News

In November 2010 Ukraine and Georgia are marking the anniversaries of their mindset Revolutions – the Orange and the Rose.

While in Ukraine this date is being increasingly associated with the lost hopes, in Georgia it still means changes and reforms. Moreover, the success of the small Caucasian republic is equally recognized both by the supporters and ideological opponents of the Orange revolution of 2004.

The whole world has been dumbfounded by the massive wave of Georgian liberal reforms. The wild leap forward in doing business ratings, young age and high level of education of the decision makers, anticorruption measures, etc. have all become the inherent attributes of the new Georgian “brand”. On top of that Georgia spares no effort in promoting this brand worldwide: new Embassies are being built, young and active diplomats join the public service, cooperation programs with other countries get sustainable financial support from the state. This can only mean the following: the country has a strategy and political will.

Georgia seems to have taken over the role intended for Ukraine, the role of the regional star. We are far from idealizing of everything which takes place in Georgia, because success can be achieved in different ways. It can also be explained in different ways why the reforms “are not going well” – the latter referring to Ukraine rather than to Georgia.

We think the Ukrainians being are little aware of the reforms taking place in Georgia. So far. That is why we are launching the thematic Georgia-Ukraine Panel, aimed at, on the one hand, encouraging the reforms of our strategic partner, and, on the other hand, promoting friendly and warm relations between the Georgian and Ukrainian societies.

We hope that our modest effort will become a small but remarkable contribution to the Ukrainian-Georgian team play.

We are taking this opportunity to invite the Ukrainian and the Georgian think tanks, youth organizations and public leaders to cooperation in the realization of the project.

Within the framework of the Panel Institute of World Policy is planning to implement a number of events, aimed at strengthening the Ukrainian-Georgian relations:

• Podium discussions with Georgian speakers for Ukrainian experts, diplomats, and government officials at IWP
• Participation of Georgian speakers in the Media Club at IWP
• Kyiv-Tbilisi videoconferences aimed at bringing together Ukrainian and Georgian expert and media communities
• Photo exhibitions, festivals, art performances with an objective of bringing together Georgian and Ukrainian cultures
• Regular surveys of the attitude towards Georgia among the general public, experts, and political elites of Ukraine
• Common Georgian-Ukrainian analysis and research

Sincerely,

Kateryna Zarembo, Thematic Ukraine-Georgia Panel Coordinator

Viktor Shlinchak, Chair of the Supervisory Board