This year the Father's Day on June 19 was celebrated for the third time in Georgia. This celebration was introduced within the MenCare Georgia Campaign supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office and the NGO We Care.

The central event of the Father's Day celebration was the play “Fairytale Show” performed by the Professional State Youth Theatre on June 19 at the Mziuri Park Stage in Tbilisi. Children and their parents visiting Mziuri Park on this day were able to participate in different intellectual and entertaining games and enjoy spending quality time together.

This year the Father’s’ Day celebrations was extended to Kakheti and Samegrelo regions where various activities were planned for kids and their parents. The Father’s Day special event in Telavi featured the writer Toresa Mossy who hosted a book-reading for kids at the “Biblusi” bookstore. In Zugdidi, the writer and publisher Zviad Kvaratskhelia hosted the book-reading for kids at the hall of the Zugdidi main Library. Both of them read the story for children “Lullaby for Lilly” written by Aleksandre Lortkipanidze for MenCare Georgia campaign.

The highlight of the 2018 Father’s Day celebration is joining new supporters, most importantly, the Georgian Football Federation (GFF) and the FC Locomotive: on the initiative of partners, on June 17 on the Dinamo Arena, football players appeared with special football shirts and the banner to show support to gender equality and join the Father’s Day celebrations.

Several local private companies joined the Fathers’ Day celebration this year by offering special activities, promotions, and discounts for parents.

Father’s Day celebration is part of a much wider effort by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to enhance male involvement for strengthening gender equality in Georgia. This Day is to emphasize the importance of fathers’ involvement in the family life and upbringing of children.

MenCare Campaign aims at promoting men’s involvement as equitable, nonviolent fathers, partners and caregivers in order to achieve better health and family well-being and to encourage men to support gender equality and social and economic participation of women and thus contribute to harmonious development of the society. MenCare campaign is open to all men, who share the idea and principles of the Campaign.

MenCare Campaign in Georgia has been implemented since 2016 by the UNFPA Georgia Country Office in partnership with the NGO We Care within the framework of the UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality funded by the Government of Sweden.