Hi everybody! Some of you might’ve seen me snooping around a bit on Edgeryders for the past week. I was introduced to you by Noemi regarding the Spot the Future project. I would very much like to be involved in the project, as not only I think this is a great project (creating a baseline by asking local innovators), but also because I believe I could contribute to it. So, who am I? Well, I have lived in and out of Georgia for the past 6.5 years in which I not only have mastered the language - a pretty difficult one I might say - but also have acquired a large professional network. During these past years I have worked in journalism and civil society, which I have truly enjoyed. Then: why Georgia? Why do I keep on coming back here? It’s a difficult question, but it has a rather easy answer: the life here. In Georgia there might not be a lot of money around, but Georgians do know how to organize several different things interesting for the people around. For example, when I had just arrived 7 years ago, a group of DJs, producers and artists had set up the group CUMBO. With hardly any money, they organized every weekend a club night in an abandoned bunker. This practice is something which Georgians had to learn during the ‘dark 90s’: every now and then musicians and artists would take their materials and organize a concert, exhibition, discussion group, etc, for their peers in a free location. Lately it has been much harder to organize such events on your own initiative, but it still happens. For example, the newly initiated ACCT (Art Collective Center Tbilisi) which was set up to organize several community based events. Or the current Vake Park protest, where activists camp out to stop the construction of a luxury hotel, or guerilla gardening, who have crated several different community gardens out of trashed spaces. Due to my background, my network and my enthusiasm, I think I could be a valuable asset to your team. I hope to be working with you in the near future!
Welcome, then, and thanks for the vote of confidence. My name is Alberto, I am one of the oldest members of the community (in all senses: one of the earliest accounts, and also I just turned 48). I salute your outspokenness – it takes courage to pitch yourself in a semi-public place like Edgeryders.
Can I ask you what kind of professional network you have in Georgia? What sort of future-building people and initiatives could you connect the project with?
regarding professional network: I have extensive contacts in media, so it would be easy for me to bring attention to the project, also via NGOs it would be possible to discover stories of Georgians who have initiated projects in their communities (without the help of these NGOs) which haven’t been covered by media yet.
And Georgian innovaters, people/projects which spring to mind right now are:
Guerilla gardening group (Data Lapauri and Nika Davitashvili, they were also the main organizers of the Vake Park protest)
Zura, a man who single handedly tagged all the stray dogs in Vera Park so they wouldn't be killed off by the municipality
Tomma Chaladze and Wato Tsereteli, they set up CUMBO group several years ago, and now organize music festivals and art exhibitions.
The organizers, e.g. Tinitin Asatiani, Shota Lishtota, of the protests against the homophobic outrage (may 2013)
The organizers of the Feminist March on March 8th 2014
These are the people who come to mind now, but there are many more. And, it would not be difficult for me to reach out to others as well. As I had already mentioned to Noemi before, Georgia has a culture where there exist very tightly knit circles. So, I know the people in my circles, but there are many more circles where people are active in their own communities. But, because of my extensive network, I could spread the word easily and find more interesting people for this project.
Welcome to the community Inge, lovely meeting you. It is going to be really intense and fun, and I think you would do a marvelous job of helping us build something beautiful and generative for everyone involved.
Wow, Ola, you heard of me, that’s great! Lovely meeting you guys as well!
By the way, Nadia, I have translated the text of the paid position into Georgian, would you want me to translate the post on the articles into Georgian as well? Also, as I am rather new here, did I post the translation in the right comment?
