Tbilisi, Georgia - A national festival of cultural diversity, “All – for Georgia; Georgia for all,” was organized by the youth department of the civil movement “Multinational Georgia” on October 22 in Tbilisi. Among the participants were representatives of national Diasporas permanently residing in Georgia, foreign guests, and schoolchildren of Tbilisi.
Children dressed in national costumes formed a living chain that started at the mosque and continued to the Armenian Church, the synagogue, and finally to the Narikala fortress and St. Nikolaz Church. The participants held balloons with the inscription “tolerance” in different languages.
In preparing for the national festival of cultural diversity “All – for Georgia; Georgia – for all” initiated by the Youth Department of the civil movement “Multinational Georgia,” the chairperson of UPF-Georgia, Vitaly Maximiv, and the chairperson of the Association of Armenians of Georgia “Nor Serund,” Mikhail Agahanyan, together with volunteers of the organization “Multinational Georgia,” conducted a number of trainings for students at high schools 37, 41, 44, 49, 54, 56, 98 and 136 of Tbilisi.
The young people listened to the presentation on international tolerance and practiced skills of friendship, respect for the opposite sex, and harmonious communication. They discussed developing the capacity to love and the importance of respect for different nationalities and cultures.
Note: In Tbilisi's Old Town, a mosque, a synagogue, and two church churches are less than 500 metres (1,600 ft) from each. This reflects Tbilisi's character as a multicultural city and Georgia's location in the Caucasus, the mountainous crossroads of Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East. The city is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups. Around 80 percent of the population is ethnically Georgian, with significant numbers of Armenians and Azeris. In addition, there are small numbers of Ossetians, Abkhazians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Jews, Russians, Estonians, Germans, Kurds, Assyrians, and others. About 85 percent of the residents are Christians, mainly Georgian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and Armenian Apostolic. In addition, about 8 percent are Muslims and 2 percent Jews.