On 25 September 2016, the fourth annual celebration of the European Day of Languages took place in Tbilisi. The European Day of Languages was introduced by the Council of Europe (CoE) in 2001 in order to encourage language learning and to highlight the huge value of Europe’s cultural diversity. This day is celebrated annually with an aim at involving millions of people across the 47 participating countries to learn more languages at any age, in school or any other setting. The event organised at the Classical Gymnasium in Tbilisi was opened by Ms Lia Gigauri, Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Ms Khatuna Tortladze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ms Ana Zec, the Deputy Head of the CoE Office in Georgia.  In her speech,  Ms Ana Zec mentioned that the linguistic diversity is one of the most important components of the rich European cultural heritage and intercultural characteristics, and that CoE supports the popularization of plurilingualism in the whole Europe. She has also mentioned that CoE is currently implementing a project devoted to minority language by promoting their cultural, linguistic and educational aspects.

The program dedicated to this day included competitions, workshops and many other entertainment and educational activities which lasted the whole day. Participants of the event were 8-18 age group individuals. In addition, the educational brochures elaborated in the framework of the joint CoE/EU programme “Civic Integration of National Minorities in Georgia and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML)” in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science were handed out to interested students. The brochures focus on the advantages of mastering Georgian and the given minority language and the significance of bilingualism in general. They also contain practical information on how to enroll children in schools as well as include the list of schools where given minority languages are taught. All participants of the Young Writers competition were awarded with CoE branded gifts.