On December 19, 2015, the Hayartun Center of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia hosted a meeting of the Association of Armenian Women in Georgia “Shushanik”, the administration of the Council of Women of Georgia and the representatives of ethnic minorities. The meeting, organized within the framework of “History, Culture, Traditions” project of the Council of Women of Georgia (Chairperson Mzekala Shanidze), was aimed at familiarization of the representatives of other nationalities with milestones of Armenian history, examples of centuries-old culture and rich traditions.

The clergy of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, the Advisor of the President for Minority Issues, Sopio Shamanidi, the coordinator of the Ethnic Minorities Council under the Tbilisi Sakrebulo, Rita Khidirbegashvili, Mrs. Eleonora Vardanyan, the wife of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of RA to Georgia, the representative of the United Nations Association of Georgia, Maka Chichua, the representatives of Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Ossetian, Russian, German and other communities honored the event with their presence.

The guests became familiarized with the Armenian culture and the display of the late Gayane Khachaturyan artworks.

The Executive Chairman of the Council of Women of Georgia, Ketevan Gabashvili, presented a report on the organization’s activities, spanning 70 years, which unites people from 14 nationalities, and highlighted that one of the main directions of their activities was to familiarize each other with the history of different nations, to get to know the culture and respect traditions.

The Chairman of the Union of Armenian Intellectuals of Georgia, historian Yenok Tadevosyan gave a lecture on the Armenian history, the activities of eminent Armenian figures and the events for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. A slideshow narrating the work of the Association of Armenian Women in Georgia “Shushanik” and the Hayartun Center followed. The Director of the Hayartun Center, Levon Chidilyan and the Chairman of the Association, Susanna Khachatryan made a presentation to the guests.

Brilliant performance of Armenian centuries-old music compilation by duduk and dhol classes of the Hayartun Center (teachers - Ivane Mkrtchyan and Robert Kashavanidze), soloists Anna Poghosova-Badalian, Ani Hovhannisyan and Genrikh Petrosyan was very impressive.

The Ani Dance Ensemble (Choreographer Angelina Nazarian-Kochian) performed the Armenian wedding celebration episode, as an example of rich traditions of one of the oldest nations of the world.

The Primate of the Armenian Diocese in Georgia, His Grace Bishop Vazgen Mirzakhanyan in his closing speech emphasized that the cornerstone, which will contribute to the prosperity of Georgia and preservation of national identity, is Georgian’s friendship with representatives of other nationalities based upon mutual respect.

Susanna Khachatryan was awarded an honorary diploma for cooperation between the Association of Armenian Women in Georgia “Shushanik” and the Council of Women of Georgia in the field of development of friendly ties between Armenians and Georgians.

Words of appreciation were addressed to the Diocesan Headquarters, the Hayartun Center, the parents of St. Movses Khorenatsi Kindergarten, the Gary Davtyan Puppet and Culture House, Margarita Kirakosyan and Karen Yeritsyan for the provided support to make the imbued with national spirit event possible.