Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Sahil Babayev said these words at the presentation ceremony of the “Garabagh” SMEs” project, Azernews reports
Day: October 25, 2023
On October 24, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, doubled down on accusations against the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Endowment for Democracy (EED), saying some of their programs encourage “extremism” and “polarization.” He demanded “explanations” from the US and the EU, just as the ruling party and security services have stepped up pressure on civic activists.
Speaker referred to “several scandals involving USAID,” which he called “very unfortunate”, noting that “it seems that a number of local USAID officials have a careless attitude towards the good name that American aid has in Georgia.”
In this context, Papuashvili mentioned the mainstay of the “Georgian Dream” spin to discredit ISFED, the key election watchdog, by claims that USAID “interfered in the 2020 elections in Georgia” when ISFED “spread false results of the parallel count” (which ISFED has repeatedly denied). Adding further elements to that spin, Papuasvhili said, “USAID officials themselves knew about this [spreading of false results] and hid it from the Georgian public.” Papuashvili pointed out – counterfactually – that USAID “still has not responded to the allegations.” He added, “the[ir] silence serves as an affirmative answer.”
Papuashvili then referred to two recent cases that are being actively spinned by the ruling party affiliated media – the so-called “trainings case” where civic activists are investigated by security services for taking part in peaceful resistance training and the news that a watchdog, GDI, helped activists pay fines imposed after administrative arrests.
Papuasvhili said there was a “closed circle,” in which, on the one hand “people are trained to have a more radical agenda” and then “supported” financially when the “radical actions take place”, and “protected when they break the law.” He said the paying of fines “gives a carte blanche to the perpetrators, and of course, this is absolutely unacceptable.” Papuashvili said the government is “waiting for clarifications […] from the USAID side” which has allegedly funded GDI to pay these fines.
Speaker attacked the EED saying its activities “are hidden from the public.” He said it was “strange and very disappointing” that while the EU calls for depolarization in Georgia, the money the European Union gives to EED, “is spent in Georgia to promote extremism.”
In the same context, he mentioned the movement “Droa” as “a group that rejects the elections and at the same time is characterized by radicalism” as funded by EED, and said it “paid the bail of Nika Melia, accused of storming the Parliament.” He also referred to another usual target of the ruling party, “Shame Movement” and its campaign, which, Papuasvhili said “served to romanticize the Molotov cocktail” and “gave free hand for violence to people who violate the law and use violence during demonstrations.”
Shalva Papuashvili stressed the need for “explanations” from the EU and the EU member states’ embassies: “How does this covert funding in Georgia fit in with the values of the EU, and especially when money goes to radical groups, does the EU distance itself from this, or does it fund what it thinks is right? Once again, every cent spent in Georgia is spent against the interests of EU citizens and, most importantly, against the interests of the Georgian people,” he concluded.
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Georgia should embrace Wikipedia as part of its knowledge strategy and mainstream this into higher education. While Wikipedia is highly visited, its quality is uneven. Many essential items are missing. Many pages are outdated. This could easily be changed.
Hans Gutbrod is our regular contributor and writes on developments in the South Caucasus
He is on X (formerly Twitter) at https://x.com/HansGutbrod
Key information, such as on inflation? Little is available. The Georgian entry is an 80th of the length of what one finds in English, though inflation bites in households across the country. Georgia’s main monuments? Hardly anything is easily retrievable and correctly linked.
Ghia Nodia, Georgia’s most influential political thinker, was cited hundreds of times for his works in the study of nationalism. There was no reference to any of his landmark publications in his English language Wikipedia entry – though 8,500 people have visited his entry in the last eight years.
Ilia State University? The information is partially outdated, though again, it was visited by nearly 10,000 people each year. Few of Ilia State University’s academics are featured, though many have published internationally. (If you find the representation better than characterized, it’s likely because I added contributions in the last weeks.)
The National Bank? The information in English is rudimentary.
Key museums, such as the one in Bolnisi or Vani? They are barely mentioned and mostly don’t have an entry, even though they are places that Georgians should be proud of and visitors will find rewarding. Only a handful of the remarkable artworks in Georgia’s regional museums can be found. Adding such information costs no money, and no new website needs to be designed, hosted, or maintained. To become a competent contributor merely takes two hours of training – or some dedicated figuring out.
Among more than 120 criteria for self-evaluation that I, as a teaching staff at Ilia University, have to fill out every two years, there are items such as “being part of a jury in a poetry festival.” There are many other welcome criteria, but no criterion to reflect that, together with students, in a seminar class, we created the entry for the Writer’s House of Georgia and several other pages of academics or politicians. Over the last few years, they got a total of 180,000 views.
Bringing more of Georgia into Wikipedia and more Wikipedia into Georgia would be a great contribution to expanding knowledge. Such an effort could make information in English, French, German, or other languages about Georgia much more widely available – and conversely, bring international information into Georgia. Students studying, say, Italian or Japanese could test their skills by adding to entries about Georgia in these languages as a real-world application of their language skills (and yes, testing out and refining on machine translation also).
How do others do it?
Several Estonian universities already include such a “micro-contribution to knowledge” as a graduation requirement. At the University of Tartu, students, as part of their course in academic writing/information mediation, must make a significant contribution – under supervision. Students correct each other, and the lecturer ensures they get it right. Exams, otherwise, are read by the lecturer, assessed, and then discarded (depending on archiving requirements). Here, the work is collaborative and is a lasting contribution to knowledge. A coordinator helps to ensure the program stays on track.
Hundreds of students participate each year, and thousands of articles have been added. The Estonian University of Life Sciences has a similar program. Estonian Wikipedians have set up an ambitious program to create a million articles on Wikipedia. They see the effort as a “direct contribution to the society and clearly support the survival and further development of the Estonian science language.” This idea can serve as an inspiration for Georgia, too.
Challenges and Opportunities
Of course, there are uncertainties ahead. We do not know exactly how Wikipedia will interact with generative AI. That said, there currently is no big corpus of Georgian-language scientific information to train large language models on. Therefore, adding to Georgian-language Wikipedia may help improve artificial intelligence, too. While some information is easy to translate from other languages, this will still not render local information on GLAM – as Wikipedians refer to galleries, libraries, archives, and museums.
One great thing about embracing Wikipedia as a knowledge strategy is that it can be done from below. Institutions (and even individuals) can start without waiting for the government to set the course. There might even be a political angle – civic activists and even the opposition could use Wikipedia as a mobilization strategy to show young people something they can do out in Zestaponi, in Chiatura, and other places, to bring information from books into Wikipedia, to share old photographs, or to take pictures and document monuments.
David Goodhart has made the valuable distinction between the “Somewheres” and “Anywheres.” The Somewheres are defined by their location, and they have their identity largely ascribed to them. The Anywheres create more of their own identity through choice, they find their cafés and working spaces in Tallinn or Taipei. Wikipedia gives at least some of the Somewheres a chance for information about their places to be read anywhere – and to write themselves, not just be written about.
That is also an important kind of freedom, one edit at a time – and perhaps one that is even more important at a time when other freedoms are at risk.
How to get going?
For institutions, doing careful and considered experiments has low risks, and optional courses or edit-a-thons may be a good first step. Some such events have already occurred, but the effort could be scaled to a much higher level.
If one can illustrate that this increases knowledge and student engagement, institutions could expand their emphasis on Wikipedia. Yet more immediately, for those interested in this idea, there is no need to wait for others. You can register a username (ideally a pseudonym) on Wikipedia today and make your first tiny contribution to something you care about by going here.
Georgia has arrested an Italian citizen, wanted by Italian authorities for his involvement in organized crime and the commission of “serious and especially serious” offenses. The arrest was confirmed by Georgia’s Prosecutor General, Irakli Shotadze, on October 24.
Giuseppe Sganga, a 67-year-old individual, is reportedly associated with the influential Mafia-type organized crime group known as Ndrangheta. In 2020, he, along with five other people, was tried in absentia and found guilty of drug trafficking and organized crime in Turin, Italy. The court sentenced him to 11 years in prison.
Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze said that the relevant authorities in Italy have officially requested the extradition of Giuseppe Sganga. “The extradition process has been completed, a decision has been made to extradite him to Italy and he will be extradited in the near future,” Prosecutor General of Georgia explained.
On October 25, 2023, the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) announced that it will keep the key refinancing rate at 10%.
Inflation in Georgia remains still low, below the target rate of 3%. In September, headline inflation stood at 0.7%, while core inflation was 2.5%. According to the Central Bank, low inflation “is caused by the weakening of the price pressures stemming from the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as “tight monetary policy itself.” Both factors led to a decrease in domestic goods inflation, which equaled 5.3% in September. The NBG estimates that “inflation will remain below the 3% target throughout the rest of 2023, and in 2024 it will stabilize around it.”
Despite the positive trends, the NBG clarifies that uncertainty is still high due to the acute geopolitical situation and unstable environment that was also affected by the conflict in the Middle East. Besides that, “trends on the fuel market have also partially worsened, both in terms of price and supply volatility,” – notes the NBG. Trends in the domestic economy are also added to the existing uncertainty: “Demand is still strong and 6% economic growth is expected this year.” The NBG adds that credit growth, particularly the business loans, “somewhat accelerated” as well, mostly in foreign currency.
Given the above mentioned risks and uncertainty, the NBG decided to keep tight monetary policy and remain focused on keeping inflation low.
The next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee will be held on December 20, 2023.
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- 13/09/2023 – NBG Reduces Key Refinancing Rate from 10.25% to 10%
- 02/08/2023 – NBG Reduces Key Refinancing Rate from 10.5% to 10.25%
- 21/06/2023 – NBG Keeps Key Rate at 10.5%
Archil Talakvadze, Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia and the head of the Friendship Group with Ukraine, gave a speech at the the second parliamentary summit of the International Crimean Platform.
“Dear partners, now it’s your move and time to secure the place for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova within European family. Only this can provide real guarantee that new generations live in peaceful and prosperous region. We made our choice towards European integration and our nations have embarked on a path that signifies the pursuit of shared values, stability and cooperation. Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova should get a clear roadmap for the membership in the European Union. Together, we can be stronger Europe”, Talakvadze stated.
According to him, the participation of the Georgian parliamentary delegation in the Summit demonstrates the country’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people fighting for their freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity. He emphasized that two years after the invasion of Ukraine, Georgia remains aligned with the international community and actively participates in critical decisions and political resolutions. Georgia has extended humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, visited Bucha and Irpin, and maintained its operations in Kyiv, with Georgian diplomats working to support Ukraine.
“Ukrainian refugees in Georgia enjoy the same benefits as Georgian IPDs do. We opened schools and programs for Ukrainian children where they access education in their mother language”, Talakvadze added.
According to the Vice-Speaker of Parliament, despite the fact that Georgia itself is under existential threat and two of its regions remain occupied by Russia, it will not swerve from its commitment in the name of both the Georgian and Ukrainian nations. “Georgia’s support for Ukraine is unconditional and timeless. That’s why we are here not only as individuals from different nations, but as one united voice and one united family – it’s time to show the power that lies in our democracies,” noted Talakvadze.
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