Gyumri: Between Art and Technological Innovation

by Revaz Chitanava

“We combined Armenia and Georgia as a cultural combination of Caucasia”

Mkrtich Tonoyan, organizer of the Armenian stage

After the opening conference in Tbilisi, media dialogue group went to Gyumri, Armenia in order to continue the project. Three students from Caucasus University were able to participate in the project days in Gyumri, too. The journey from Tbilisi started on Thursday, the 23^rd of September, after finishing the final conference in Caucasus University.

The journey was six hours long and started from Tbilisi, Georgia. Trained professionals and other participants from Germany, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus and Georgia had a very productive time during the whole trip. The group had a break time at the ancient Haghartsin monastery complex which was built in between 10^th and 13^th centuries.

After the warm welcome in Gyumri, the group took a bus trip for some sightseeing in the city. They went to Vardanats square, the Central Park, the Theatre Square, the Station Square, which is oldest one in Armenia and the final destination was Mother Armenia, a statue which is close to the Turkish border.

After the city tour the group went to the Fine Arts Academy where they saw beautiful art pieces made by the academy’s students. The major part of Armenian participants joined the Media Dialogue group there and agenda for the next days was presented. After that the group also had the possibility to get to know Gyumri Technology Center (GTC) where working rooms would be provided for the next days.

Until this point two groups existed in the frame of the project: the blog group and the video group. In Gyumri two more were added: a design group and a research group. Both worked very hard from day one. They will present their results in the final conference which will be held on Monday, 27^th of September.

The project is full of great value for all involved parties, because it is based on sharing experience by highly qualified professionals and aims to contribute to strengthening the civil society with democratic values and also to support the peace building process which affects the formation of society based on human rights, protection and respect.