Issue #1244

Issue no: 1244

• MAY 1 - 7, 2020 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY

PRICE: GEL 2.50

In this week’s issue...

Want to watch it LIVE? Scan here and enjoy!

Weekly Entrepreneurial News @entrepreneur.ge NEWS PAGE 2

Post-Corona Modus Vivendi POLITICS PAGE 3

The Campaign #ThePowerIsInUs

FOCUS ON AUSTRIA NOW & BEYOND COVID-19 GT meets exclusively with Austrian Ambassador Arad Benko to compare the Georgian and Austrian COVID-19 experiences.

PAGE 4

Tedo Japaridze: We Should Build On the Relationships We Have Invested in, but Should Not Delude Ourselves that Nothing Will Change EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY VAZHA TAVBERIDZE

A

fter the first of a series of webinars dealing with the impact of COVID19 on Georgia and the wider world, organized by Civic Idea with the assistance of the Friedrich Foundation, GEORGIA TODAY was privileged to speak with Ambassador Tedo Japaridze, a veteran and mainstay of Georgian diplomacy throughout the decades, about these very issues.

We started our interview by asking him what impact he foresees COVID-19 having on the world, security-wise. With both the US and Germany unimpressed by China's handling of the situation, we note, is there a danger that this will leave the confines of the usual blame-game politics and turn into an open confrontation?

“This public health disaster is developing into a global political and economic crisis, disrupting our social/economic/ cultural/political matrix.

And if we need to speak about the new security challenges, we need to begin by reflecting on

POLITICS PAGE 5

February Data Shows First Signs of Dramatic Deterioration in Georgia’s Economy, Int’l Experts Expect Quick Recovery in 2021 ISET PAGE 6

Winners of CENN’s Green Scholarship SOCIETY PAGE 7

How Is Georgian Post Working during the Pandemic?

SOCIETY PAGE 8

“Corona Days” Artworks Presented by BI Auction to Promote Young Georgian Artists: Natalia Lashkhi CULTURE PAGE 11 Prepared for Georgia Today Business by

Markets As of 24ͲAprͲ2020

STOCKS

m/m

BONDS

Price

w/w

m/m

Ͳ4,8%

Ͳ6,7%

GEOROG 04/21

96.74 (YTM 10.28%)

Ͳ0,0%

Ͳ0,2%

GBP 4.18

Ͳ15,4%

Ͳ12,0%

GEORG 04/21

100.95 (YTM 5.83%)

Ͳ0,5%

+1,2%

GHG (GHG LN)

GBP 0.84

Ͳ8,8%

+14,8%

GRAIL 07/22

99.48 (YTM 8.00%)

Ͳ0,4%

Ͳ1,1%

TBC Bank Group (TBCG LN)

GBP 7.69

Ͳ4,9%

Ͳ0,8%

GEBGG 07/23

100.64 (YTM 5.78%)

+1,5%

Ͳ2,5%

CURRENCIES

COMMODITIES Crude Oil, Brent (US$/bbl)

ern trajectory,' it is important that we have responded in a specific way: with transparency, with access to information, with rule of law and social responsibility.

Continued on page 5

w/w

GBP 9.25

Gold Spot (US$/OZ)

how a virus with a 1-to-4% death rate has managed to undermine globalization in such a comprehensive manner,” Japaridze answers.

“As a country committed to a so-called 'west-

Price

Bank of Georgia (BGEO LN) Georgia Capital (CGEO LN)

Price

w/w

m/m

w/w

m/m

21,44

Ͳ23,6%

Ͳ21,0%

GEL / USD

3,2151

+1,8%

Ͳ7,5%

1 729,60

+2,8%

+6,0%

GEL / EUR

3,4798

Price

+1,3%

Ͳ7,2%

3,9762

Price

w/w

m/m

GEL / CHF

3,3045

+1,2%

Ͳ6,6%

5 752,23

Ͳ0,6%

+5,6%

GEL / RUB

0,0431

+0,7%

Ͳ2,9%

FTSE 250

15 687,43

Ͳ1,1%

+10,7%

GEL / TRY

0,4610

+1,1%

Ͳ14,9%

Ͳ2,7%

10 336,09

GEL / AZN

1,8912

23 775,27

Ͳ1,9%

+14,8%

GEL / AMD

0,0067

+3,1%

Ͳ4,3%

8 634,52

Ͳ0,2%

+16,4%

GEL / UAH

0,1186

+1,5%

Ͳ5,3%

129,72

Ͳ0,2%

+10,7%

EUR / USD

0,9239

+0,5%

Ͳ0,3%

MSCI EM EE

+1,7%

Ͳ7,5%

DAX DOW JONES NASDAQ

+6,6%

+0,7%

Ͳ2,7%

GEL / GBP

INDICES FTSE 100

879,41

Ͳ2,4%

+9,7%

GBP / USD

0,8087

+1,1%

SP 500

2 836,74

Ͳ1,3%

+15,9%

CHF / USD

0,9730

+0,7%

Ͳ0,9%

MSCI FM

1 894,57

Ͳ3,4%

+6,9%

RUB / USD

74,5450

+0,8%

Ͳ4,8%

GT Index (GEL)

1 582,68

Ͳ

Ͳ

TRY / USD

6,9727

+0,6%

+8,6%

GT Index (USD)

1 208,13

Ͳ

Ͳ

AZN / USD

1,6985

+0,2%

+0,3%

MSCI EM

Ͳ4,9%

2

NEWS

GEORGIA TODAY

MAY 1 - 7, 2020

@entrepreneur.ge Gamarjoba! I’m the Editor-in-Chief of the Georgian edition of Entrepreneur magazine and I’m here to share the top weekly Entrepreneurial news with you: One of the easiest ways the novel coronavirus can be transmitted is on the surfaces used by the public, like elevator, traffic light or ATM buttons.

Sensor.ge submitted a project to the grant competition announced by Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development to create sensor buttons that will either replace the traditional buttons or will be placed next to them. It will be enough to get within 0.5 – 3 cm of the sensory button to make it work. The prototype is being tested now. Such buttons will be made available for purchase to both the public and businesses.

REDMED, a digital platform of medical services, has made remote medical services available for Georgian citizens currently abroad, who can benefit from audio consultation with a therapist, pediatrician or family doctor free of charge during the pandemic.

REDMED aims to make healthcare more easily available for everyone and, to do so, is offering remote audio and video consultation services and appointments. Check it out on www.redmed.ge.

Gastronomic Tourism for Developing Internal Tourism is a new project of the Georgian Gastronomy Association and National Tourism Administration, which is set to develop domestic tourism and allow the Georgian population to (re) discover the material and nonmaterial culture of their own country, agricultural products, different cooking techniques, etc. We have high hopes it will fill a gap in the tourism sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Follow the Entrepreneur Georgia Instagram page to get the latest updates from Georgian Entrepreneurs. For doing business with Georgian Entrepreneurs, write us on business@entrepreneur.ge

Georgia Remains 5th among 117 Countries

by Budget Transparency

BY ANA DUMBADZE

T

he International Budget Partnership (IBP) has released a report entitled Open Budget Index 2019, where Georgia is ranked 5th in terms of budget transparency among 117 countries.

Georgia got 81 points out of 100 in state budget transparency, which is one point less than the result of the 2017 survey, however, 81 points allowed Georgia to still be ranked number 5 (similar to the result of the 2017 survey) among 117 countries, following New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and Mexico.

Georgia's assessment has improved in terms of budget oversight with an increase from 74 points to 82 points compared to the 2017 survey results. Also, there is an improvement in the involvement of citizens.

"Based on their score, countries are grouped into five categories of performance on budget transparency. The best-performing countries have a transparency score of 81 or above: the highest transparency category is where governments provide extensive information to their public. Six countries in OBS 2019 perform in this highest category: New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, Mexico, Georgia, and Brazil," reads the report.

The OBS uses 109 equally weighted indicators to measure budget transparency. These indicators assess whether the central government makes eight key budget documents available to the public online in a timely manner and whether

these documents present budget information in a comprehensive and useful way. The mentioned eight documents are the Pre-Budget Statement; Executive’s Budget Proposal; Enacted Budget; Citizens Budget; In-Year Reports; MidYear Review; Year-End Report; and the Audit Report.

"Transparency alone is insufficient for improving governance: public participation in budgeting and budget oversight are vital to realize the positive outcomes associated with greater budget transparency. That’s why the OBS focuses on these two issues as well. Georgia’s performance in public participation is less impressive than in budget transparency.

Georgia got 28 points out of 100 (14th place in the world) in terms of public participation and 82 points in budget oversight (11th place in the world).

"Despite the impressive performance, IBP proposes a number of recommendations for the Government of Georgia in order to continue improving its scores.

The most important recommendations are related to further enrichment of the Executive’s Budget Proposal and MidYear Review, and creating more tools for public participation in budgetary processes,” Transparency International said.

Armed Forces Day Celebrated in Georgia

BY ANA DUMBADZE

A

pril 30 is the day of Armed Forces in Georgia, and this year the Georgian army celebrated its 29th year.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Defense of Georgia and the National Parliamentary Library are holding a virtual exhibition titled 'Soldier Against the Invisible Enemy', depicting the dedicated and hard work of soldiers fighting the pandemic countrywide.

Based on the government's decision, the Georgian Defense Forces, in cooperation with other agencies, have been involved in measures to reduce the threats related to the coronavirus and ensuring

public safety from the very first day of detecting the virus in the country. The Defense Forces, along with the Interior Ministry, have been monitoring the implementation of the State of Emergency and tightened quarantine restrictions throughout the country in a 24/7 emergency mode.

In December 1990, under the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia, the National Guard (the Internal Troops of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia) was established.

Further development of the Georgian Army was based on the National Guard.

On April 24, 1991, the Ministry Cabinet of the Georgian Government issued an order requiring compulsory military service. On April 30, enrollment of recruits started officially, wih the date

marking the official beginning of the Georgian Army.

The Georgian Armed Forces consists of the Land Force, Air Force, National Guard, and Special Operations Forces.

The Defense Forces are under the overall leadership of the Minister of Defense of Georgia and directly headed by the Chief of Defense Forces.

The Georgian Army fought in the civil war and separatist conflicts in the 1990s and the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, and has participated in major international military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Georgia was one of the first former Soviet republics to join the NATO 'Partnership for Peace' program in 1994 and 'Individual Partnership Action Plan' (IPAP) in 2004, and has sought to bring its military in line with NATO standards.

COVID-19: New UNDP Data for 189 Countries Reveals Huge Disparities in Ability to Cope & Recover

T

he United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has released two new data dashboards that highlight the huge disparities in countries’ abilities to cope with and recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

The pandemic is more than a global health emergency. It is a systemic human development crisis, already affecting the economic and social dimensions of development in unprecedented ways.

Policies to reduce vulnerabilities and build capacities to tackle crises, both in the short and long term, are vital if individuals and societies are to recover from shocks like this.

PREPAREDNESS OF COUNTRIES TO RESPOND TO COVID-19 UNDP’s Dashboard 1 on Preparedness presents indicators for 189 countries – including the level of development, inequalities, the capacity of a healthcare system and internet connectivity – to assess how well a nation can respond to the multiple impacts of a crisis like COVID-19.

While every society is vulnerable to crises, their abilities to respond differ

significantly around the world.

For example, the most developed countries – those in the very high human development category – have on average 55 hospital beds, over 30 physicians, and 81 nurses per 10,000 people, compared to 7 hospital beds, 2.5 physicians, and 6 nurses in the least developed countries.

Georgia has 26 hospital beds, 51 physicians and 41 nurses per 10,000 people which places it in the group of countries with high-level health sector preparedness. This readiness was clearly important in shaping Georgia’s successful management of the pandemic.

However, there are clearly other factors at work in determining how preparedness translates into specific country outcomes. The caliber of leadership, timing of responses and levels of popular trust all help to explain why some better endowed countries performed so much worse on infection and mortality rates than other countries entering the crisis with fewer resources.

VULNERABILITIES OF COUNTRIES IN A CRISIS LIKE COVID-19

Preparedness is one thing. But, once a crisis hits, how vulnerable are countries to the fallout? UNDP’s Dashboard 2 on Vulnerabilities presents indicators that reflect countries’ susceptibility to the effects of this crisis, including poverty, social protection and labor programs, and an economy’s exposure to the immediate economic impacts of travel bans.

Travel bans and lockdowns are especially risky for countries that rely heavily on tourism and remittances. With tourism accounting for 21.7% of GDP and remittances worth 12.6% of GDP, this is where Georgia scores as particularly vulnerable to economic shocks from COVID-19. The relatively high national poverty line, 20.1%, is another cause for concern.

These vulnerabilities put a premium on a carefully crafted socio-economic recovery plan that “leaves no one behind,” in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. To support governments in this process, the UN has launched a new framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19. UNDP leads this effort in Georgia on behalf of the UN family.

POLITICS

GEORGIA TODAY MAY 1 - 7, 2020

3

Coronavirus & Opportunities to Ease Georgia’s Territorial Dilemma OP-ED BY EMIL AVDALIANI

C

oronavirus presents some avenues for re-establishing contacts between Georgia’s separatist territory of Abkhazia and the government in Tbilisi. Help from Tbilisi is crucial, as Russia, itself in spiraling crisis with a rising death toll and the pandemic reaching the heartland of the country, is unlikely to provide substantial medical help to the two regions.

This presents an opportunity for the Georgian government to engage the occupied territories through the provision of medical equipment and transfer of virus-hit patients from the two regions to various hospitals in western Georgia and Tbilisi. So far, up to 100 persons from Abkhazia have been treated on Tbilisi-controlled territory. The opportunity presented by the coronavirus follows recent statements in Sokhumi on engagement with Tbilisi.

Following the early 2020 demonstrations in Sokhumi against the then defacto president, Raul Khajimba, and the “presidential elections” on March 22nd when a long-time opposition leader, Aslan Bzhania, received the majority of votes, a notable twist in the rhetoric of the Abkhaz politicians has been seen.

“Whether we [Abkhazians] like it or not, Georgians and the Georgian state are our neighbors,” Bzhania stated. This is something different from the decadelong uncompromising view in Sokhumi towards governments in Tbilisi.

Image: The new Rukhi hospital was recently opened about a kilometer from the Enguri Bridge, which connects Russian-occupied Abkhazia with the rest of Georgia. Source: president.gov.ge

Moreover, the new Abkhaz “president” also suggested building a new bilateral negotiating platform to address security issues along the Enguri River, which serves as a dividing line between Abk-

hazia and the rest of Georgia. For the moment, there is only one, the Geneva format, which presupposes cooperation between Tbilisi and Sokhumi on issues which are raised on an ad hoc basis, but

with a Russian presence at the negotiating table.

We could also argue that Bzhania’s propositions reflect a wider development, namely, Russia’s likely displeasure

with his candidacy. Indeed, Bzhania’s background reveals some insight, as he was poisoned twice recently, mainly believed to be because of his political activities and, as some in Abkhazia think, both cases could be related to Russia.

The new de-facto Abkhaz president might not be Moscow’s primary choice, as his views on relations with Tbilisi are different from Russia’s South Caucasus policy. It will prove extremely difficult to bypass Russia in any potential negotiating platform, but Bzhania’s idea offers an interesting perspective into the evolving thinking among Abkhaz politicians.

Another reason for this shift in Abkhazia can be related to long-lasting problems in the region, such as failure of wider recognition of independence, economic underdevelopment, and growing discontent in the Kremlin with how Russian money is being spent there. Moreover, Moscow increasingly regards the Abkhaz political elite as predatory, focused only on extracting economic benefits. Security-wise too, in the last couple of years several Russian tourists have been killed, hurt or kidnapped during summer periods in Abkhazia.

Despite these long-standing troubles, the Kremlin’s pressure on Abkhazia will remain decisive. The region continues to depend on Russia economically and security-wise and will continue to be seen by Moscow as a tool to limit Georgia’s westward NATO- and EU-membership goals. Nevertheless, the abovementioned problems in Abkhaz-Russian relations create some space for the Georgian government to maneuver and use those differences to its advantage.

Post-Corona Modus Vivendi OP-ED BY NUGZAR B. RUHADZE

T

he current universally induced home arrest is a funny weird thing: the longer you’re confined to this bittersweet leisure, the more you get used to it, and not only that! You also become somewhat indolent in mind and body when involuntarily but safely locked up in your comfy little abode, the everyday routine exigencies no longer burdening your shoulders, and the worries hidden away, at least for a brief happy while. But this can all too soon turn in to a disastrous impassivity which affects every bit of one’s erstwhile vivacity and corrupts one’s customary zeal for life. I’m a believer in making good use of the leisure time, but I also love to go for divertissement, which definitely helps one to be an efficient performer at work and a helpful member in the family.

One of my favorite pastimes has always been walking. I adore strolling in the quaint narrow streets of my neighborhood, never getting tired of looking at the centuries-old metal gates and balconies of Old Tbilisi. But behold, the other day I decided to take my brief customary walk and found myself tired and bored.

I even felt a little indisposed. OMG, could it be the perfidious virus of the century?

Back home forthwith! I checked my temp: all OK. I attacked my food, my appetite in place in all its voracity. I did a couple of pull-ups and was physically fit. So what happened? I asked myself, and the answer soon followed that I had become unused to an outdoor lifestyle.

I suddenly felt myself an alien in the familiar streets of the town. My outdoor

instance had made me somewhat uncomfortable, especially when the scrupulously masked passersby sought to shun me, meticulously observing the officially decreed social distance of several meters.

It made me want to return to my library and plunge into my habitual solitude; to carry on with my self-education. Time and space for self-education, auto-training, personal development and individual perfection – this is Corona’s valuable gift, but the question is what are we going to do with all those accidental rewards when at large again after the infection has left us, say, forever.

What is the post-corona Modus Vivendi to be like? Cars back on the road?

Schools back in the academic stream?

Eateries back in business? Factories back in production? Political activists back on the streets? Movies back in the theaters? Cash back in our wallets?

Doctors back in their regular routines?

Is it all going to be as simple as that?

I don’t think so! Minds and attitudes are going to be different in the postviral era.

It was not a very plainly explicable flash when I felt I did not want to stay under open skies; found myself yearning for home coziness and warmth. As the saying has it, habit is second nature. In the confines of house-arrest, many new things are becoming habitual which will certainly take time to be rid of, if any of those new habits are not exactly acceptable. Some of the habits will of course be priceless to maintain, like avoiding kissing each other at every possible encounter in the day; shaking hands whether necessary or not; hugging each other endlessly; breathing into somebody’s neck in a queue; using used crockery and cutlery no matter how closely related the possible users are; avoiding

Image by Ann Kiernan for The Washington Post

crowded get-togethers; eschewing the throngs in the streets, notwithstanding the political indispensability and personal motivation for being part of it; using slippers both at home and when guesting; washing hands whenever and wherever a chance is given; and on a more sophisticated level, shopping, con-

ferencing, planning, teaching, entertaining and chatting online.

This noted, questions still remain: how are we going to produce food online, or assemble cars and industrial machines, take care of major constructions, build railways, run armed forces, operate airports and enjoy those famous cruises?

An optimist would inveterately insist that any disease will finally disappear, but a pessimist might retort: what if it stays or a new one appears? Both attitudes are justifiable to the extent of their own righteousness, but I still suggest getting seriously ready for our post-virus way of life.

4

POLITICS

GEORGIA TODAY

MAY 1 - 7, 2020

GT Live Interviews Meets the Austrian Ambassador to Georgia in the First of its ‘Ambassadors Go Live’ Series EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY TEAM GT

Want to watch it LIVE? Scan here and enjoy!

K

atie Ruth Davies, Editor-inChief of Georgia Today, welcomed GT readers, and now viewers, to GEORGIA TODAY’s latest product ‘GT LIVE INTERVIEWS,’ kicking off with “AMBASSADORS GO LIVE,” where we’ll be meeting a number of diplomats to discuss, among other things, their countries’ approach to combating the coronavirus, how they view Georgia’s efforts in this regard, and their perspective on the future, post-COVID. In the first interview, we met Austrian Ambassador to Georgia, Arad Benko.

Ambassador Benko has been in Georgia since 2016 and before that worked as Ambassador to Latvia, and in positions of diplomatic importance in Vienna, Tel Aviv, Brussels, Bucharest and Bonn.

The timing of this interview is quite apt, as it was reported that just this week, a telephone conversation took place between the health ministers of our two countries- Austria and Georgia- in which Austrian Minister Anschober praised Georgia’s handling of the pandemic. And he is not the only one to have done so.

Before we meet Ambassador Benko, here are the latest COVID-19 statistics from his home country Austria, which is 83,879 km² and has a population of 8.859 million.

According to Worldometer, Austria has 2,043 active corona cases, of which 131 are critical. 580 Austrians have died and 12,779 have recovered. Total cases currently stand at 15,402.

WHAT STEPS HAVE YOU TAKEN IN YOUR OWN LIFE TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND THOSE AROUND YOU? Well, my life has changed considerably, as it has for all of us. The biggest shock for me was not being able to go out and visit my friends, relatives and collegues anymore, or my favorite restaurants, at least not as often as before. That is something very personal for me. I stick to two main rules: wearing masks and social distancing. When I’m at home, I either read, do some gardening, or play poolbilliards.

TELL US WHAT STEPS YOUR COUNTRY’S GOVERNMENT AND HEALTHCARE SYSTEM HAVE TAKEN TO FIGHT COVID-19, AND HOW EFFECTIVE YOU THINK THAT FIGHT HAS BEEN. In mid March, when the pandemic was not so severe in Austria and the number of infected people stood at 300 or 400, we had already introduced a full lockdown. Towards the end of March, the numbers began to rise exponentially to reach their peak, however, the lockdown measures proved successful in the end, and the numbers began to fall back already in the beginning of April.

The timely lockdown measures helped the situation greatly, and the healthcare system has not been overwhelmed. This was the main point for us. We were quick to react as we had the picture of what happened, for instance, in Northern Italy, which is so near to Austria.

Right now, we have a daily increase of 0.5% in the number of infections, which is very, very low.

SO YOU’RE FEELING POSITIVE THAT YOU’RE OVERCOMING THE VIRUS? We had a stricter lockdown than here in Georgia for four weeks in Austria; people were considerably less allowed to leave, and most economic activity was

halted, but it proved very productive in terms of lowering the number of infections. Already on April 14, we reopened 75% of our shops, and are still not seeing any significant increase in the number of infections. We have been successful also because people continue to wear masks and practice social distancing.

HOW MUCH WAS IT THE GOVERNMENT’S INVOLVEMENT VERSUS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN PEOPLE STAYING AT HOME? From the start, Austrian people supported the government’s decisions; they understood that being responsible had become a matter of life and death. Since the very beginning of the pandemic until now, when the restrictions had already been relaxed, the public approval of the government’s decisions has been standing at roughly 90%.

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU DO/RECOMMEND BE DONE DIFFERENTLY? Not much. Governments in both Georgia and Austria have acted very quickly and effectively compared to other countries.

In Austria, we now have the smallest daily increase of infections in all Europe.

In Georgia, too, the extremely low numbers of infected and deceased prove the effectiveness of the government’s actions.

MANY PUBLICATIONS, BOTH IN THE US AND EUROPE, HAVE OVER THE PAST MONTH PRAISED GEORGIA’S HANDLING OF THE PANDEMIC. FROM WHAT YOU’VE READ OR HEARD, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THAT? And rightly so. I already mentioned that the numbers of infected are really low in Georgia. They are a bit different than our numbers though. The main difference is perhaps that in Austria we had a more school-book figure, the peak of infections and their subsequent lowering, while in Georgia the process has been more erratic, I think due to the limited capability for mass testing.

I think the Georgian government did a great job with closing schools very early, limiting air traffic; even after the Easter holidays that we were all so afraid of, the country did not see a significant increase in the number of infections because people fortunately realised that it would not be wise to gather together in churches, and that they could pray from home.

Another huge indicator of Georgia’s success in fighting the pandemic is the many Georgian donors who have transferred so much money to the international funds.

38 billion worth funding package, quite similar to that of Georgia, to support the companies and workers who lost their jobs. It’s just that in Austria, it was done in one gigantic step.

Yesterday, the Austrian government announced that there will be tax reductions for employees; there were three main areas identified for state investment: climate production, digitalization and regionalization.

HAS ANY DECISION BEEN MADE IN REGARDS TO REOPENING THE AUSTRIAN TOURISM SECTOR TO FOREIGN GUESTS?

As I said, it will be extremely difficult to restart the economy. Once we put it on the rails again, what kind of energy shall we give it to move on? Many economic hardships will surely ensue.

I think it will take much more than a year to fully recover from this crisis.

Austria is already taking its first steps toward the recovery. We wanted to reopen the schools in September, but this would mean six months of no school, and could have had a graver impact that we could have foreseen. The pressure from our citizens to reopen the schools has also been high. The schools will reopen on May 16, and this will be primarily beneficial for those children who do not have enough support or comfort to study at home. Online classes cannot be so effective because schooling is not just about learning, it is also about meeting your friends, communicating, playing games.

The tourism sector makes up 15% of total GDP in Austria, so it is extremely important for the country’s economy. The hotels are set to open on May 29, but you would not imagine many tourists travelling in the near future. So there is no real solution to some of the economic problems that will remain even after the virus is gone. Some restaurants, some hotels will not survive. The government is doing its best to help those in need, to help with loans and so on. But in the end, the tourism sector will only be open once borders are open, and we don’t know when that will be.

I think that by June some of the flights will be coming back, but the question is: who will be flying? We have no idea when people will want to fly again.

WHAT IS YOUR COUNTRY DOING TO SUPPORT ITS CITIZENS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO LOST THEIR JOBS DUE TO THE PANDEMIC? We have about 600,000 unemployed in Austria at the moment, and we have 1.1 million people who are on part-time work, with the government paying part of their salaries, in order to enable the companies to take them back later. Immediately following the lockdown, the government decided to put together a EU

HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR COUNTRY IN 6 MONTHS/ 1 YEAR’S TIME? HOW CAN THE ECONOMY RECOVER?

WHEN WILL AUSTRIA OPEN ITS BORDER TO NONEU COUNTRIES, IN YOUR OPINION? WILL THERE BE A SPECIAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS NON-EU COUNTRIES AS OPPOSED TO EU COUNTRIES? In Austria, we are considering first of all to open the border to our neighboring countries, for two reasons: first of all, we want to offer our hotels to our neighboring countries because if they can come, we then can better alleviate the

strain on the tourism industry. We also need the workforce from the neighboring central-east European countries to help us with the daily work, for instance in the centers for the elderly.

We may also privileges for the countries with satisfactory and reliable statistics, such as the country of Georgia, which has been able to keep the number of infected people low.

WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE DONE TO MAKE THE RECOVERY OF THE ECONOMY HAPPEN FASTER IN GEORGIA? The most important thing is ownership.

I have been living here for four years now, and often I am very impressed at how responsibly Georgians can behave; at other times I’m not so sure. But in this situation particularly, I’m impressed with how seriously Georgians take the need to stick to social distancing and wearing masks.

I also think that the easing of restrictions can be done a bit faster in Georgia; I think it’s possible to reopen some shops, start slowly and see how people take it, whether they will respect their social responsibility.

International donors have invested huge amounts of money in Georgia’s future, in Georgia’s ‘European way’. With such support, it should be possible for Georgia to survive the coming months.

The very important issue will be that the money be spent transparently, in order for the Georgian government to maintain the high credibility that it has achieved so far. Credibility is very important. I trust Georgians for their resilience; they have survived and endured so much; I am confident that the country will survive this crisis.

This terrible situation is also an opportunity for Georgia. There are many things that Georgia can learn; there are opportunities that the government will hopefully use, and it can always be sure that international donors will support the cause.

Transcribed by Elene Dzebisashvili

POLITICS

GEORGIA TODAY MAY 1 - 7, 2020

5

The Risks & Challenges of COVID-19: Opinions from Georgian & Int’l Viewpoints, Part 2 OP-ED BY VICTOR KIPIANI, CHAIR OF GEOCASE

B

eyond matters internal to states, the pandemic’s current global dimension is equally noteworthy, and attempts must be made at this early stage to prepare for it.

In this regard, I will discuss some of the main aspects of this topic, underlining that in international relations, too, we should expect from both first and second-line actors an undisguised emphasis on pragmatism in their decisions and taken actions.

First of all, I believe that the false romanticism characteristic of the ‘postCold War’ period is long gone, and that we must therefore be ready for different rules governing relations to be put into practice in this new, redistributed configuration of global forces.

Although I would not wish to jump to any conclusions regarding the end of the liberal order, I would predict that as the main actors of international relations, states will be much more selfish when advocating their own interests and will take much less notice of those of others.

This is a very noteworthy develop-

ment for our country, and one which requires us to rearrange our own national ‘action plan’.

Given this development, a further concern for Georgia is specifically which political or cultural civilizations will manage to join the ‘first rank’ of the post-pandemic world. This is especially important for us, given the fact that the country’s choice is enshrined in both constitutional statements as well as in its history.

Regardless of the result, however, Georgia’s approach should be one of rationalism, as this will become the dominant factor of a new world order which will profoundly limit the scope for idealism and ‘relative romanticism’ in international politics.

Returning to the current period, I would pay attention to specific circumstances. Let us begin with the fact that at the European end of the vast Eurasian continent, the coronavirus pandemic has precipitated a new phase in the fight for geopolitical power.

The main actor of this distinctive phase, seeking greater ‘soft power’ status in Europe, is China. After having ‘successfully’ repulsed the first wave of the pandemic within its own borders, the country has redirected its essential resources to help its European partners, and the ‘Health Silk Road’ has quite

obviously concentrated its efforts upon Italy—to date the only EU member state to have formally joined Beijing’s gigantic ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative.

Italy, however, is not the only country on Beijing’s European radar, and China is currently extending its ‘health belt’ to several other countries.

Moreover, China’s humanitarian intervention has also included the United States, and has ranged from private sector aid (e.g. medical equipment sent by the owner of Alibaba) to air freight officially sent by Beijing to different American states.

Of course, all forms of aid and support should be applauded during disasters such as the one we are currently going through, but their long-term consequences must also must be analyzed alongside their possible influence on tomorrow’s mosaic of relations between geopolitical actors.

In Georgia, doing so requires both real-time observation and regular analysis.

Many issues are linked to the international context of this pandemic, and it would of course be impossible to discuss them all in depth in this article, but I will say a few words regarding the global network of supply and demand.

Over the past few decades, several large economic centres established

themselves as global hubs through high levels of interconnection and interdependence. Periods of ‘economic peace’ when global arrangements, including those for the supply of production circles, continue flawlessly do not question the system. Indeed, this system has quite a few advantages, one of which is the specialized knowledge and experience that individual hubs enjoy. But all this is temporary, and can only last until a large-scale crisis such as a war, a natural disaster or a pandemic erupts. Once this happens, any problem which emerges in one of the economic hubs travels beyond its boundaries to all the other interconnected hubs. As a result, our globally interdependent system increases the seriousness and the scale of any systemic economic crisis.

An accompanying risk of this model is that any political-economic centre can easily abuse the demand and supplydriven global system by ‘weaponizing’ it in favour of its interests to the detriment of others regardless of how lawful or economically justified they may be.

These and other weaknesses and failings of the demand-supply model make its revision necessary, and it is no coincidence that there have been calls for the creation within the boundaries of specific ‘mega-markets’ or hubs of new and flawless cycles of production capa-

ble of reducing to a minimum their vulnerability to external shocks coming from other hubs.

‘Coronavirus geo-economics’ are therefore being added to ‘coronavirus geopolitics’ and are filling out the overall picture of the problem.

This is why, in order to be able to defend Georgian interests on the international stage, we must urgently begin to concentrate on creating and following our own sustainable and crisis-proof economic model. Such a model should enable us to minimize both the duration and severity of external shocks.

Many more questions, but fewer answers The problems posed by epidemics are diverse and multifaceted. Most importantly, each one of them needs to be individually studied and responded to; they simply cannot be divided into large and small.

Fighting the virus is pushing some countries and their leaders to take measures that many would have considered unthinkable before the pandemic struck.

For example, where does that invisible but permeable separating line go between invasive electronic surveillance of people’s private lives and the protection of personal data? How can the right balance between the two be found in practice?

Continued on page 11

Tedo Japaridze: We Should Build On the Relationships We Have Invested in, but Should Not Delude Ourselves that Nothing Will Change Continued from page 1 Georgia must at this critical point act resolutely and in coordination with our allies: the US authorities, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, but also China. Now is the time for consolidation and coordination and not for squabbles. We, indeed, live in ‘interesting times,’ according to one Chinese metaphor,” he notes.

“I have been somewhat disillusioned by the failure of Western allies to coordinate their response, political and economic. We should not lose heart. True, the COVID-19 crisis has taken away some of the shine of countries we used to regard as ‘models,’ but we should realize that governance requires mistakes. The only mistake that is dangerous is the one we don’t admit and fail to address.

“I praise China for its decisiveness. We have all taken ‘Chinese measures’ when it comes to social distancing: decisive, expensive, but effective. Beijing should also take onboard the lessons learned by countries like South Korea and Germany. Transparency pays! We should all be self-reflective, stay local, be Georgian, Armenian, Azerbaijan, German, American, Chinese, and Singaporean, but also think globally, as COVID-19 does not have a nationality.”

WITH THE US VISIBLY RELUCTANT TO ASSUME LEADERSHIP, AND EUROPE AT ITS MOST FRACTIOUS, IS THERE A DANGER THAT THIS POWER VACUUM WILL BE EXPLOITED BY THE KREMLIN TO TRY AND INCREASE ITS INFLUENCE AND STANDING IN THE NEAR ABROAD? Indeed, there are some rough times ahead!

On a global landscape, an economic crisis is unfolding that is already weighing heavily on all countries in the region, including Russia. We started with a supply shock, and we are likely to continue with a demand shock, which is reflected by negative oil futures, for the first time in history. That hurts everybody, but Russia most.

We welcome the signs of cooperation and assistance Russia provided to Italy

We should all be self-reflective, stay local, but also think globally

and even the US! That’s indeed a sign of how a crisis can become an opportunity. However, maintaining “borderization” and kidnapping Georgian citizens on the ABL and finding time for cynical comments on the Richard Lugar Center for Public Health Research in Tbilisi, which has saved the lives of thousands of citizens of Georgia during the pandemic and the international community acknowledged that; to do so, instead of offering something practical, not least a

If the West allows Russia to be confrontational in its “near abroad,” tomorrow it may be the turn of its “middle abroad,” or even its “far abroad”

word or two of encouragement in a goodneighborly manner while the crisis unfolds, is just irrational and absurd. So our Western partners should be very much watchful (and they are!!!) that while praising Russians for being a “cooperative partner”, they do not look the other way as Russia pursues her imperial narrative. If the West allows Russia to be confrontational in its “near abroad,” tomorrow it may be the turn of its “middle abroad,” or even its “far abroad.”

WITH EVERYONE PREOCCUPIED WITH THE VIRUS, IS THERE AN INCREASED RISK THAT RUSSIA COULD USE THE TIME FOR COVERT ACTIVITIES IN GEORGIA? I doubt that COVID-19 would change Russian mindsets and I am more than confident that their policy towards the “post-Soviet space” would be the same so-called “negative conditionality”: “either with Russia or against Russia”.

And Russia’s problem is not only political or strategic – it’s about their so-called “mental maps” of her Czarist or Soviet legacy, whereas Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, other Central Asian countries have stopped being “post-Soviet republics”.

They are truly independent, sovereign countries with their own agenda and priorities, and Russia should accommodate with that reality!

But, in reality, my primary concern is to make sure that we do not look like Russia while this crisis unfolds. I fear the phrase “for security reasons,” especially in an election year. Authorities in different countries, even in the most democratic ones, are using that phrase too frequently for my liking. “Coronavirus autocracy” is a real threat.

ASSUMING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 BEGINS TO BE SEEN IN GEORGIA'S BREAKAWAY REGIONS, WHAT KIND OF ASSISTANCE COULD / SHOULD TBILISI OFFER, IF ANY? The COVID-19 is a global challenge and threat, and consequently, it will, unfortunately, impact our breakaway regions and our citizens there. So, we should extend any assistance necessary and requested.

HOW DO YOU IMAGINE A POST-PANDEMIC GEORGIA? Unfortunately, I am not an oracle to predict, but I can reflect, if I may, on the future of Georgia.

The value of Georgia is in its “usefulness;” Georgia’s capacity to localize global opportunity for the region. As I have said many times, the Anaklia DeepSea Port is going to be an example of that convergence between the global and the local capacities.

Now, we need to think of the local implications of global threats. And one

thing to keep in mind is that a post-pandemic economic recovery will require borrowing, and the emerging reality will test Bretton Woods institutions. The World Bank, the IMF and the UN must rise to the occasion, but may not be able to address the current crisis, especially without firm US backing. That is worrisome. For the Washington consensus to work, we need Washington- and New York-based institutions to work.

That brings us before a new cluster of what Donald Rumsfeld calls “known unknowns” and “unknown unknowns”!

We do not know the role of oil over the next two decades and, therefore, our role as a conduit of energy from the Caspian Sea will be reviewed. We do not know what the nature of emerging value chains will be and, therefore, our aspiration to become a trade hub for the Middle corridor for Trans-Eurasian trade will need to be reevaluated.

In sum, Georgia needs to explore its options, holding on to things we can take for granted. I hope and believe that one of the things we can count on is our alliance with the United States, the EU, and Japan.

Beyond our allies, Georgia's comparative advantage in the region is our record of good and effective governance, even if our politics leave much to be desired.

Our role will need to be one of regional facilitators, so we need to quickly study prevailing trends and define our own niche in the emerging new world balances. We should look to build on relationships we have invested in for decades: Washington, Ankara, and Brussels, rather than delude ourselves that we can begin with a clean slate. But we cannot delude ourselves that nothing will change.

6

BUSINESS

GEORGIA TODAY

MAY 1 - 7, 2020

February Data Shows First Signs of Dramatic Deterioration in Georgia’s Economy, Int’l Experts Expect Quick Recovery in 2021 y-o-y; -7.2 ppts), Italy (-8.7% y-o-y; -1.2 ppts), Israel (-10.2% y-o-y; -1 ppts), and Turkey (-0.1% y-o-y; 0 ppts).

Tourism arrivals and receipts are expected to decline sharply as a result of the numerous travel bans and due to precautionary behaviors. By March (after the ban on passenger flights), international visitor trips had already declined by 58.6% annually, while the number of tourist stays (overnight) experienced a 56.1% reduction in annual terms. In terms of international travel, the largest decline in trips was from Azerbaijan (-62.9% y-o-y; -11.9 ppts), Russia (-66.5% y-o-y; -10.6 ppts), Armenia (-61.1 y-o-y; -8.3 ppts), and Turkey (-%45.4% y-o-y; -5.5 ppts). Notably, the share of Tourism in Georgia’s GDP was 8.1% in 2019 (GNTA 2019).

INFLATION AND EXCHANGE RATE

BY DAVIT KESHELAVA AND YASYA BABYCH

I

SET-PI has updated its Georgian real GDP growth rate forecast for the first and second quarters of 2020. Here are the highlights of this month’s release:

HIGHLIGHTS • Geostat has released its rapid estimate of real GDP growth for February 2020. The estimated growth stands at 2.2%, while the average real GDP growth for January-February 2019 reached 3.7%.

• ISET-PI predicted 4.7% and 5.4% growth for the first and second quarters of 2020 respectively, based on February 2020 data. This data does not yet fully account for the negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy.

• Consequently, the annual growth in 2020 based on February data was expected to be 4.8% in the worst-case scenario, and 5.9% in the best-case or an average long-term growth scenario.

Our middle-of-the-road scenario (based on the average growth in the last four quarters) predicted a 5.2% increase in real GDP. • COVID-19 is expected to impact the Georgian economy via tourism, remittances, trade, lower domestic production and service provision due to the strict social-isolation measures. While we cannot estimate this impact precisely, we can consider several scenarios, according to which the real GDP growth is expected to decrease significantly, depending on the length and severity of the pandemic.

GROWTH PROJECTIONS Most of the international organizations lowered their forecasts of Georgia’s real GDP growth for 2020, while expecting a quick recovery in 2021. According to

the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) recent Asian Development Outlook, COVID-19 and monetary tightening will slow the growth rate to zero percent this year, picking up to 4.5% in 2021.

Georgia’s real GDP growth forecast is the lowest among ADB countries (for detailed information see the figure 2).

Furthermore, World Bank revised its forecast of Georgia’s real GDP growth downward. The new predictions vary from -0.2% (the worst case) to 2% (the best case) in 2020. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has the most conservative prediction among the international organizations: -4% in 2020, while the same measure for 2021 is expected to reach 3%.

ISET-PI has recently released a Policy note detailing its own projections of the impact of COVID-19 under different scenarios. The global pandemic scenario estimates Georgia’s annual GDP growth to be at least 4.5 percentage points lower than the current forecast. This adjustment would put the country’s GDP growth in 2020 closer to 0.65% in the middle-of the-road scenario.

EXTERNAL TRADE In the face of the harsh measures that countries have taken to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, trade of all commodities, except food and medicine, is projected to decline, depending on the duration of the shock. In February, exports decreased by 0.5% in yearly terms, however imports increased by 8.4% yearly. As a result, the trade deficit deepened by 14.8% year-on-year, and amounted to 440.1 million USD. Furthermore, deterioration of the external trade was even more pronounced in March. Georgian exports declined by 22.1% compared to the same month of the previous year, driven by reduced exports to Russia (-43.1% y-o-y; -7.2 ppts), Armenia (-45.1% y-o-y; -3.7 ppts), Ukraine (-35.6% y-o-y; 2.6 ppts), Romania (-88.4% y-o-y; -4.5 ppts), and USA

(-89.3% y-o-y; -5.8 ppts). The largest decline was observed in the exports of capital goods (-76.4% y-o-y), fuel and lubricants (-41.4% y-o-y), and transport equipment (-37.7% y-o-y). Imports declined by 13.4%, driven by China (-38.4% y-o-y; -4.1 ppts), Turkey (-7.5% y-o-y; -1.2 ppts), Armenia (-39.2% y-o-y; -1.2 ppts), and Russia (-11% y-o-y; -1 ppts).

REMITTANCES AND TOURISM Since all countries will suffer economically in the aftermath of the pandemic and the oil price crisis, we expect significant slowdown in remittance inflows from the rest of the world. The remittances decline will hit Georgia, one of the world’s top receivers of foreign transfers, particularly hard. Money inflow showed a significant slowdown (grew by only 9.5%) already in February and even decreased by 9% in annual terms in March. The decline was driven by lower remittances from Russia (-28.3%

The deterioration in the external statistics created significant pressure on the exchange rate. In March, the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) depreciated by 2.6% relative to the previous month, and by 4.6% compared to the same month of the previous year. Moreover, Depreciation of the REER is typically associated with domestic export goods gaining competitiveness on foreign markets, but it also translates into increased prices on imported goods.

Notably, the lari real exchange rate (RER) depreciated with respect to the national currencies of all the major trading partners except Russia: the GEL/ USD real exchange rate depreciated by 5.4% monthly, the GEL/EUR real exchange rate by 7.3% monthly, and the GEL/TRY real exchange rate by 1.8% monthly, while the GEL/RUB real exchange rate appreciated by 8.3% in monthly terms. Annual inflation in March 2020 constituted 6.1%, which was higher than the 3% NBG target, while the annual inflation of food prices reached 13.4%.

EXPECTATIONS In the second quarter of 2020, ISET-PI’s

Business Confidence Index (BCI) decreased by 53.0 index points reaching an all-time low of -27.2 points. Business confidence deteriorated significantly across all sectors. The largest decline was observed in retail trade, followed by the service industry. The decrease in BCI was driven by worsened past performance as well as drastically pessimistic future expectations.

The main factors that limited business activities for firms of all sizes remained lack of demand and limited access to finance. "Other" factors have also become a significant hindrance. These “other” factors would capture all negative economic effect resulting from the state of emergency declared in the country due to COVID-19. While the Georgian government has already presented the plan for gradually lifting the restrictions, the implementation of this plan will depend on the epidemic situation in the country.

Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) has also declined significantly by 13.6 index points compared to February 2020 (from -19.5 in February to -33.1 in March).

This is the weakest and lowest figure since March 2017. The analysis shows deterioration in consumer’s present situation assessment as well as their expectations about the future.

Our forecasting model is based on the Leading Economic Indicator (LEI) methodology developed by the New Economic School, Moscow, Russia. We have constructed a dynamic model of the Georgian economy, which assumes that all economic variables, including GDP itself, are driven by a small number of factors that can be extracted from the data well before the GDP growth estimates are published. For each quarter, ISET-PI produces five consecutive monthly forecasts (or “vintages”), which increase in precision as time goes on. Our first forecast (the 1st vintage) is available about five months before the end of the quarter in question. The last forecast (the 5th vintage) is published in the first month of the next quarter.

SOCIETY

GEORGIA TODAY MAY 1 - 7, 2020

7

Winners of CENN’s Green Scholarship

BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES

L

ast year was an important year for youth involvement in the fight for better environmental protection, seeing youth worldwide pushing for improved practises, laws and awarenessraising of the need to take care of our planet. In Georgia, CENN is one of the leading organizations focused on youth environmental engagement: for more than 10 years, its Green Camps have enabled more than 5000 young people across Georgia to learn more about environmental and sustainable development, to meet interesting people and to return to their communities with innovative ideas.

Since 2015, CENN has run the Niko Ketskhoveli Award, with financial contribution from the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) within the framework of the project ‘Sustainable Forest Management for Climate Resilient Rural Development in Georgia,’ and each year the contest unites about 500 schools throughout Georgia around sustainable development goals.

This year, CENN launched a new competition, “CENN Green Scholarships,” for young leaders aged 10-26 that aims to motivate these future leaders with scholarships that will further encourage them to continue to advocate more actively in their communities and change the environment for the better. Each scholarship is worth GEL 1,000 per nomination.

The CENN Green Scholarships for 2020 were awarded in the four nominations below. GEORGIA TODAY spoke to each of this year’s lucky winners.

CENN GREEN SCHOLARSHIP FOR CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE

CHANGE AWARENESS AND REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, WINNER: NATIA LAGURASHVILI

ECOTOURISM & BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION, WINNERS: LUKA TKEMALADZE AND GIORGI KAVTELADZE

Natia is a third-year student at Ilia State University. Along with her studies, within the partnership of CENN and BfdW’s south-north voluntary exchange program, she is working on youth empowerment in Berlin for a year.

Natia was a school student when she participated in the Niko Ketskhoveli School Award, and she has implemented many significant activities in order to help preserve Krtsanisi Park. Krtsanisi Park is located on the Tbilisi-Rustavi highway and is not only an important recreational zone for the communities of Tbilisi and Rustavi, but is also essential to sustain the local climate. Together with her group, she raised awareness of the importance of the park through social media and various informational meetings. At Natia’s initiative, a green festival was held twice in Krtsanisi Park, with up to a thousand people in attendance, after which the Agency of Wildlife took responsibility for its restoration and management.

“I think everyone can contribute to positive changes in the environment locally, but, unfortunately, many people have yet to realize the dramatic results climate change can have on the Earth.

If you don’t see a problem, you don’t think about a solution. Therefore, the first step to deal with climate change is to raise awareness in your immediate surroundings. It was the same story in my case. I believe that change starts with ourselves and even small actions can contribute to a more sustainable environment,” said Natia.

Due to the high competition two winners were announced for this nomination.

Giorgi is an active participant of the Niko Ketskhoveli School Award. His environmental activities started in 2017, when he established an eco-club with several students from his school and became a successful participant in the competition.

Giorgi, together with the eco-clubs, as a result of independent monitoring, managed to close 11 illegal landfills located in recreational zones, and was able to clean up to 2 tons of waste.

Giorgi, one of the founders and the program coordinator of ‘Friday for Future Georgia,’ opened a square in the yard of Tbilisi Public School No. 176 with a grant from the non-governmental organization ‘Walk,’ after which he became the coordinator of the volunteer initiative team, Green Tbilisi. As part of the project, Giorgi was able to open another square on Dadiani Street.

He has conducted and organized more than 30 training-seminars for his peers and adults on important environmental issues, such as sustainable forest management, the importance of biodiversity conservation, sustainable development goals, and waste management.

"Everyone recognizes the importance of environmental protection today, yet there are very few people who work tirelessly to improve and protect the environment,” he told us. “I think volunteer work is especially appreciated when you put all your efforts unselfishly into the environment, when the issue of the existence of each plant is important to you and you don’t expect anything in return.”

Studying and observing nature and its

CENN GREEN SCHOLARSHIP FOR CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT, PROMOTING

wildlife has always been an area of interest for Luka. He started painting animals as a child and over time it became his favorite activity. Luka's passion for nature was so great, he began volunteering at the zoo at the age of 12.

Luka is currently a third-year student at Ilia State University majoring in Biology, and is actively involved in university research and expeditions. Based on his experience, Luka was actively involved in the CENN-ADC project ‘Sustainable Forest Management for Climate Resilient Rural Development in Georgia.’ As a school student, Luka was an active, successful participant in the Niko Ketskhoveli School Award and Green Camps, and after graduation he himself became an invited trainer on biodiversity issues.

Luka’s list of conservation activities is quite extensive: participation in a seasonal gazelle reintroduction program, Zoological Park and WWF- joint field monitoring in 2019, working in the Tbilisi Zoo Education Department, as well as a few months working in an endangered species conservation project. He is also a founder of the brand “KATAMURA" which creates statues of wildlife species. Luka also created illustrations for National Geographic Georgia on the Javakheti migratory birds. In 2020, together with friends, he founded his own organization, the main goal of which is to conserve nature and promote nonformal environmental education.

“My many years of experience volunteering with animals and being in the company of many interesting professionals has given me the opportunity to participate in research and numerous impressive expeditions, allowing me to more broadly understand the importance of biodiversity," Luka says.

CENN GREEN SCHOLARSHIP FOR CONTRIBUTION TO HIGH SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN

GREEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND / OR BUSINESS, WINNER: MARIAM NARSAVIDZE Mariam Narsavidze is a 12th grade student at Pari Public School in Mestia Municipality. She has conducted different environmental activities in her community over the past several years and is a leader of the eco club “Green Space”.

In 2017, Mariam started to learn handicrafts at the Mzeko social enterprise, and was employed there afterwards, later specializing in Teka and Gobelin. In order to share her knowledge, Mariam became a volunteer teacher and created a handicraft course for junior schoolmates where she taught them sewing, embroidery and how to make various accessories. Alongside her classes, she began manufacturing multi-use, ecologically clean cloth bags and painting on them for a school social enterprise which was created through the donation of Lado Abkhazava. Mariam exhibits and sells her bags at different events and she uses the collected money to create new bags and implement different environmental activities.

“The Green Scholarship is a great opportunity for me to implement future activities as it enables me to organize the festival ‘Let’s Take Care of the Environment through Social Entrepreneurship’ and to contribute to the development of my community,” she said.

CENN GREEN SCHOLARSHIP FOR CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT, CIRCULAR ECONOMICS, & CONSUMER BEHAVIOR CHANGE, WINNER: TORNIKE SHAVISHVILI 17 year-old Tornike Shavishvili is a 12th grade student at Kobuleti’s No.6 Public School. He has been interested in environmental projects for the past three years and is actively involved in advocating changes for a better environment at the local level.

Tornike first got involved with CENN in 2018, and apart from participating in camps and various contests, he won a grant from the USAID WMTR II program to promote the concept of sustainable municipal waste. Within the project, he managed to clean up approximately 2500 square meters of the Black Sea coastline, and ensured that the collected waste was separated and delivered to waste aggregating companies to be recycled. He also conducted trainings in his local community for up to 200 students from 5 schools in Kobuleti Municipality, and installed a compost box at Bobokvati Public School.

“I think the most important thing is to act individually to save the Earth. That’s why I got involved in environmental projects and have become an active environmentalist contributing to a sustainable and healthy environment,” he told us. “I’m happy that my activities have raised environmental awareness in my municipality and school, thanks to the support of CENN and USAID.” CENN’s Green Scholarships will doubtless have a positive impact on these young people’s motivation in general.

Winning a green scholarship not only allows them to implement their projects and ideas, but also encourages them to continue their activities in the field of environment protection.

CENN continues to create new possibilities for future leaders and, at the same time, expresses gratitude for their hard work. In fact, it is quite likely that the Green Scholarships will become an annual tradition which will contribute to increasing the involvement of Georgian youth in the global fight against environmental issues.

8

SOCIETY

GEORGIA TODAY

MAY 1 - 7, 2020

Emerging: Etseri, Svaneti TRUST of strangers with one another returns? How long before public gatherings of whatever kind will feel safe, not harbingers of invisible and silent death a few weeks later? Religious groups are supposed to meet, generally. For now, we are doing this virtually: how will we get back to the broken habits we have now lost?

Good riddance, some will say… but not all. How long, if ever, before we can simply hug one another without feeling criminally harmful to our very selves and others too?

It sometimes feels like a nightmare from which one just aches to awaken.

But it goes on, increasingly affecting the whole world in fatally interlocked ways.

How are the medical people coping with traumatic stress, having even to wait an unknown time before they can add “post-” to the beginning, “disorder” to the end of that phrase, and then start getting counselling for it?

Galadriel’s words were chosen to open the magnificent Lord of the Rings film trilogy of recent decades: “The world is changed.” And here we are, seeing that unfold before our very eyes. We go on, hoping, trying not to give up. May we have the flexibility and strength to cope with the New World.

BLOG BY TONY HANMER

S

pring has come up here, while further down in the lowlands of Georgia, the first vegetable and fruit harvests are trying to happen. Quarantining is making that process quite challenging in some locations, as farmers struggle to access their fields in sufficient numbers to work without getting fined for doing so. Then they need to get the harvest to market, possibly across road closures. It can be heartbreaking, not only the money lost, but the food rotting where it grew or was picked and packed.

There are some encouraging reports, though, of the government trying to open things up to prevent these things from happening. Farming, at the mercy of weather year by year, now has new enemies with which to contend.

Meanwhile, in Svaneti… rain contends with snow, the latter slowly giving ground.

People are planting their potatoes (the main crop) only now, having manured the fields to enrich them either last autumn or earlier this spring. My wife and I have done our couple of lines, and then added some corn, squash, flowers of various kinds, greens, and tended to the existing strawberries, raspberries and fruit seedlings. A young man with a hand-pushed gasoline-powered tiller did the ground for us, turning up a watchtower’s foundation’s worth of stones to pick out. I rake, hoe, turn soil with a spade between the raspberry canes.

We’ve also dug up a few small evergreens

from elsewhere and brought them home to add to the garden for future years.

The horrible mess which was the yearsold scrap woodpile is finally out of the way, just an eyesore of a memory in photos, and there too flowers and greens will spring up. So we have plenty of physical work outside in the fresh air to keep us busy. That, and a growing set of

English lessons and readings of various kinds which we record as videos by cell phone and post to our and other Facebook pages for the common good, we hope. My new nickname is Pinocchio.

We don’t leave the TV on all the time, as its influence, while offering information, can also simply be overwhelming, as the numbers of infections and deaths

rise. Besides, there’s too much controversy and even fake news to have to pick through and discard before it can stain one’s soul. We ration it to a minimum, bolstered by downloaded films or TV series chosen to lighten the mood or to boost the courage.

I also have to wonder: how long, once things fully open up again, before the

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

How Is Georgian Post Working during the Pandemic?

tomers can send any type of dispatch throughout Georgia without leaving a house. One can use the service through the Georgian Post Call Center, on the basis of which a courier will carry out the order and ensure that the message is delivered to the appropriate addressee.

"Given the current situation in the country due to COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to create a service that would allow our customers to receive postal services without leaving a homeuse and, at the same time, follow the recommendation ‘Stay at home’ to prevent the spread of the virus,” said Levan Chikvaidze, General Director of the Georgian Post.

BY ANA DUMBADZE

T

oday, the whole world is facing a common challenge, an invisible enemy called the new coronavirus (COVID-19). Governments of various countries worldwide are sparing no efforts to tackle the pandemic and bring the lives of their citizens back to a normal course. Due to the spread of the virus, tight quarantine restrictions have been imposed worldwide. Given the current developments, the majority of Georgian companies have switched their employees to a remote working regime to ensure their safety.

Despite the current restrictions imposed

on air traffic to and from different countries, Georgian Post continues to operate actively and to perform its functions and duties.

At the same time, it ensures and protects the health and well-being of its employees and customers.

In accordance with the recommendations issued by the state and healthcare organizations, the company immediately took security measures and, simultaneously, continued to provide services to the public and private sector.

Georgian Post, as a company that values its social responsibility, and in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, carried out disinfection works in all its service, postal exchange and sorting centers throughout Georgia, while employees were provided with protec-

tive equipment: disinfectant solutions, gloves, masks and protective shields. A number of employees were switched to remote jobs, while work schedules in service centers were reduced. In addition, the company provides home delivery without direct contact with the addressee.

Georgian Post is providing state services to citizens over the age of 70, who belong to the highest risk group, including delivering medicines, face masks and other basic necessities. In addition, children and adults with diabetes mellitus under the age of 18 are being given blood sugar (glucometer) test-sticks for use at home.

In addition, the Georgian Post offers new service to customers – ‘Home to Home.’

With the help of this new service, cus-

Detailed information about the "- Home to Home" service can be found on the website gpost.ge.

To benefit from the service, one can contact the Georgian Post Call Center: 264 96 49.

Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Natia Turnava, has thanked the company for its high social responsibility shown in these uncertain and challenging times.

"Given the developments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgian Post, as a responsible company, immediately took high security measures in order to prevent the risk of spreading the virus.

“Today, most postal workers have to do field work, which is necessary due to the nature of their activities and cannot be carried out remotely. The company offers home delivery without direct contact with the addressee, which is very important for the prevention of the spread of the virus.

“I would like to thank the employees of the Georgian Post for standing by the country and its fellow citizens at such an important time,” the Minister noted.

The Georgian Post represents a leading national postal operator that is mainly involved in providing the consumers with the universal postal services. The company is distinguished by a large selection of services and the widest network of service centers. Currently, 82 service centers of the Georgian Post operate throughout the country. The company is oriented on using modern technologies that allows it to provide its clients with as fast service as possible.

SOCIETY

GEORGIA TODAY MAY 1 - 7, 2020

9

Isolation Diaries #4 – Stoicism, Mindfulness & a Poem BLOG BY AMY JONES

A

s the sun shines hotter and with the return to normality in far sight, days have become lighter. Slowly, my thoughts have come to terms with this new reality, with mindful techniques helping me through the darker days.

We’re not the first humans to suffer from a pandemic, and we won’t be the last. In fact, one of the worst plagues in European history occurred around AD166 to AD180, wiping out an estimated 5 million people across the continent.

During this era, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus penned a book outlining the psychological and moral tips that helped him at the time. His musings made him the last famous Stoic philosopher of antiquity, but his thoughts are just as relevant today.

In his book, aptly named The Meditations, he discusses how fear is often greater than the object of the fear itself.

Fearing spiders is worse than the puny spider itself; worrying about a difficult

conversation is often worse than having the conversation; being anxious about an illness is often worse than being sick.

One of the main ideas of modern stoicism is letting go of that which you cannot control, referred to as “the dichotomy of control.” We cannot control everything around us, but we can control our thoughts and actions. In other words, we cannot control the Coronavirus pandemic, but we can control the way we think about it and respond to it.

This idea is central in the psychotherapy technique Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), as well as the concept of mindfulness. As we bomb through life at full-speed, many of us forget, or simply don’t have the time to pause, reflect and process our thoughts.

Mindfulness is as important to our health as eating well and exercising, as it takes care of our mental wellbeing.

Being left more or less alone in my own thoughts over the past weeks, I’ve had to cling onto mindful techniques to keep anxiety at bay. On days when the ‘society is heading for a disaster, I will lose my job, everyone will die’, thoughts become deafening, meditation provides some relief.

If you’re interested in mindfulness, I recommend checking out the headspace app. They have a 14-day free trial to try out their courses, which each last between 10 - 20 minutes, short enough to squeeze into your day.

I’ll leave you with a poem I wrote this week. A reminder to breathe: Breathe Life seems to roll by in the blink of an eye until you Stop Squeeze your brakes and release the pressure That was building up with no time for leisure Climbing to new heights in the pursuit of whatever Pushing to complete each and every endeavor You forget to breathe Breathe Ease off the brakes Pedal at your own pace For life is no race There’s no first place No limited space Savor the taste And breathe Breathe.

New UNFPA Projections Predict Calamitous Impact on Women’s Health as COVID-19 Pandemic Continues

A

and to respond urgently during the challenging public health emergency.

Our priorities are focusing on strengthening health systems, procuring and delivering essential supplies to protect health workers, ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services, and promoting risk communication and community engagement.

The research was conducted by UNFPA, with contributions from Avenir Health, Johns Hopkins University (USA) and Victoria University (Australia). Its projections were based upon recent UNFPA research into what will be required to achieve the organization’s goals by 2030. For each estimate, researchers projected the direct impact of COVID-19 on the issue in question and combined it with the disruption to global prevention programmes caused by the pandemic.

s the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, the number of women unable to access family planning, facing unintended pregnancies, gender-based violence and other harmful practices, could skyrocket by millions of cases in the months ahead, according to data released by UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.

The research reveals the enormous scale of the impact COVID-19 is having on women, as health systems become overloaded, facilities close or only provide a limited set of services to women and girls, and many choose to skip important medical checkups

More than 47 mln women could lose access to contraception, leading to 7 mln unintended pregnancies in the coming months

through fear of contracting the virus.

Global supply chain disruptions may also lead to significant shortages of contraceptives and gender-based violence is expected to soar as women are trapped at home for prolonged periods.

“This new data shows the catastrophic impact that COVID-19 could soon have on women and girls globally. The pandemic is deepening inequalities, and millions more women and girls now risk losing the ability to plan their families and protect their bodies and their health,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director. “Women’s reproductive health and rights must be safeguarded at all costs. The services must continue; the supplies must

be delivered; and the vulnerable must be protected and supported.”

KEY PROJECTIONS: • 47 million women in 114 low- and middle-income countries may not be able to access modern contraceptives, and 7 million unintended pregnancies are expected to occur if the lockdown carries on for 6 months and there are major disruptions to health services. For every three months the lockdown continues, up to an additional 2 million women may be unable to use modern contraceptives.

• 31 million additional cases of gender-based violence can be expected to occur if the lockdown continues for at least 6 months. For every 3 months the

lockdown continues, an additional 15 million extra cases of gender-based violence are expected.

• Due to the disruption of programs to prevent female genital mutilation in response to COVID-19, 2 million female genital mutilation cases may occur over the next decade that could have been averted.

• COVID-19 will disrupt efforts to end child marriage, potentially resulting in an additional 13 million child marriages taking place between 2020 and 2030 that could otherwise have been averted.

UNFPA is working with governments and partners to prioritize the needs of women and girls of reproductive age

Access the projections at www.unfpa.org Access UNFPA’s Global COVID-19 Response Plan here: https://www.unfpa. org/resources/coronavirus-disease-covid19-pandemic-unfpa-global-response-plan.

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. We work in developing countries and humanitarian emergencies to make sure women can access family planning, to end preventable maternal deaths and stamp out gender-based violence and harmful practices like female genital mutilation and child marriage.

10

SOCIETY

GEORGIA TODAY

MAY 1 - 7, 2020

Reliving History, or How I Spent my Lockdown

BLOG BY HELENA BEDWELL

I

have been married almost 22 years.

My husband always laughingly complained, “Why are you buying all that antique, vintage stuff- velvet dresses, lace, grandma’s knickers and old baskets? What are you going to do with them?”

Well, I showed him! Not only did those items save our lives and budget during Halloween and fancy dress parties, with us not having to rent or make anything, but if friends came to my door asking for a Geisha costume or John Waynetype cowboy saddlebags, I was ready to help.

Besides, I always loved the smell of vintage shops and clothing: someone had worn them and enjoyed them- white dresses someone got married in, a tiara which was loved once upon a time!

Memories came with every item I brought home.

My children shared my passion, and many times we flew across the world with them dressed as a superhero or fairytale character; the only negative me

being left to carry their luggage!

Besides wearing vintage clothing, it is environmentally friendly, and we protect the planet from unwanted thrown-away clothes. But enough of that.

When the coronavirus lockdown was announced in Georgia, I, as a reporter, was given a special pass to drive around the city of Tbilisi. But I decided to be safe and stayed home most of the time.

My husband and daughter found their quiet spots in the house to work and study, but I was restless; unprepared to sit quietly and wait as time passed. I continued my reporting for work, yes, but still found something missing. I’m a happy character by nature, but I also felt a need to uplift others during these stay at home days.

As an author of two culinary books, I thought I would use the time to complete my third book project, but I had to put this idea on the back burner because while sorting through some clothes, an idea came to mind. I turned to my husband for help. “David, listen,” I told him.

“Look at this lovely replica painting we bought in the Louvre. Let’s recreate it.

The first photoshoot was easy and fun, and little was I to know how the idea

would grow from there when a colleague of mine, George Lomsadze, saw my post and challenged me to re-create the famous Rustaveli art book by Kobuladze. We took up that challenge that very same day, and the rest is history.

I didn’t want to follow one particular theme, instead desiring to recreate and relive those persons and characters that are close to me, and whom I feel I understand. I also didn’t want to follow only art, and so went through the photographs and images that had stayed imprinted in my mind from movies or magazines.

Grace Kelly and her Prince, Diana, Pirsomani’s wonderful ladies, Cruella de Vil, Kim Kardashian, geishas, Liz Taylor, Coco Chanel, Barbare Jorjadze, Julia Child, Prince Philip and the Queen herself, Victoria Beckham, Queen Victoria, Rembrandt and Saskia, Sophia Loren: all characters that we recreated using only my clothes, jewellery, decorations and items around the house- no photoshop or substantial alterations. The biggest “special effect” I went for was to put flour in my hair to make it grey. My daughter helped to create the background for the poster in our ‘Gone With The Wind’ piece.

The reception from the public was absolutely astonishing and unexpected, and I received endless shares and likes and comments about our pictures, which I had made merely for personal entertainment. I had no choice then but to make the project public for everyone to enjoy- my crowns and tiaras got well used!

We had great fun throughout the project: people felt happy and they smiled, something you really need during such uncertain times. I managed to get not only my husband and daughter involved, but also my mother, her dog and even our pet hamster Darbi! He did well as ratatouille!

I can go on forever, but we have to end somewhere, and tonight we have decided to bring our project to a close because most of the characters that lived in my head have now been revisited. These pictures will stay with me forever, and although the quarantine is not over yet, the easing of restrictions is gradually happening, so we have to start to think about going back to reality.

Thank you to everyone who joined the fun!

CULTURE

GEORGIA TODAY MAY 1 - 7, 2020

11

“Corona Days” Artworks Presented by BI Auction to Promote Young Georgian Artists: Natalia Lashkhi

INTERVIEW BY NINI DAKHUNDARIDZE

T

he BI Auction team has set topromotingyoungGeorgian artists creating works throughout the pandemic, uniting them in the online exhibition ‘Artists Artworks @Corona Days’. Some of the artists have agreed to share their insights, along with their works, with the readers of GEORGIA TODAY. “Nature is resting while a lot of countries declare a state of emergency,” young Georgian artist Natalia Lashkhi tells us, going on to explain how the coronavirus pandemic has affected her own private world of art.

A Tbilisi-born artist, Natalia got her bachelor’s degree from the Tbilisi State Academy of Art (TSAA), in the Faculty of Fine Arts. She is currently a second year MA student in the same faculty.

When the coronavirus pandemic started spreading in the world, Natalia was an Erasmus+ student of the Sofia National

Academy of Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria. Like many, she had to come back home.

“It was very difficult for me to leave Bulgaria. I liked the Academy, studying there, my studio; I made friends there.

All of my professors and group mates were so kind to me. I fell in love with the city, it was wonderful,” Natalia recalls.

Now she’s studying online, staying in touch with her professors in Bulgaria,

sharing works with them, and discussing different books and films. She’s hoping to go back while she continues to study at the TSAA. She mentions the name of Gia Gugushvili, the Georgian professor she is most grateful to. Natalia is one of the lucky few who finds it easy to be productive during these strange times.

“This time is very productive for me, I don't want to lose even a second. Being

in isolation, I work and express my thoughts,” she says, adding that, “This situation is very sensitive for an artist.

Art is a way of survival for me.”

“Art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can only be explored by those willing to take the risk,” Mark Rothko once said. Taking a look at Natalia’s painting of dandelions, it’s evident that Natalia has taken that risk and has entered the unknown world of artistic metaphors, seeing coronavirus reflections in the form of the dandelion seeds.

“Dandelions have a similar construction to the virus's appearance under the microscope. And, of course, the conceptual meaning: the virus spreads as fast as the fluff in the wind,” the artist explains.

Another coronavirus-inspired work of Natalia’s is a piece she titled ‘Victory’ – only thing we need today against our common invisible enemy.

“I decided to paint ‘Victory.’ This is the only one thing we need today: to defeat our common invisible enemy. This is the quadriga of the Brandenburg Gate (Brandenbirger Tor). The quadriga is led by the goddess of Victory. Also, the Brandenburg Gate is associated for me with ancient Rome, with European culture. These is the main artistic inspiration for me in this work,” Natalia tells us.

“On the one hand, this virus has been fatal for a huge amount of people, and that's so tragic. We have to separate from each other, stay home and meet spring through our windows. But on the other hand, coronavirus is a response of nature to the pollution and humanity's careless attitude. Nature is resting while a lot of countries declare a state of emergency,” says Natalia, sharing her artistic viewpoint on the world crisis.

About BI Auction ‘for ART’: BI Auction is the first Art Auction Company of Georgia, established in 2016. The company’s aim is to promote Georgian art and artists and enlarge the market. In four years, BI Auction ‘for ART’ has organized seven auctions and presented more than 400 paintings from 120 Georgian painters. In every auction, the collection is selected from among a thousand paintings from the well-known legendary artists of Georgia and also from promising young artists.

The Risks & Challenges of COVID-19: Opinions from Georgian & Int’l Viewpoints, Part 2 Continued from page 5 It is worrying that several countries have chosen to interpret their state of emergency very widely, which usually manifests itself by governments giving themselves wide-ranging discretionary rights. I will mention a couple of specific examples: Hungary has shifted to government by decree, practically excluding the involvement of representative institutions; Israel has temporarily halted the functioning of its court system; Chile has almost completely curtailed the

freedom of speech and expression; and America’s Justice Department submitted a draft law to Congress on indefinite detention powers (which Congress subsequently did not pass).

Generally speaking, pandemics are a test of Western democracy. The impression they give—one sedulously and skilfully fuelled by the propaganda machinery of a well-known country—is that open and free societies opposed to authoritarianism are losing the battle, and that only authoritarian regimes can really guarantee the basic human right

PUBLISHER & GM

George Sharashidze COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT

Commercial Director: Iva Merabishvili Marketing Manager: Natalia Chikvaidze

GEORGIA TODAY

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT:

Editor-In-Chief: Katie Ruth Davies

to security. Hopefully, ‘conclusions’ such as these will merely be a temporary phenomenon caused by global shocks, and every urgent current issue will be tackled soon.

We should in any case remind ourselves that every crisis at different times in our history has been a test of our preparedness for organized life. In this sense, the current coronavirus pandemic is also a massive test for both our biological and physiological immunity as well as of our ability to empathize with and support others. I suppose that this is the most

Journalists: Ana Dumbadze, Vazha Tavberidze, Nini Dakhundaridze, Tony Hanmer, Emil Avdaliani, Nugzar B. Ruhadze, Beka Alexishvili, Elene Dzebizashvili, Photographer: Aleksei Serov

important feature that the crisis should reveal. As for our post-pandemic world, at the moment we can only predict its vague outlines, especially since the current priority is to defeat the virus itself.

Georgia, like every other country, is fighting on the front line of this war, and apparently quite successfully. For us, as a small nation, this fight has several objectives: to defeat the virus, to develop public institutions, to improve our society’s readiness to solve shared problems and to establish ourselves as a modern and capable state on the future world

Website Manager/Editor: Katie Ruth Davies Layout: Misha Mchedlishvili Webmaster: Sergey Gevenov Circulation Managers: David Kerdikashvili, David Djandjgava

stage, all while maintaining our unique cultural and ethnic identity for ourselves as well as for the rest of the world, i.e. those things which distinguish us from others and make us interesting.

The current challenge, which will be overcome sooner or later, raises the possibility of healthy judgment, drawing conclusions and algorithms for action. This historic episode we are passing through requires of us a rational, ‘unhurriedly accelerated’ and pragmatic development that will enable us to be as prepared as possible when facing future challenges.

ADDRESS

1 Melikishvili Str. Tbilisi, 0179, Georgia Tel.: +995 32 229 59 19 E: info@georgiatoday.ge F: GeorgiaToday ADVERTISING & SUBSCRIPTION

+995 555 00 14 46 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