Multimedia project “Youth for Social Changes” presents twelve young persons from different regions of Georgia who dedicate their actions and enthusiasm trying to change the society, achieve gender equality and contribute to creation of a healthier environment.
Mirian Khmelidze, 21, from Ozurgeti
I am a student, studying English philology at TSU. I have been involved in NGO activities since I was 16. I worked in Ozurgeti, I have participated in various projects since I was a teenager and I have been looking for ways to develop myself. I was always searching, watching and learning, of course. Today I already have my own non-governmental organization. When I became a student and went to Tbilisi, I wanted to have something similar there, which would be useful for young people, to help them and to share with them what I had learned and experienced. There are young people from 18 to 29 years old in this organization. As we, young people, have a desire to be part of the European Union and develop together with them and with their support, we have to take steps forward. For example, we have to provide information to young people who live in rural areas and do not have as much access to information as we do. There is a category of people who generally neither think of, nor care for or follow, the flow of life and if we provide information to such young people, it will have results. This will be manifested in the fact that these young people will become the force that will change the future. Personally, if there is something I don't like, even in terms of education, I have to express it, but this must be done with the power that young people possess. I mean the protests, if we don’t speak up, if we don’t come out, if we don’t say what we feel and just accept things as they are, the problems won’t go away. We have to take steps to solve them. I would advise young people who live in rural areas to leave for a while. Go somewhere else to see how it is there and then bring back the knowledge gained and views acquired to your village. I have looked at things from different perspectives and learned to distinguish between black and white - how others have the right to express their opinion, to develop the way they want to and so on, and to get out of the framework that we young people living in the regions are placed in. I would advise the next generation to write on paper what they think the purpose of their life is and hang it on the walls so that it is the first thing they see when they wake up every morning. This will remind them of their purpose, what they have to do, where they have to go, etc. Their laziness and some problems that prevent them from achieving their goals will be overcome, when they know exactly what they want to achieve. And these goals should be found by experiencing things, observing, determining where they see themselves. They are the ones who can help them find themselves, they have to try many things, in trying many things they will definitely find something that suits them they should not stop halfway on the road leading towards their development.
“Youth for Social Change" is an initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office aimed to promote gender equality, eliminate gender stereotypes and harmful social norms.
It is part of the three EU-funded programmes: “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in Georgia (EVAWGG)” programme (Kvemo Kartli region), “Addressing Gender-biased Sex Selection and Related Harmful Practices in South Caucasus” (Samtskhe-Javakheti region) as well as “EU4GenderEquality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence" (Guria and Imereti regions).
About the authors:
Dina Oganova is a Georgian documentary photographer working in Georgia and other countries on different long term projects. She has been a laureate of prestigious awards, including the EU Prize for Journalism and Litera. Ms. Oganova has been named among the best woman photographers under the age of 30. Her photo projects include: “I Am Georgia”; “My Place,” “Frozen Waves.” Ms. Oganova’s works have been exhibited in Italy, France, USA, Spain and other countries. She is an author of the first Georgia handmade limited edition photobook “My Place”, which is a part of collections of several museums, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Dina Oganova has cooperated with UNFPA Georgia since 2016 on different projects: “A Girl is Born” (“Silent Garden”), “Girls from the Future”, “Mothers and Daughters”, etc. Women’s and girls’ rights remain in focus of her artistic work.
Tatia Nadareishvili is a freelance Georgian illustrator, co-founder of studio “Illustrator” (2016), who writes and illustrates children’s books. One of her books “Sweet Dreams” was published in 2017 and translated in several languages. Tatia Nadareishvili has cooperated with UNFPA Georgia since 2018. In 2020 she illustrated a bestselling bedtime story “Luna and The Planet of Fireflies”, which will soon turn into a play.
