International Human Rights Day in Georgia
By Mariam Chanishvili
Thursday, December 12
The date of the Human Rights Day, which is celebrated annually across the world every 10 December, was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948.
When the General Assembly adopted the Declaration, with 48 states in favor and eight abstentions, it was proclaimed as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations," towards which individuals and societies should "strive by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance."
Various institutions have joined the celebration of this day in Georgia.
On December 10 the winners of Poster Competition announced by the Writers’ House and panel discussions were held at Writers' House to celebrate International Human Rights Day.
A poster contest on human rights was announced at the beginning of November. Ten selected works by the jury were announced on December 10 and their works will be displayed at the Writers' House. The competition was open to young people aged 18-28 (Georgian artists). The winners received a cash prize of 700, 400, 200 GEL.
On the same day, a panel discussion on Art as a Human Rights Tool was held with the participation of representatives from various fields of art: Theo Khatiashvili (film critic) Gia Khaduri (Publicist) Data Tavadze (Director) Paata Shamugia (Poet) Moderator: Tamar Gurchiani (Lawyer).
The aim of the project is to focus on the freedom of art and its role in terms of human rights. The panel discussion addressed these issues, as well as how different fields of art express and reflect human rights issues.
The project is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia.
Apart from the Writers’ House, Tbilisi International Film Festival also joined the celebration.
On 7 December 2019, in the framework of International Human Rights Day, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia awarded the "Human Rights in Film Award 2019" at the 20th Tbilisi International Film Festival. This was the third time the award was presented at the annual festival in Tbilisi.
The winning film “Negative Numbers”, directed by Uta Beria, was chosen among seven films nominated for the award. The Jury included representatives of the Public Defender's Office, Human Rights Watch, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia and a well-known Georgian film critic.
H.E. Carl Hartzell, the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, noted that the seven competitors in the race this year all demonstrated high quality and the final choice was not easy.
“I was proud to present the 2019 Human Rights in Film Award. Let me congratulate again the winner of this year’s award, the movie ‘Negative Numbers’ by the director Uta Beria, for the great achievement,” said Carl Hartzell.
Beria thank the European Union for this award, noting that human rights are not only a crucial aspect for cinematography but also they should be properly perceived, respected and protected.
