CATEGORY RESULTS

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Karabakh Escalation Viewed from Georgia

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Karabakh Escalation Viewed from Georgia

Following the recent escalation on the Line of Contact (LoC) separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in and around the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, BBC Azeri recently published my piece on the view from Georgia. In particular, it focuses on opinions expressed at a meeting of the Thinking Citizens platform, an Azerbaijani and Georgian-Azeri initiative.

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BBC Azeri: Azerbaijani Carpets Rewoven

BBC Azeri: Azerbaijani Carpets Rewoven

Last week BBC Azeri published my video report on reWoven, a sustainable development project to revive and sustain the art of traditional carpet weaving among Georgia’s ethnic Azeri minority. I had interviewed Ryan Smith, reWoven’s founder, over a month ago during an exhibition of some of the carpets made as part of the project, but only got to visit one of the villages where some of the weavers live last weekend.

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Jazz Without Borders

Jazz Without Borders

Cross-border projects in a conflict-riven region come in many forms, but perhaps the most overlooked has arguably been those in the area of culture. There have been some notable exceptions such as the  CIS Youth Symphony Orchestra that performed in Yerevan and Baku as well as elsewhere, but otherwise most cultural events featuring both Armenian and Azerbaijani musicians perform in neighbouring Georgia.

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Tbilisi Jam! Fest 2015

Tbilisi Jam! Fest 2015

Two weeks ago saw Tbilisi Jam! Fest 2015 held close to Lisi Lake. Featuring metal bands from the U.S., Europe, and Israel, the event also saw another instalment of the Wacken Open Air (W.O.A) Metal Battle Caucasus in which groups from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia competed to represent the region in the German music festival.

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20 Years After the 1994 Ceasefire, A Call for #NKPeace

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.

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UK Advanced Command and Staff Course in Georgia

UK Advanced Command and Staff Course in Georgia

My first presentation of 2014 and as with the year just gone it was to be for an audience as unexpected as my first presentation then. In February 2013 it was to be at an intergovernmental seminar for the U.S. Government’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) and Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). This year it was to be for 50 students from the U.K. military’s tri-service Advanced Command and Staff Course.

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