14 главных новостей двух последних недель лета
Armenia
State will soon resume its property rights over film studio “Armenfilm”. According to Arman Saakyan, Head of the Committee for State Property Management under the Government of Armenia, the state will soon resume its property rights over film studio “Armenfilm”, Panorama.am reported. In 2005 the film studio was privatized for the prize which was 10 times lower than the market level, the web site noted.
Azerbaijan
Baku will host ISESCO Executive Committee session in November. Baku will host the next 12th session of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Executive Committee, Interfax-Azerbaijan reported. It is expected that the event will be attended by 52 ministers of ISESCO member states as well as by representatives of a number of international Islamic organizations.
International festival “One Caucasus 2015” unites Azeri, Armenian and Georgian youth. “One Caucasus 2015,” an international festival for Azeri, Armenian and Georgian youth is taking place on 27-29 August in Georgian town Borchali close to the border with Armenia and Azerbaijan, Sputnik.az reported. The festival aims at creating inspiring, peaceful and safe space for Caucasus youth and is organized with the financial support of Poland’s ministry of culture and national heritage.
Azerbaijan adopted preferential order of cultural heritage use. Trend.az quotes a press release issued by Azerbaijan’s government saying that the country adopted preferential order of cultural heritage use for people with law income, disabled people, children under 18 years with disabilities and participants of the war. The document foresees free access of the above-mentioned groups of people to the country’s cultural heritage and its non-profit use.
Belarus
Belarus to join COMUS project on restoration of historic towns. Natalia Khvir, a senior official of Belarus’ ministry of culture, informed about her country participation in Community-led Urban Strategies in Historic Town (COMUS), a joint project of the EU and the Council of Europe on historic towns’ restoration, Soyuz.by reported with reference to Belta. COMUS unites all EaP countries – Armeina, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine - the official continued, adding that every country should choose one historic town which will serve then as a platform for expert meetings, seminars and master-classes of foreign specialists. These events will provide local communities with tools enabling them to protect cultural and historical heritage of their towns. Belarus selected Mstsislaw to participate in the project in 2015-2016.
An alternative draft of Belarus’ Culture Code will be submitted to Parliament. Oleg Trusov, Head of NGO “Francišak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society” developed an alternative Belarus’ Culture Code, Naviny.by reported, adding that the document was discussed at a roundtable on 25 August. The draft code was developed within the programme “Government for the people” implemented by the Institute for Democracy and Social Market in Belarus and Eastern Europe (located in Lithuania). The main idea of the alternative Culture Code is to protect Belarusian language, Trusov noted.
Georgia
Batumi’s 7 meter tall ‘Nino and Ali’ sculpture damaged during moving. A seven meter tall steel statue “Nino and Ali” – one of Batumi most important tourist attractions – was damaged while being moved, Dfwatch.net reported. According to Giorgi Zirakashvili, a Batumi city official, the sculpture has minor damage and will be repaired in about one week after which “everything will be fine.”
An archeological finding in Georgia could change world history of writing. A recently revealed artefact at Grakliani Hill (Kaspi region) may change the history of writing in Georgia and in the entire world, InterpressNews reported. Archeologist have revealed a cathedral with two altars dated back to 7th century B.C. Inscriptions in an unknown language is present on both altars. The discovery proves that the mysterious script was used on Georgian territory 2700 years ago. "This is a unique discovery, because it proves that Georgia has a 2700-year history of writing. I am sure that this fact will cause a lot of interest not only in Georgia but throughout the whole world. We will establish tourist infrastructure here, including a semi-open-air museum, which will allow everyone to get acquainted with these very interesting archeological digs,"- said Mikheil Giorgadze, Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia.
Moldova
The course “Culture of good neighbourhood” will be taught in Moldovan schools. Starting from the new academic year a new optional course entitled “culture of good neighbourhood” will be introduced into Moldovan school programme, NewsMaker reported. According to Viorica Goras-Postica, the coordinator of the new course, it will be taught in 30 schools on both banks of Dnister river. The course was developed and is implementing with financial support of Swedish government agency The Folke Bernadotte Academy. The course aims at improving relations between Moldovan regions including Transnistria as well as developing intercultural education and tolerance. The course was firstly developed and introduced in Ukraine, the web site concluded.
26th International Book Salon in Chisinau will host publishing houses from 15 countries. On 31 August, the 26th International Book Salon will be opened in Chisinau, Moldpress reported, adding that the event will include above 200 publishing houses from 15 countries. On the same day Chisinau will host the 5th National Festival of Books and Reading under the patronage of UNESCO and Moldova’s first lady Margareta Timofti. The International Book Salon will continue until 3 September.
Ukraine
Lviv will host the 3rd Eastern Partnership Culture Congress. On 4-6 September Lviv will host the 3rd Eastern Partnership Culture Congress, Ukr24.eu reported. The structure of the Congress will consist of five panel discussions and debates which among others will touch upon regional culture strategies. Above 600 participants from more than 20 countries will attend the Congress.
Ukraine plans to include three elements into its national UNESCO heritage list. DT.ua quotes Oleksandr Butsenko, Director of Ukrainian Center for Cultural Research and a Council of Europe expert for culture policy, saying that Ukraine plans to include three more elements to the UNESCO heritage list by the year-end. At the moment, Ukraine has 6 elements in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, Butsenko noted.
EU-EaP programme “Culture and Creativity” will start work in Ukraine in September. Ukrinform quotes Andriy Vitrenko, Ukraine’s deputy minister of culture, saying that starting from September an active phase of the EU-EaP programme “Culture and Creativity” will be launched in Ukraine. Besides this, Ukraine together with the EU and the Council of Europe implement such projects as COMUS and Intercultural cities, the deputy minister added.
UK will increase its education and cultural presence in Ukraine. Ukrainska Pravda quotes Izvestia saying that the UK plans to increase its education and culture presence in Ukraine. According to a study conducted by the British Council, Ukrainian youth is oriented towards West. Young Ukrainians seek interaction with British as well as European education and culture, the study outcomes revealed. Hence, the British Council came to conclusion that Ukraine constitutes a strategic priority to the UK. Strengthening of the long-term relations between Ukrainian and British citizens and institutions will help Ukraine to become a successful modern European nation.
