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Yezidis In Tbilisi Demonstrate Against ISIS
Now I’ve finished some outstanding work I can finally post some of the material I’ve shot over the past a month and a half. First up, Yezidis in Georgia protesting the latest onslaught and wave of atrocities in Iraq by the Islamic State in two separate demonstrations held in Tbilisi in the first and second week of August.
Crisis Net: Ushahidi Goes Social
“Wouldn’t it be great if we had an algorithm that was smart enough to read the world news and anticipate conflict before it happens,” says Jonathan Morgan, Co-Founder and Technical Director for Crisis.Net, a new Application Program Interface (API) developed by Ushahidi. “But that’s not just a limitation of technology,” he explains. “There are just too many variables and it’s important to have deep domain expertise of the area, the groups and ethnicities engaged in conflict, and even the...
Zemo Alvani and Pankisi
Last Friday wasn’t just my birthday, but also the day I ventured out into the regions of Georgia with the Sayat Nova Project, a Kickstarter-funded initiative to record the minority musical dialects of the Caucasus. I’ve already posted quite a few entries on the project as it documented ethnic Armenian, Azeri, and Avar traditional music last year.
20 Years After the 1994 Ceasefire, A Call for #NKPeace
Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the May 1994 Ceasefire Agreement that put the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold. Unfortunately, this is not a date to celebrate. Thousands have died since the armistice was signed, and two decades later, the sides are nowhere closer to peace than they were back then.
Georgia’s EU Association Agreement Still On Track, But Some Hurdles Remain
As Georgia prepares to sign its Association Agreement with the EU, civil society in the former Soviet republic held its own event supporting and confirming the country’s European aspirations. Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso has just published my piece on the event as well as two others that, coincidentally or not, occurred just hours earlier and which also identified some of the obstacles that still need to be overcome.
Stray Animals Day in Vake Park as Guerrilla Gardening Protests Go From Strength to Strength
Yesterday saw another action in Tbilisi’s Vake Park, but this time to mark Stray Animals Day. Although officially marked on 4 April, actions at the Guerrilla Gardening Tbilisi Camp usually take place on Saturdays or Sundays, hence this event being held on the 5th.
Tbilisi Blitzkrieg — W.O.A. Metal Battle Caucasus
Last week saw bands from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia compete in the semi-finals of a Metal Battle Caucasus to determine which three bands would perform at the final next month. The winner will get to perform at the Wacken Open Air Festival to be held later this year in Germany.
BBC Azerbaijani and Turkish Services Publish Tbilisi Vake Park Protest Story
BBC Azeri yesterday published some of my photos documenting the environmental protest in Tbilisi’s Vake Park and so I paid a return visit the night before to check if there were any new developments. Basically, there are none although legal action has not been rejected by the courts. Instead, more information needs to be provided before any case against the construction can proceed.
Georgian Environmentalists Halt Construction In Vake Park in Tbilisi
Braving the recent snowfall and plummeting temperatures, environmentalists have managed to prevent construction from continuing in Tbilisi’s central Vake Park — for now at least. Blockading the road leading to the site where a new hotel is being built, activists from Guerrilla Gardening Tbilisi are now camped out adjacent to the construction site.