The First Opinion Festival Was Held in Georgia, Following The Example of Estonia

The first Georgian opinion festival was opened by Riina Kaljurand, the Estonian Ambassador to Georgia. “The festival brings together policy makers, officials, experts, scholars etc., and also civil society and ordinary people. It is important that whoever has a topic or a concern, can express this concern and can actually get a response to it. So that we’ll learn to listen to each other and therefore can learn from each other,” commented Kaljurand on the importance of the opinion festival.

“Today, the future of Georgia is undecided. On the one hand, the majority of people want further integration with Europe and the country has submitted an official application for joining the European Union. On the other hand, the current Georgian government’s neutral position concerning the ongoing extensive warfare in Ukraine and the domestic developments to hinder free speech and civil society are worrying. Freedom of speech and action are immense values that we can experience working as an Estonian NGO. The road here has been long, and an integral part of it has been the country’s democratic development, toleration of differences, the ability to listen to each other and peacefully discuss complex issues as a society. As a format, the opinion festival supports all of these things and we have seen the need for it within Georgian society,” said Triinu Ossinovski, NGO Mondo’s board member.

“We can easily identify a democracy, when it is not there. It is more difficult, however, to create the preconditions for the functioning of one. Strengthening civil society is one recognized way to support such preconditions, and it is precisely this element that the opinion festival helps to fulfill. We hope that this year’s first opinion festival in Tbilisi helps to create a popular meeting place for balanced discussions,” explained Eva-Maria Liimets, ESTDEV’s Programme Manager for Democracy and the Rule of Law.

During the festival, discussions took place on five stages with topics ranging from entrepreneurship to democracy. For example, the current challenges of Georgian youth, the role of bicycles in Tbilisi’s urban space, the limits of the rights of law enforcement agencies, as well as international responsibility in the light of Russian aggression, came up for discussion.

“It is no secret that Georgia is becoming more politically polarised. This is a big threat for our country, because it creates misunderstandings and tension within the society. The opinion festival is an important step to ease these tensions. We have many topics that we can discuss together, despite people’s political views. As a unique platform, the opinion festival is appropriate for such dialogue,” thought Mikheil Lazginiani from the World Tolerance Organization.

In cooperation with NGO Mondo, two opinion festivals will be held in Georgia this fall, one in Tbilisi and the other on October 20 in Zugdidi, organized by Mondo’s long-term partner Association Merkuri. Opinion festivals in Georgia are supported by NGO Mondo’s project, which is financed by the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV).