The Parliament hosted the awarding ceremony of the participants of the international diaspora project “Beyond Borders” organized by the Diaspora and Caucasus Issues Committee.

The First Vice-Speaker, Giorgi Volski addressed the attendees, speaking about the support of the diaspora organizations and placing a special emphasis on the role of the Church in teaching the Georgian language and culture to the compatriots abroad: “This is an extraordinary project, an expression of how devoted and patriotic compatriots we have abroad, never allowing their children to forget the Georgian language. I also would like to underline the role of the Church, since the Church is an umbrella unifying all the people through the immense commitment of the Church in various countries”.

As the Chair of the Diaspora and Caucasus Issues Committee, Beka Odisharia noted, the support of such patriotic projects is imperative. According to him, the authorities aspire to facilitate the return of the diasporas, and especially the youth to their homeland: “Today, we witnessed the monumental event in the Parliament. I would like to thank the Chairman of the Parliament, the First Deputy Chairman and my colleagues for supporting this marvelous project. It is a patriotic project with a deep context, unifying children residing in various countries. And this is exactly what we aspire to – to make them believe how their homeland longs for their return. Georgia waits for you, Georgia loves you and never forgets you”.

The project participants and the organizer – the Head of the Diaspora Organization in the Netherlands, Tika Svanidze-Vancko were awarded. The project participants were the representatives of the Georgian Diaspora from the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Ireland and Azerbaijan (Saingilo) and IDPs from Abkhazia.