In connection with the Mother Language Day on April 14, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) awarded heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Georgia for special contribution to learning and popularization of the Georgian language. Rector George Sharvashidze awarded special certificates and gold medals of the university to Mark Clayton, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Georgia; Enrico Valvo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Italy to Georgia; Hubert Knirsch, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Georgia; Thomas Muehlmann, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Austria to Georgia and Andrius Kalindra, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lithuania to Georgia.

The Italian Ambassador hailed the opportunity to make contribution to the development of the Georgian language and culture.

Gold Medals of the University were also awarded to Georgian Public Broadcaster’s journalists Liana Markaryan and Ramilia Aliyeva for speaking Georgian literary language fluently.   

Graduates of the TSU program 1+4 and students winning an essay competition “Our Official Language - Georgian” were also awarded on April 14.

Rector of TSU, George Sharvashidze, Head of the Department of the Official Language, Giorgi Alibegashvili, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Khvtisiashvili, Deputy Education Minister Nunu Mitskevich, Deputy Justice Minister Tornike Cheishvili, Chairman of the Parliament’s Education and Science Committee, Shalva Papuashvili and member of the same committee, Tamar Taliashvili, also Head of the Government and  Minister of Education and Culture of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, Ruslan Abashidze and Eka Khoperia, respectively, representatives of academic community attended the event.

“April 14 is a very important day not only for Georgia, but for the entire world. It was the day when the collapse of the Soviet system began and this day was our first victory brought to our country and post-Soviet space by youth enthusiasm launched at Tbilisi State University and ended outside the government palace,” Rector Sharvashidze said.

Giorgi Alibegashvili, head of the Department of the Official Language, said that the Department will launch working on a new project “Strategy of Official Language.” The strategy will reflect all those legislative amendments that will promote further strengthening of the official language.

“Let me congratulate everyone, especially future generation, on this day, because the fate of the Georgian language is just in their hands. April 14 is a very important day in Georgia’s modern history. This is the day, when Georgian nation and especially young people demonstrated their frank love and dedication,” Giorgi Alibegashvili noted.

Shalva Papuashvili, chairman of the Parliament’s education committee, focused on the importance of the Georgian language and noted that “the 1978 developments gave an additional impetus to the national movement. These developments further reminded our nation that it was the nation and the country which had its fundamentals with language being one of them.”

Photos and manuscripts stored at the TSU Museum, including the October 1918 Law on the Official Language signed by Noe Zhordania and Nikoloz Chkheidze, as well as Ioseb Kipshidze’s manuscripts about the history of Georgian alphabet and other important materials were exhibited on the sideline of the event.