As we look back on a momentous 2024, we are filled with gratitude and strength of an eye-opening year We reflect on our achievements and our path ahead This will bring us renewed hope to find new ways to accomplish our objectives as we bring everyone together to reach our many goals
Our thanks also go to every member of our Board, our Executive, our CPC, and our Group Heads, all of whom work so tirelessly to continue our mission of connecting Georgians and international members, and enabling them to meet and get to know one another and this marvellous country At the same time, through our CPC work and fundraising activities, we identify and continue to donate to all those in need
Most of all, heartfelt thanks go to all our members. You are the core of our association. Thank you for being there, for participating and filling us with your warmth and vibrance.
We wish everyone joyous and peaceful holidays May the New Year bring us renewed inspiration, much success and a myriad of avenues to celebrate our friendship, togetherness and work
Maria Fischer President
Board / Executive Committee Status
It’s that time of year when we would typically hold elections for Board members who are due to step down or for new candidates wishing to present themselves for a position. However, since this is not the case at the moment, we will continue our work, striving to serve you as best we can.
However, there will be a small change to the executive committee. Silvia Mera, the Public Relations Chair, will now also support the Interest Groups team. Her rol is to activate more groups, foster connections between them, and gather additional feedback to enhance their effectiveness.
Membership
To continue operating, we need to begin collecting membership fees.
When you pay your membership, you help us stay funded so we can pursue our mission. These resources are needed to sustain and expand our programmes, activities, and events for you and our guests. This allows us to offer unique advantages in terms of reach and effectiveness.
You get it back in all that we do for you every single day
The Forms include only what you have already given to receive your entry visas: Name, surname as in passport Passport/ID number Nationality, Official/registered address
Remember that your Board and Exec work entirely on a volunteer basis. We are here for you. Please be here for us.
Fill out the online form: https://iwa.ge/membership/membership-application/ or Or print it out: https://iwa.ge/wpcontent/uploads/2024/12/IWA_APP_Form_24-25-1-2pdf
gvasalia n@yahoo.com Contact our Membership Chair
Nino Gvasalia
A glance at a very rewarding 2024 for our charity work: 34 Causes
By Marianna Sofianou
11 Organizations
Clothes and food for children in a flooded area.
Adaptation of wheelchairs.
Purchase of furniture and equipment for development centers for adults and children with special needs
A ceramics studio in Zemo Nikozi. Food for women victims of violence.
Laptops for excellent students in remote areas of Georgia.
Marita Ch., 4 years old
Hip joint replacement, 5,000 GEL
Mariam O., 34 years old
Surgery for upper lid ptosis, 5,000 GEL
21 Individuals
Rehabilitation --> 9 cases
Medicines and various medical tests --> 5 cases
Surgery --> 4 cases
Chemotherapy --> 2 cases
Education --> 1 case
Vakhtang K., 27 years old
Right arm prosthesis, 5,000 GEL
Ceramics Studio in Zemo Nikozi March 2024
Ceramics Studio in Zemo Nikozi Now
American Friends of Georgia
by Silvia Mera and Marianna Sofianou
American Friends of Georgia, in collaboration with Charte.ge and under the "Access to Education" program, has made significant strides in supporting students in need. With generous financial backing from IWA (14,500 GEL), the initiative successfully provided 10 computers with one year of internet access to students, ensuring they have the essential tools for their education.
The distribution focused on underserved and conflict-affected regions, such as Racha, Gali, Samtskhe, and Adjara, where access to educational resources is often limited.
Moreover, American Friends of Georgia committed to doubling the impact by matching the initial funds, enabling the purchase of an additional 10 computers. This amplified the program's reach, offering vital support to students in these regions.
Providing computers and internet access is about more than education it’s about offering hope, resilience, and opportunities for a better future amid challenging circumstances. It represents an investment in peace, stability, and the long-term development of these communities.
The Last GBM of the year
By Kelly Chaib De Mares
The last General Business Meeting (GBM) of 2024 was held on Wednesday, December 11, at the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace on the first floor.
The event featured a White Elephant Gift Exchange, where everyone brought a wrapped gift (regifted items were especially encouraged) to contribute. Participants received a raffle number when handing in their gift and had the opportunity to exchange it once.
A special highlight was the generous donation of a new piano/keyboard to our choir by Silvia, our Public Relations Chair. We celebrated this wonderful gift with a few Christmas songs.
Tea Chkuaseli, Interest
Groups Chair: +995598718550.
Silvia Mera +995555924393 cendromera@telenet.be
City Tour and Restaurant
Hopping are announced in advance.
MONDAYS
• Every Monday at 11h Art & Crafts with Dali
• Every first Monday of the month at 11h Nutrition Group with Angelika
TUESDAYS
•Every Tuesday yoga with Natalia
WEDNESDAYS
Every Wednesday at 11h Coffee Morning except the GBM day. Every second Wednesday of the month at 10:30 GBM.
THURSDAYS
Every Thursday at 10:30 walking group with Tamara. Every other Thursday at 16h Georgian conversation with Nana. Every first Thursday of the month Culinary Adventure with Maria.
Fridays
Every Friday at 11h Choir with Nana.
Every Friday at 16h Spanish class with Silvia
Toliskuri/Khobi house model went to Austria
By Johanna Mühlmann
On a nice October afternoon, Margret brought me a wonderful present from Georgia! Marianna, CPC Chair, sent it via Margret to me, thank you dear Marianna!
Margret said that Gvantsa from Toliskuri day care center in Khobi had reproduced models of the house that IWA had bought for them with the enourmous help from the Austrian police and their friends over the past two years and gave this models to Eva from Vorarlberg Police and IWA ladies who visited the house and the kids in Khobi to see the progress of the renovation.
I really admire the efforts that Eva put into collecting donations with her friends and family. In the name of the kids in Khobi, I am very grateful to them.
I always love to see photos of the kids having fun, together with their caregivers, their parents and friends. It is heartwarming to witness their joy!
In the beginning, when our thoughts started evolving the idea, it was a great motivation for me to think about how the kids were going to be able to get out of their houses, to find friends, to empower them and their parents through networking and information, and thus make some steps towards a more selfsufficient life.
It is unbelievably wonderful what was achieved in the past two years!
Thanks to you, all IWA ladies, your families and friends, who support this project with actions, funding and thoughts!
I miss you!
Coffee morning in Vienna!
By Margret Schmidt
What a wonderful morning in Vienna at the Albertina Art Museum! I met there two of our former IWA presidents Petra Benkö and Johanna Mühlmann for the extraordinary exposition of Marc Chagall, with special pieces from private collectors!
“Marc Chagall (1887–1985) numbers among the 20th century’s best-known artists, and his one-of-a-kind oeuvre encompasses works created as early as 1905 and as late as the 1980s. Born to an Orthodox Hasidic Jewish working-class family and raised in the small Belarusian town of Vitebsk (...) Chagall’s whimsical and poetic pictorial worlds, as familiar to us as they may be, continue to fascinate and present ever-new riddles.
His oeuvre oscillates between the traditional and the avant-garde with respect to both style and substance. Based on his experience of 20th-century art’s development from primitivism to cubism, fauvism, and surrealism, Chagall created his very own visual language one unmistakable feature of which is the essential continuity inherent in his multifaceted artistic expression.“
After this art enjoyment we set down for a coffee in one of the old Viennese Cafes and talked about our time at IWA and how much we miss you!
Greetings from Petra, Johanna and me to all of our ladies and we hope IWA will continue!
The ultimate IWA guide for a sustainable Christmas Environmental
Recyclable wrapping paper
Reuse decorations
Go for a gift that’s sustainably produced
Support local businesses
Give Gifts Responsibly: Gift of an experience, a membership or a special dinner out
Sponsorship Packages
We have four categories of sponsorship considered as bronze, silver, gold and platinum
Packages
Company’ s name is mentioned at the website, Facebook page and IWA’ s newsletter
Company’ s name mentioned in all IWA’ s activities (with physical presence or on line)
a chosen IWAG
Video on website and Facebook page promoting the company
GOLD sponsors PLATINUM sponsors
SILVER sponsors ANKARA STYLE
THE BODY SHOP BEST ELECTRICS
BRONZE sponsors
IS BANK GEORGIA
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