October 14, 2020 In J-P, Kakheti, Regions, Teenage girls, Themes
Nino Botchoridze, 21 years old, Telavi
“I always say that Telavi has ‘’grown old’’. Like other regions, ‘’young minds’’ leave as soon as they finish their bachelor’s degree, and go to big cities.
If we don’t make the changes as we see fit, others will adjust things to themselves and that won’t bring us anything good.
I’ve been actively involved in the process of advocating for youth interests in Telavi for several years. My activism was influenced by the school, where I saw regular oppression of pupils by teachers; I saw selectivity and a low level of education. Therefore, I decided to look for alternative sources of knowledge that would let me learn how to protect young people’s rights.
It’s difficult to find a place in Telavi where you can grow, so I decided to attend all the training or forums by international organizations, went through internships, learned the mechanisms of lobbying and advocacy, and all this finally led me to become an activist. I was awarded a project by one of the international organizations and worked in the City Hall. The internship at the City Hall gave me the knowledge and a structural understanding of who had which rights and responsibilities and to whom I had to go to solve specific issues and who couldn’t escape responsibility. As a result, everyone knows me in Telavi as a growth-oriented person.
It’s difficult to be a prominent young woman in the region because in you they always see in you who has to applaud for a particular politician’s actions. Often my protest to the self-government was perceived as a protest against the ruling political party, but it wasn’t an obstacle for me. No matter what they say, that I even express any political party interest with my protest, I know who I am – I’m a citizen, who fights for a better future for the youth and for the development in my city.

The next issue was the maintenance of municipal transport. Young people have problems with transport – the only transport they can use is taxis. After 6, it’s not possible to connect the youth of the villages with the city, which is the reason why the region ‘’sleeps’’ after 6. We still continue to work on this issue.
The next issue we want to speak up about is the creation of entertainment spaces for young people.
We made an open-air cinema that was attended by hundreds of people. However, this project needs a budget to be sustainable.
Working with the municipality hasn’t been easy, however, the fight always brings results. We have often had confrontations with city council deputies. For example, when we were debating about the creation of spaces for youth, we were advised to find a place, light a bonfire, and talk around it. I had to argue on forums that the old way of gathering the youth – traditionally, around bonfires –was no longer relevant and young people needed modern technological spaces for development. When we entered the self-government with a proposal, we had a project that was already completed – with sketches, budget, selected place, sharing models from other countries, and then there was no way to refuse. Collecting signatures also works very well, but I think that’s a fairly outdated method.

Now I have to continue my quality education elsewhere. However, this doesn’t mean that I’m leaving the city. I’ll definitely return to Telavi, I even see myself as a member of the City council. I want people who were involved in activism to go to politics because no one can speak up for the interests of young people as we can do. Politicians remember youth-only before the election when they call them to meetings. After the election, everybody forgets and ignores us, which stirs up hopelessness. Politics will no longer be a dirty business if it’s done by the right people and I think if you know how to do things from the outside, you will definitely bring changes from the inside.”
Author: Maiko Chitaia
Photo: Geda Darchia
Translation: Mariam Kajrishvili