he will focus on the
security challenges to the OSCE and on
the current situation in Georgia’s occupied territories.
According to the MFA, Kvirikashvili
will meet with OSCE Secretary General
Lamberto Zannier, Director of the OSCE
Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights Michael Georg Link, OSCE
High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors, OSCE Representative
on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovi
and Foreign Ministers of other countries.
As part of the OSCE Ministerial Council, a meeting of the GUAM Foreign
Ministers Council is also expected.
SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY
Tbilisi’s Own Billy
Elliot: A Ballet
Success Story
BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES
G
eorgia Today spoke to William Pratt, a 31-year-old
British soloist of the State
Ballet of Georgia, who has
been living in Georgia for
almost seven years, about his inspiration
and the challenges he has faced in his
career.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO
BALLET DANCING?
I got into dancing because my sisters
were into it. At first I did it just for fun
but then the New York City Ballet came
on tour to England and I went to one of
their performances and that was what
really made me want to pursue dance as
a career.
HAVE YOU FACED ANY
CHALLENGES AS A MALE
BALLET DANCER?
I haven’t really faced many challenges
to do with being a male dancer, though
you do get the occasional comment. I’ve
not had any negative experiences in
Georgia- it was more when I was starting out that I had the problems. I was
scared to tell my friends what I was doing
but once I did, they were all great about
it. That said, I do think once ‘Billy Elliot’
came out people’s perception really
started to change towards male ballet
dancers. [N.B. ‘Billy Elliot’ is a 2000 British dance drama film featuring an 11-yearold boy who is an aspiring dancer dealing with the negative stereotype of the
male ballet dancer in 1980s north-east
England].
HOW DID YOU MEET
PRIMA BALLERINA NINA
ANANIASHVILI AND
WHAT WERE YOUR
IMPRESSIONS OF HER?
I first met Nina when I arrived in Georgia. I was nervous because I’d been living quite an isolated existence in New
Zealand for nine years- away from the
international dance scene. But I remember at the New Zealand School of Dance
we had a library and in the video section
there was a DVD on Nina doing Swan
Lake and I honestly cannot count how
many times I watched that DVD! When
I realized I was going to be working for
her, it was an amazing and scary feeling.
And I’ll never forget my first meeting
with Nina: I arrived in Georgia on a Sunday was taken straight to the theatre to
meet the Company. I was sitting at the
front of the studio waiting to watch a
class and Nina walked in! When she said
hello, I just remember that her face and
eyes had so much energy, I could tell
straight away how motivated a person
she was!
HOW DID YOU END
UP IN GEORGIA?
Though New Zealand gave me so much
that I’ll always be grateful for, I left the
company there after two years because
I felt like there was a huge world out
there to explore. I went back home to
England and basically spent time either
living on my friend’s floor in Lindon or
travelling around Europe auditioning.
My last audition was in France and I
almost didn’t go because my money was
running out- but I’m so glad I did as it
was there I met Frank Andersen, who
had worked with the State Ballet of Georgia many times. He watched a class and
after he asked for my details to pass on
to Nina and within two weeks of that
first meeting, I was in Tbilisi.
William Pratt, a British ballet soloist, can
be seen on stage in Tbilisi
WHAT DO YOU LOVE
MOST AND LEAST ABOUT
LIFE IN GEORGIA?
The thing I love most about Georgia is
the people. Georgian people are so warm
and loyal, which is very hard to find in
a lot of other countries. I also love that
Georgia has given me so many great
memories and experiences- and also I
met my amazing wife here, Maia, and
we have two beautiful daughters, so
Georgia has given me more than I could
ever have asked for.
WILL YOUR GIRLS FOLLOW
IN YOUR FOOTSTEPS? WILL
YOU ENCOURAGE THEM TO?
I don’t know if my girls will dance or
not. My oldest daughter Ana, who is 6,
Embassies, International Organizations in
Georgia Discuss on Security Challenges
S
tate Security service of Georgia hosted a joint meeting that
brought together representatives of embassies and international organizations accredited in Georgia, as well as security
attaches.
The participants of the meeting underlined the threats and challenges facing
international community as well as
underlined importance of fight against
terrorism and strengthening international
cooperation in law enforcement.
The parties discussed unity of international community and importance of
information exchange mechanisms
improvement. Recent reform implemented, aspects of the activities and
prospects of development of State Security Service were also discussed during
the meeting.
The meeting brought together head of
administration of State Security Service
of Georgia Lela Chikovani, head of
Counter-terrorism Center Irakli Chimakadze, head of Anti-corruption Agency
Lasha Tsomaia, head of Analytical department Irakli Beraia and other officials.
The meeting was attended by the representatives of partner countries: the
USA (Federal Bureau of investigation,
State Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs, Defense
Threat Reduction Agency, as well as
Regional Security officer), Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, the UK, Estonia, Turkey, Japan,
Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece,
France, Armenia, Ukraine and Hungary,
representatives of embassies, security
and police attaches. The event was also
attended by representatives from Europol,
NATO and the European Union Office
in Georgia, the EU Monitoring Mission
and the Red Cross.
loves dancing but I’m not sure whether
she’ll choose it as a career, I always say
‘no way’ but, honestly, I want my kids to
experience as much as I have and more.
I am so grateful to my parents for all the
sacrifices and time they invested in me
growing up, so I want the same for my
girls; I want to be able to give them everything.
You have had solo roles in Sarabande,
Petite Mort, and Sechs Tanze by Jiri
Kylian, Charms of Mannerism by Alexei
Ratmansky, Sagalobeli by Yuri Possokhov, amongst others, and have played
roles such as Rothbart in Swan Lake
and danced Espada and Bolero in Don
Quixote. What does it take to be a soloist?
To be a soloist I think anywhere in the
world it’s not just about how well you
dance but about how hard you work. I’ve
11
known many dancers with a lot of talent
but who got impatient and then lazy
having to start from the bottom in a
company. I don’t see myself as the most
talented dancer but I always wanted it
badly enough to work hard for it. I was
told time and time again to give it up;
that there was no future in it, but that
just made me want it more! I even had
one teacher ask me what my father did
and when I said he was a bricklayer, he
quietly suggested I think about doing an
apprenticeship with him and stop dancing!
I feel so lucky that I’ve had the chance
to work for the number one Prima Ballerina in the world and have travelled
all over the globe doing what I love to
do. So, I think being a successful soloist
is about how you go about your job and
I guess some talent also helps...
12
SOCIETY
GEORGIA TODAY
Chaos or Law?
Svaneti
BY TONY HANMER
G
od forbid.
I first entered Svaneti in
the summer of 1999, taking
a taxi from Kutaisi with
three friends when we
failed to find a rumored helicopter from
there. We didn’t see much of the watchtowers on the way to Mestia, having set
off late enough that it was dark when we
arrived. En route we were stopped by a
Soviet “Jeep” and a lady told us off for
coming without protection or arrangements. She put us up in her guest house,
and maybe saved us from kidnapping or
armed robbery, all too common in the
province in those wild days.
After that I came under the “protection” of the relatives of a friend in Tbilisi
when I visited Svaneti; he is from the
village my wife and I now live in, which
is largely why we’re here. His relatives
were in the Aprasidze clan, themselves
part of the criminal situation here which
President Saakashvili dealt with in a
multi-helicopter raid on our village about
ten years ago, “taking out” a father and
son and imprisoning two more sons.
(Under Shevardnadze they had been
under some sort of house arrest which
left them free to pursue their activities
without consequence.) Their house still
stands, ruined and abandoned, about 15
minutes’ walk above ours. The wife
moved away from Svaneti; the two sons
are now free.
After that raid, Svaneti quickly became
a much more lawful place. The message
that We Will Have Peace Here was successfully transmitted, it seems. Police
structures were replaced and enlarged,
as they were elsewhere in Georgia, and
I began to see the sorts of travelers which
indicate feelings of safety—loners,
women, children.
No one wants those times back again.
The local people who had nowhere else
to go were under a curtain of terror,
never knowing when they would be
robbed on the road or even at home, or
kidnapped. Those who could, somehow,
left. Infrastructure was bad too, the road
much worse than it is now, electricity
very haphazard, the police rare birds. It
really was Georgia’s Wild West. If you
entered the place without good local
contacts and presence, you were taking
your life in your hands. This all hardly
touched me, thanks to my protectors,
but it was in the background of every
trip I made here from 1999 to 2005. My
friend feared for me when I bought some
very nice second hand winter boots; they
were too attractive not to want to steal
off my feet.
We can’t ever go back to that... can we?
Well, Svaneti has been like that before,
and has been “pacified” before too. The
highest part of it proudly declared themselves ubatono, “lordless”, in feudal times.
All it will take is a little less attention
from Tbilisi and Zugdidi, a little more
pushing and shoving at local power and
authority, a little more looking the other
way or even becoming actively involved
in local crime. Now, I’m not saying that
this is happening now, not trying to be
a scare-monger and drive tourism away
again. In a few days’ time, a new ski
resort, with the highest-altitude winter
sports in Georgia, is due to open between
Mulakhi and Ipari villages, called Tetnuldi. We want this! It’s good for everyone, locals and foreign investors alike.
I am, however, saying that the balance
could be tipped back to chaos again
without too much difficulty. As the owner
of the main shop and a guest house in
my village, I now have a vested interest
in seeing this place stay peaceful and
safe. I live here too! I haven’t been a mere
visitor for years now!
God forbid.
Tony Hanmer runs the “Svaneti Renaissance”
Facebook group, now with over 1250 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
President Saakashvili dealt with in
a multi-helicopter raid on our
village about ten years ago,
“taking out” a father and son and
imprisoning two more sons. Their
house still stands, ruined and
abandoned, about 15 minutes’
walk above ours
CULTURE
GEORGIA TODAY
13
The 16th International
Film Festival Begins
BY MAKA LOMADZE
H
ere we go! The event that
is largely awaited by all
generations of Georgians
and foreigners, already a
bench-mark in spite of the
great financial problems Georgian cinematography faces today: the Tbilisi
International Film Festival (Prometheus)
has started, due to the enthusiastic creative and technical team, dedication to
the world cinema and wish to support
the new generation of Georgian directors. Over 100 films will be shown from
November 30 to December 6.
The festival was opened on November
30, by the Georgian movie by Levan Tutberidze titled “Moira”, present on the
official list of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences as one of the
foreign-language film contenders among
81 countries overall.
The most large-scale annual cinema
occasion based in Tbilisi chooses one
topical issue. This year’s Prometheus
mainly focuses on women’s issues. A
separate bloc is dedicated to women’s
vision and their problems. The team of
the festival aim to boost public discussion
on gender equality, violence against
women, realization of women in politics,
social or cultural spheres, feminism,
women’s cinema and women in cinema.
The organizers also aim to share information and widen the network inside the
South Caucasus region between appropriate gender experts and people in charge
of cinematography. The international jury
is also headed by a lady – Martha Fiennes
from Great Britain. There are two more
female judges: Pnina Blayer from Israel,
Artistic Director of Haifa International
Film Festival, and Nutsa Alexi-Meskhishvili, Georgian director. The remaining
two jury members are men: Pitter Scarlet,
a film historian from the US, and Alik
Shpilug, a film critic from Ukraine.
As per tradition, the mainstream is an
international contest, this year featuring
films like: ‘Youth’ – which premiered at
the 2015 Cannes Festival and was nominated for a Palme D’or, ‘Goat’ – a Slovakian movie and a competitor in the best
foreign films at the Oscars ceremony,
and ‘45 years’- starring Charlotte Rampling and directed by Andrew Haigh,
which was given 98% out of the total 100
on the Rotten Tomatoes web-site.
The organizers believe that young directors need special help and material aids,
as well as recognition and prizes. “Prizes
are important for a director’s further
career as well as for the film’s future, as
awarded films are always more commercially attractive,” said Gaga Chkeidze,
Prometheus General Director.
Mikheil Giorgadze, Minister of Culture
and Monument Protection, stated that
expectations should not be too high
“considering our tight budget,” adding
that they plan to create a format to boost
closer cooperation between the Georgian
business circles and cinema.
The Georgian panorama is very colorful and represents full-length movies, as
well as short films and documentaries
and a national competition will be held
in all three nominations.
This year, Prometheus offers a new
bloc titled ‘Cinema for Social Change’
- an international film project dedicated
to presenting documentary and feature
films focused on essential political and
social issues facing people today.
The festival has set other prizes too:
two extra Prometheus for special contribution to the development of cinema,
which is set to become traditional – one
will go to a foreigner and one to a Georgian cinematographer. It has already
been voiced who will be the holders or
these prizes: the Georgian female direc-
tor Lana Ghoghoberidze, and 60 year
old Harutiun Khachatrian, an Armenian
director who founded the ‘Golden Apricot’ film foundation and Yerevan Film
Festival. There is also one more reward
named after Georgian-born great Armenian director Parajanov that will go to a
selected film for its particular cinematographic aesthetics.
Besides the sections mentioned above,
the European Forum, Made in Germany,
Horizons, French Collection and Country
in Focus: Switzerland, as well as Cinema
Memory, Animations, and Special Screening are being offered. Traditionally, the
golden Prometheus will go to the best
film and the silver one – to the best directing. Watch this space for the latest news
on the Tbilisi International Film Festival,
and visit us at georgiatoday.ge
Culture Plus: the Ministry of Culture Publishes a New Magazine
BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES
B
egin working in a kitchen or
in some corner if you wish,
but do it in a Georgian way,
with Georgian words, with
a Georgian idea, with Georgian knowledge and awareness, and with
Georgian love…- said Shalva Kikodze,
Georgian expressionist painter, graphic
artist and theatre decorator, in 1920.
With this in mind, the quarterly bilingual (Georgian-English) magazine
‘Culture Plus’ is the latest offering of the
Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection, produced with the hopes of
boosting awareness of the deep historical and contemporary culture that Georgia has to offer. With the themes of history, literature, cinema, visual arts, music,
artists, festivals, culture heritage and
more, the magazine also aims to promote
talented Georgian artists, musicians and
writers.
The first issue is packed with descriptions of past and future festivals, amongst
them this year’s Black Sea Jazz festival
with its crowning glory- Snoop Dogg,
the Venice International Biennale and
Prague Quadrennial, and Frankfurt Book
Fair 2018, at which Georgia will be the
Guest of Honor. You will also hear the
wisdom of such Georgian greats as Galaktion (in this case, from his Cyber-self),
get a real feel for the Kutaisi beloved by
famed poet Akaki Tsereteli, and hear a
fair criticism of the state of the country’s
cinema industry from someone very
much in the know.
As the Editors say in the preface to the
magazine:
“Georgian culture and art is an important lever in the country’s intellectual
and economic formation. Furthermore,
both our country’s success and the basis
of our future are strongly dependent on
our intellect, our spirituality, taste, and
culture in general.
Every nation should try to reveal its
national essence to its own, as well as to
the rest of the civilized world, and to
acquaint them with it. A nation that fails
to share its spirituality with others has no
future, and this is tantamount to treason.”
The new ‘Culture Plus’ magazine will
be distributed to governmental institutions and the diplomatic corps, and will
be found in libraries throughout Georgia.
14
CULTURE
GEORGIA TODAY
Movie Night in Old Tbilisi
Raises Questions for Future
of City’s Walkers
BY ROBERT ISAF
W
alking Tbilisi can be
a hazardous prospect.
Iare Pekhit, a threeyear old Non-Governmental Organization based in Tbilisi, aims to change that.
One step towards change took place last
Saturday night, right where the Old City’s
winding streets start, with a discussion
and documentary film showing on the
matter of urbanization in our modern
world.
The film, “Urbanized,” was released in
2011, and presents its audience many of
the questions facing cities and their
design today. The screening was held at
Kiwi Café, a non-profit vegan coffee shop
and restaurant located on Vertskhili St.
that, since opening over the summer, has
become something of a community center
for many activism-oriented groups and
individuals. Though the kitchen was
closed for personal orders, finger snacks,
popcorn, glintwine, and cider were provided, cups and platters the only things
able to pass through a room the crowd
had packed to capacity.
Iare Pekhit organizers Elene Margvelashvili and Inge Snip led the evening,
assisted by Irakli Zhvania, an MIT-trained
architect and city planner who gave a
brief introduction to the history of urban
planning before the screening began.
The film – which showcased places as
disparate as the slums of Santiago and
the central train station in Stuttgart –
provided the crowd with plenty of fodder. During the discussion that took place
afterwards, however, the film’s segment
on Bogota, its charismatic mayor, and
the public transportation network he
oversees, which prioritizes pedestrians,
bikes, and rapid-transit busses, took
center stage, with Ms. Snip asking the
attendees: “Do you think it’s possible to
have the Bogota ideas in Tbilisi?”
The audience consensus seemed to be
that it was possible, but only with proper
city leadership. For the time being, that
leadership simply doesn’t seem to exist.
The old general plan for Tbilisi has been
ignored for years, it was explained, with
the rationale that a new general plan is
being completed. In the meantime, the
situation on the ground remains chaotic,
plagued by a lack of communication
between government ministries, inac-
What is
happening right
now in Tbilisi in
terms of urban
development is
exactly what the
world is trying to
get rid of
tion due to election-year cowardice, and
the allocation of funds to outdated projects and solutions like highway overpasses and boulevard underpasses.
With this in mind, Ms. Margvelashvili
explained Iare Pekhit’s current strategy
for improving the world of pedestrians:
“What we’re trying to work on at the
moment are the (city planning laws) that
exist and aren’t being implemented,” she
said. “Things that are already in the (old)
general plan. For example, parking on
the sidewalk.” Furthermore, as the government eyes the looming elections,
“what we’ve been trying very hard to do
is convince them that this is not an
unpopular decision. Of course, it will be
uncomfortable to some people but in
the long term everyone will see that this
will make people happier, and work for
the majority of people who don’t have
cars.”
Certainly, the current of development
in Georgia isn’t encouraging. “What is
happening right now in Tbilisi, looking
at the urban development tendencies, is
exactly what the world is trying to get
rid of,” Mr. Zhvania told the audience.
“What we are doing now is what was
done in the West in the 1960s. By the 70s
they realized that it was absolutely wrong
– and now what they are trying to get
away from, [the Tbilisi city government]
are trying to do!”
Iare Pekhit’s characteristic focus on
advocacy through art, displayed in their
“Care for your City” public art contest,
of which a new round has recently been
announced, and by the make-up of their
staff, the majority of whom are personally involved in the arts themselves, made
the choice of venue feel entirely natural.
The crowd, though skewing young, drew
visibly from all ages and walks of life.
The organizers were themselves visibly
emboldened by the result.
“I think that tonight shows that there’s
a demand,” Ms. Snip told the crowd,
explaining to it the changes Iare Pekhit
is trying to implement on Tbilisi’s streets.
“Maybe this is the right time, the opportunity to create an opportunity, to build
on this and to make a change.”
WHAT’S ON IN TBILISI
THEATRE
GABRIADZE THEATRE
Address: 13 Shavtelis St.
Telephone: 2 98 65 93
December 4
MARSHAL DE FANTIE’S DIAMOND
Rezo Gabriadze
Directed by Rezo Gabriadze
English Subtitles
Start time: 20:00
Ticket price: 10, 15, 20 Lari
December 5
RAMONA
Rezo Gabriadze
English Subtitles
Start time: 20:00
December 6
AUTUMN OF MY SPRING
Rezo Gabriadze
English Subtitles
Start time: 20:00
December 6
WEDDING
Directed by Avtandil Varsimashvili
Language: Russian
Start time: 18:00
Ticket price: 5 Lari
MOVEMENT THEATRE
Address: 182, Aghmashenebeli Ave.,
Mushthaid park
Telephone: 599 555 260
December 4, 6
INTRO
Directed by Kakha Bakuradze
Start time: 20:00
Ticket price: From 10 Lari
ROYAL DISTRICT THEATRE
Address: 10 Abesadze Str.
December 6
WOMEN OF TROY
Directed by Data Tavadze
English Subtitles
Start time: 20:00
MARJANISHVILI THEATRE
Address: 5 Marjanishvli Str.
TBILISI NODAR DUMBADZE
STATE CENTRAL CHILDREN’S
THEATRE
Address: 99/1 Agmashenebeli Ave.
December 4
LOVE LETTERS
Alan Garner
Directed by Temur Chkheidze
The Roof
English Subtitles
Start time: 20:00
Ticket Price: 12 Lari
December 6
NEW YEAR EVE AND ALIENS
Directed By Dimitri Gvtisiashvili
Language: Russian
Start time: 12:00
GRIBOEDOVI THEATRE
Address: 2 Rustaveli Ave.
December 5
YELLOW ANGLE
Directed by Avtandil Varsimashvili
Language: Russian
Start time: 18:00
CINEMA
CAVEA IMAX
Address: 2 Tvalchrelidze Str.
Telephone: 2 007 007
December 4-7
THE HUNGER GAMES:
MOCKINGJAY – PART 2
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh
Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi
Language: English
Start time: 17:20
Language: Russian
Start time: 17:00, 19:50, 22:50
Ticket price: 10.50 – 13.50 Lari
SPECTRE
Directed by Sam Mendes
Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph
Waltz, Léa Seydoux
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Language: Russian
Start time: 22:45
MACBETH
Directed by Justin Kurzel
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Elizabeth
Debicki, Marion Cotillard
Genre: Drama, War
Language: Russian
Start time: 12:00, 14:30, 20:15, 22:30
VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN
Directed by Paul McGuigan
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, James
McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay
Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Language: Russian
Start time: 12:45, 15:15, 17:15
IN THE HEART OF THE SEA
Directed by Ron Howard
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian
Murphy, Brendan Gleeson
Genre: Action, Adventure,
Biography
Language: English
Start time: 20:00
Language: Russian
Start time: 22:45
THE GOOD DINOSAUR 3D
Directed by Peter Sohn
Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Frances
McDormand, Maleah Nipay-Padilla
Genre: Animation, Adventure,
Comedy
Language: English
Start time: 17:45
SICARIO
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin,
Benicio Del Toro
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Language: Russian
Start time: 19:30, 22:15
MUSEUM
GEORGIAN NATIONAL
MUSEUM
SIMON JANASHIA MUSEUM
Telephone: 2 99 80 22, 2 93 48 21
www.museum.ge
ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE
Permanent Exhibition
November 17 - May 1
THE GEORGIAN NATIONAL
MUSEUM AND ALEXANDER
KARTVELI ASSOCIATION
PRESENT AN EXHIBITION
DEDICATED TO THE GREATEST
MILITARY AIRCRAFT DESIGNER
IN HISTORY.
GALLERY
BAIA GALLERY
Address: 10 Chardin Str
December 3-13
NINO KIPSHIDZE PERSONAL
EXHIBITION
THE NATIONAL GALLERY
www.museum.ge
November 7 – December 6
THE EXHIBITION OF
SCENOGRAPHY by three
Georgian artists – Oleg Kochakidze,
Alexander Slovinsky, Yuri
Chikvaidze.
The exposition is dedicated to
the 80th anniversary of the three
members of the artistic group
working on scenography.
RED SQUARE
Address: 88 Paliashvili Str.
Telephone: 577 74 77 45
November 25 – December 6
RED SQUARE gallery presents
ELENE AKHVLEDIANI personal
exhibition
MUSIC
TBILISI CONCERT HALL
Address: 1 Melikishvili St.
December 5
VLADIMIR COSMA
MASTERPIECES OF FRENCH
CINEMA MUSIC
Start time: 20:00
TBILISI ART HALL
Address: 26 Ts. Dadiani Str.
December 5
GEORGIAN OSSETIAN EVENING
Ossetian State Ensemble “Nartebi”
Start time: 19:00
TBILISI BAROQUE FESTIVAL
2015
www.tbf.ge
THE WORLD OF ANTONIO
VIVALDI
Start time: 19:30
Venue: Rustaveli Theatre
CULTURE
GEORGIA TODAY
15
Erisioni, The Light
on the Mountain Top
Standing Strong
Erisioni General Manager, Otar Bluashvili
BY MERI TALIASHVILI
G
eorgian State Academic
Ensemble of Folk Song and
Dance Erisioni was founded
in 1885 and since then has
maintained its uniqueness
and true Georgian folk spirit, remaining
strong through the world wars, Tsarism
and other great troubles- never losing
its originality and conveys folk masterpieces to generations. It is equally eulogized in Europe and the United States
and in 1977, the Americans sent Erisioni’s
Chakrulo to the Universe as a priceless
art work.
On November 27th, Erisioni marked
its 130 year anniversary and wowed its
audience as never before. Georgia Today
congratulated Erisioni its 130 years and
spoke exclusively with its General Manager Otar Bluashvili about the ensemble’s
foundation, success, challenges and
recent grand show in Tbilisi.
brought the Americans and the French
and decided to go on tour. He said we
needed a great advert for our group,
and a shorter name! Therefore, we
started searching for the right name
and contacted linguist Levan Gvinchilia
who recommended we name it Erisioni
which, according to the Sulkhan-Saba
Orbeliani dictionary, meant the light
high on the mountain. After that we
truly achieved a lot of success. Thanks
to American businessman Jim Lowe,
who financed our first concert in the
States in 2000. In 2002 we had two concerts in Paris with box office success.
Then we shot the video for Shatilis
Asulo (Daughter of Shatili) in the Alps
which became an instant hit, leading to
our appearing in 13 French cities. The
French produced the disc ‘Georgian
Legend’ and then Universal Studios in
France compiled an album of the most
popular albumns collection and named
it ‘World Voices’. Our ‘Daughter of Shatili’ was included at #2.
Yes, it was a very special day. The
Ministry of Culture and Monument
Protection of Georgia and City Hall
assisted us to make this great show.
We added new costumes and new
performances and the audience clearly
showed their intense emotions to see
it. We put a lot into it and got back
just that!
YOU MARKED THE
130TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE ENSEMBLE ON
NOVEMBER 27TH.
It unfortunately happens that, due to the
lack of money, we have lost artists. I
would say it is catastrophic. Turkey offers
tenfold more to them and they go. One
of the greatest opera singers told me
that, “Of course you should have opera
and ballet, but they will always have their
supporters from Italy and France and no
one will be held to your Chakrulo and
Kazbeguri except you.” Since our personnel started moving on, we have lost
something of our true spirit. Our dancers serve other countries and we lose
our own. That said, Georgia has been
through worse times and not lost its folk
music. So, we will face the challenges,
stand strong, and keep offering the wonder of Georgian folk music and dance to
the world as only the Erisioni ensemble
can do!
FOLLOWING THIS SUCCESS,
WHAT DO YOU PLAN NEXT?
Tel: (995 32) 2 45 08 08
E-mail: [email protected]
10 Galaktion Street
WHEN DID YOU JOIN
THE ENSEMBLE?
MR BLUASHVILI, HOW WAS
ERISIONI FOUNDED AND
HOW DID IT GET ITS NAME?
In 1885, Georgian philanthropist Lado
Aghniashvili brought together musicians from different regions along with
Czech musician Josef Navradel, an opera
singer who accompanied an Italian
group here in 1880, as a conductor.
Navradel formed a small group with his
opera singers and studied Georgian folk
music. When the question arose as to
who should be appointed as conductor,
he was chosen as one able to put Georgian songs into musical notes. The
Georgian Honored State Folk Song and
Dance Ensemble was born- the first
professional group in Georgia to lay the
groundwork for professional activities,
after which these talented people, once
scattered around Georgia- along with
the whole country -started to sing! During Tsarism, Russia was not pleased
with the fact and of course refused
financial support. The group functioned
with the help of philanthropists and
benevolence and the artists were paid
very little or not at all.
In 1924, Givi Pachkoria was appointed
Head and much success came with his
arrival on the scene. In 1999, French
producer Martin Gérarti came and
I joined in 1976 as a soloist singer. Before,
I had been a member of other ensembles
and when I came here I was already a
professional. For 22 years I was the lead
singer and used to sing Kartli-Kakheti
songs. In 1986, the management was
changed and Jemal Tchkuaseli came. We
continued working, started a new program, the clothing was changed, and new
views were born. Then he offered me
the chance to move into administrative
We added new
costumes and
new
performances.
We put a lot into
it and got back
just that!
PUBLISHER & GM
George Sharashidze
COMMERCIAL
DEPARTMENT
Commercial Director:
Iva Merabishvili
Marketing Manager:
Mako Burduli
GEORGIA TODAY
service in 1998. Now, I am a General
Manager. Soon I’ll have been working
here 40 years! People often ask me how
I stayed in the same job for so long and
I say: I love my job! Honestly, my family
always supported me in working here.
My sons followed in their father’s stepsone joined us and the other graduated
in the State and is involved in art. My
wife Nana has been working here over
20 years as a costume designer.
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT:
Editor-In-Chief:
Katie Ruth Davies
Journalists:
Tony Hanmer, Tamar
Svanidze, Zviad Adzinbaia,
Beqa Kirtava, Meri
Taliashvili, Eka Karsaulidze,
Zaza Jgharkava, Ana
Lomtadze, Maka Bibilashvili,
Nina Ioseliani, Tatia
Megeneishvili, Karen
Tovmasyan, Dimitri
Dolaberidze, Nino
Japarashvili, Maka
Lomadze
Photographer:
Zviad Nikolaishvili
Layout:
Misha Mchedlishvili
Webmaster:
Sergey Gevenov
Circulation Managers:
David Kerdikashvili,
David Djandjgava
ADDRESS
1 Melikishvili Str.
Tbilisi, 0179, Georgia
Tel.: +995 32 229 59 19
E: [email protected]
F: GeorgiaToday
ADVERTISING &
SUBSCRIPTION
+995 595 279997
E-mail: marketing@
georgiatoday.ge
Reproducing material,
photos and advertisements
without prior editorial
permission is strictly
forbidden.
The author is responsible for
all material. Rights of authors
are preserved. The
newspaper is registered in
Mtatsminda district court.
Reg. # 06/4-309

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