The government of Georgia actively cooperates with civil society within the framework of the Eastern Partnership and in the process of development and implementation of the Culture Strategy 2025. Accordingly, it considers the nongovernmental sector as a permanent partner in ongoing activities.
One of the objectives (3.2.) of Strategic Goal 3. “Culture and Other Key Areas” of the Culture Strategy 2025 is Regular cooperation among cultural professionals, public, civil and private sectors, which is reflected in the following:
- Promoting public-private partnerships, creative approaches and interdisciplinary cooperation in the cultural sector to solve problems in various fields;
- Developing flexible and attractive funding mechanisms to facilitate cooperation between the representatives of the cultural sector on the one hand, and cooperation of cultural and other sectors, on the other hand.
This results in direct professional and transnational cooperation between NGOs, the public sector and municipalities in Georgia, especially for implementation of large projects.
However, most of the interesting and successful projects are initiated by individuals and NGOs or through the bilateral relations of various public and private organizations which have been initiated by personal contacts rather than as a matter of state policy.
Thus almost all international festivals (architecture, theatre, film, contemporary art, craftsmanship, books and publishing, and contemporary dance) have been initiated and organized by various NGOs with the support of central and local authorities and international donors. Examples are: Artisterium, Georgian International Festival of Arts–”Gift”, Tbilisi International Summit ETHNOFEST, Tbilisi International Film Festival, Tbilisi International Jazz Festival, Black Sea Jazz in Batumi, International Folk Festival “Chveneburebi”, South Caucasus Contemporary Dance & Experimental Art Festival in Tbilisi, Tbilisi International Book Festival, International Animation Film Festival Nikozi, Batumi International Art-House Film Festival, Tbilisi Biennale of Stage Design, Tbilisi Architecture Biennial, etc.
Promoting transnational cooperation is also described in Objective 7.1. “The internationalization of the cultural sector helps the development of culture, increases the nation’s export capacity and empowers its image” of Strategic Goal “Internationalization of Culture” of Culture Strategy 2025, which is divided into the following tasks:
To help the creative industries in creating co-funding opportunities and developing co-production through international programmes, such as Creative Europe, Eurimage, the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme, Creative Cities Network – UNESCO, etc.;
To elaborate and introduce a more comprehensive concept for Georgia’s cultural days abroad (e.g. in addition to cultural heritage, demonstrate contemporary achievements, initiatives, successful creative businesses and investments, public facilitation programmes and etc. and create integrated promotion policy);
In order to promote Georgian culture abroad, to facilitate public-private partnerships and the implementation of joint projects (e.g.: organize exhibitions, present Georgia at international fairs, festivals and other events, support the integrated representation of business, tourism, agricultural and cultural resources, etc.);
The state supports the promotion of Georgian culture on such important international platforms as the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Biennale, the Prague Quadrennial, the Frankfurt Book Fair, etc., in which the NNLs of the respective fields are actively involved.
Most of the intellectual resources are concentrated in the nongovernmental sector of the cultural field. As usual, the international networks (for example ICOM, ICOMOS, OISTAT, European Theatre Convention “ETC”, ASSITEJ, New European Theaters Association “NETA” UNIMA, Blue Shield, etc.) are represented in Georgia by the organizations of this sector.
Nongovernmental cultural institutions actively cooperate with international partners around the world, have active contacts in relevant fields (cultural heritage, professional arts, cultural industries and cultural tourism) and carry out joint projects, research, exhibitions, concerts, festivals, competitions and more.
2022-2024
Due to the nepotistic and politicized policies of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, international professional cooperation was actively started by independent, newly established organizations that represented Georgia with alternative projects and messages at major international events.
For example, at the 2024 Berlinale, in addition to the pavilion of the National Film Centre, Georgia was represented by a booth of GFI – Georgian Film Institute, which expressed the position of filmmakers boycotting the Film Centre.
In 2023 and 2024, Georgia was represented at the Frankfurt Book Fair by an independent booth organized by 4 publishers and the PEN Centre of Georgia. In these years, writers and publishing organizations boycotting the Ministry, by their own efforts and with the help of international donors, hold various activities that are not supported by the government.
Comments are closed.