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Essay contest: Ageing in Georgia

Published:
The contest was launched as a joint project of the UNECE and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) at the beginning of 2014. A small committee selected ten winners who received their 50 Lari cheques at an award ceremony organized in the UN House in Tbilisi in July. Many of the older writers travelled across the country to take part in the event. They gave little speeches and read poems they had written especially for the occasion.
To see the characters behind these stories, award-winning Georgian photographer Mzia Lekveishvili visited them in their living environments. Her photos show people, happy and sad, thoughtful, energetic, all of them with both feet in their lives, parts of families, communities, workplaces and civil organizations. They provide a snapshot of the realities of older people in Georgia. The pictures and stories are as diverse as Georgia itself. We hope the book will help give Georgia a face beyond its borders and help the readers and viewers appreciate its rich culture and society.
The essay contest was undertaken jointly by UNECE and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with support from the Georgian Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs. The project would not have been possible without the support of the ATIP Fund and Management of State Elderly houses in Tbilisi and Kutaisi, the Georgian Red Cross Society, the Koda Community Education Center, Caritas Georgia, the Older Women’s Association “Deserving Old Aged” in Kobuleti based as well as DVV International. Special thanks go to Ketevan Vachadze-Sen for translating the essays and to Nicky Chadwick for editing them.

Essay contest: Ageing in Georgia


In early 2014, any one beyond retirement age in Georgia was invited to participate in a contest submitting an essay of up to five pages about:
  • ...what it is like to age in Georgia
  • ...the lessons of life and the advice to give to today's younger generation
  • ...what to change about the policy-framework on ageing in Georgia


The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this webpage do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The views expressed in authored sections of this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Georgian Government or the any Georgian authorities.


Reviewed by a jury of five, the authors of the ten best essays received a prize of 50 Lari. The winners were:



Nelly Bakuradze

Kutaisi


Zaira Orjonikidze

Tbilisi


Murmani Khatchapuridze

Tbilisi


Angelina Phurtseladze

Sagarejo


Tamar Magaldadze

Tetritskaro


Izolda Tsintsadze

Chokhatauri


Dodo Chanturia-Alania

Senaki


Tsiala Ugrekhelidze-
Zhordania

Tbilisi


Lamara Mildiani
Tbilisi


Lamara Mamaladze, Chokhatauri



Participated also in the contest :



Inga Chikovani

Kutaisi


Lena Mamageishvili

Kutaisi


Elene (Lena) Megrelidze

Kobuleti


Inna Kordzakhia

Tbilisi


Ludmila Lordkipanidze

Batumi


Tatiana Siradze

Kobuleti


Nonna Kokhia

Kobuleti


Eter Chkhaidze

Kobuleti


Tsiala Matcharashvili

Bolnisi


Natela Zhghenti

Kobuleti


Natela Chelebadze

Kobuleti


Gulsunda Mdivani

Kobuleti

Svetlana (Sveta) Sapharidze

Kobuleti


Nina Burchuladze

Kutaisi


Magdana Otinashvili

Tetritskaro


Lili Zhorzholiani

Kutaisi


Manana Gigauri

Tetritskaro


Rusudan Berishvili

Chokhatauri


Revaz Abuselidze

Khelvachauri


Tsitsino Khutsishvili

Sagaredjo


Tamaz Evgenidze

Khelvachauri

Luiza Khachiuri

Tbilisi


Ioseb (Soso) Vardiashvili

Sagaredjo, Manavi village


Eter Asaturova

Tbilisi


Medea Papiashvili


Guli Kirtskhalia

Liana Berishvili


Akaki Makaridze

Khelvachauri


Nargiz Tsivadze

 

 

 

Matiko Todua Soseliy
Senaki

 

Old Women from
Kobuleti

 


  

The award ceremony was held on 16 July 2014 in the UN House in Tbilisi.


Click on this link to see the pictures.
The winning essays, together with a selection of additional essays and quote, have been published as a BOOK in both original language and as an English translation. The essays are accompanied by a portrait of the author in their living environment.

This contest took place in conjunction with a project of developing a Road Map for Ageing in Georgia aimed at strengthening implementation of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) and its Regional Implementation Strategy (RIS).

 

MIPAA/RIS provides a holistic approach to ageing-related policymaking, looking at the economic framework, the labour market, the health and care system, education, social inclusion, intergenerational solidarity and gender.

 

The Road Map is prepared by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Office, the Georgian government and in consultation with the stakeholders from the civil society, private sector and academia.

 

 

See previous Road Maps for Armenia and Republic of Moldova