Mondo Academy | How Georgia’s civil society is fighting for its European future

Mondo Academy Mondo Academy | From Europe to Moscow? How Georgia’s civil society is fighting for its European future

• 23 January 2025
• At Mondo, Telliskivi 60a/5
• 18.30-20.00
• The free event will take place in Mondo and in English. 
• Please let us know if you will attend the event here: https://forms.gle/7U5eHsHc21euM3aW9
• Event at Facebook

For almost two years now streets across Georgia have been filled with people who are fighting for their democratic European future and their civil and political rights. Peaceful protests organised and led by the Georgian civil society have been a beacon of hope and courage, with the underlying idea to fight for the Georgian pro-European aspirations. However, concerns over the government’s increasing authoritarian tendencies and its perceived drift away from European course and democratic norms have led many locals to the point where they feel that they have  “nothing left to lose”.  

Mondo’s partner organisation World of Tolerance (WoT), with whom we organised the first Opinion Festival in Tbilisi, has not been left untouched by the newly established laws and ongoing protests. On the contrary, everybody we have ever worked with in Georgia and who we consider our Georgian friends have been protesting since late October 2024. Some of them are leading and coordinating those protests in various cities. 

Mondo is pleased to announce that in the next Mondo Academy we will host one of our friends from Georgia, leader of World of Tolerance and have a talk with him on the following topics: 

• Protesting for what? Why?
• What it means to be every single night on the streets of Tbilisi or Batumi or Kutaisi for more than 40 days already? 
• What is happening behind the scenes? 
• Do they have a plan on how to overthrow the current regime? Can it be really done by peaceful means? 
• What it means to be an activist during times like these?
• What will the future hold for Georgia in their eyes? 
• How can we support them? 

Schedule
18.15 – 18.30 Doors open, snacks
18.30 – 18.45 Intro of the evening
18.45 – 20.00 Public discussion