The Council of Europe Office in Georgia marks the Equality Week each year by implementing public activities to combat discrimination and hatred. Since its launch in 2024, the Project ”Enhancing Equality and Non-Discrimination in Georgia” has organised a variety of in-person and online awareness raising initiatives to promote Georgia’s religious, ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as the peaceful coexistence of communities as a cornerstone of social cohesion.

For this year’s Equality Week, the Project captured the lives and culture of different communities from Kvemo Kartli, a region in south-eastern Georgia, renowned for its remarkable ethnic diversity. The region is home to ethnic Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Greeks and Germans. Together, these communities play a vital role in shaping Kvemo Kartli’s social and cultural identity, reflecting Georgia’s broader commitment to European values, such as respect, diversity, multiculturalism and peaceful coexistence. Through storytelling, this awareness raising initiative further explored local traditions and costumes and examples of solidarity among local communities.

In celebration of the Equality Week 2025, representatives of different diplomatic missions and local community members gathered in the village Samshvilde, Kvemo Kartli. The event featured the master video of the initiative and provided a safe space for local communities to share experiences and reflect on challenges, also marking International Human Rights Day.

The event summarised the outcomes and achievements of the Project, showcasing progress in advancing equality for diverse groups, including different ethnic and religious communities, and LGBTI people. Launched in 2024, the Project aims to enhance the protection of vulnerable groups and minorities by improving the justice system’s response and victim support to hate crimes, advocating for non-discrimination through private sector and civil society engagement.

The event was organised within the Council of Europe Project ‘’Enhancing Equality and Non-Discrimination in Georgia’’, implemented in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024-2027.