Tbilisi forum discusses significance of diaspora in promoting Georgian culture

Officials and professionals in Tbilisi discussed the importance of diaspora in promoting Georgian culture abroad in a forum dedicated to cultural diplomacy, digital diaspora and more on Saturday, the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Organised in thematic panels, the forum - entitled Georgian Diaspora for the European Future of Georgia - hosted discussions on subjects ranging from potential of Georgian youth in serving interests of the country abroad to questions of modern emigration.

The Cultural Diplomacy panel of the event focused on combining the experiences of the historical diaspora and modern emigration in the development of cultural diplomacy, while the role of Georgian citizens living abroad in promoting Georgia as an European society was also highlighted.  

Photo: Foreign Ministry

At a separate working session on the Digital Diaspora, innovative approaches and opportunities for the growing use of information and communication technologies in enabling continuous communication, sustainable cooperation, service delivery and involvement of diaspora in the country’s development process were reviewed.

At a panel dedicated to the Georgian language, held in a hybrid mode, a particular attention was paid to issues related to the teaching of the Georgian language in Sunday schools abroad.

Speakers also discussed the entrepreneurial and investment environment, as well as national and international business support programmes in the Georgian Diaspora for the Development panel, which also focused on the country’s Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the European Union and its benefits for citizens of Georgia.

Organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Forum was dedicated to Diaspora Day and opened on Friday.