The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s annual international conference Humboldt Kolleg was opened at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) on September 20. The three-day conference has brought together the representatives of 12 countries, among them Humboldt scholarship holders and Humboldt Research Award Laureates. This year the conference is being hosted by Georgia amid the 25th anniversary of Georgian-German diplomatic relations and declaring 2017 as the year of Georgia and Germany. The topic of the conference is “German-Georgian venues in the 20th century literature and culture.” It has been organized by Alexander Kartozia, President of the Humboldt-Club Georgia.
The Humboldt Foundation finances international research activities and offers sponsorship to young people as well as already recognized scientists. The Humboldt-Club Georgia has over 30 members, among them Georgian scientists, who had been Humboldt scholarship holders or Humboldt Research Award Laureates at various times. Among them are Academician Tamaz Gamkrelidze; Head of the Georgian National Museum, Prof. Davit Lortkipanidze; Georgian Defense Minister, Prof. Levan Izoria; Georgian Ambassador to Germany, Prof. Lado Chanturia; member of the Georgian Constitutional Court, Prof. Merab Turava; former Rector of Sokhumi University, Prof. Joni Apakidze and other scientists working in Georgia or outside its limits.
Rector of TSU, Giorgi Sharvashidze; Georgian Minister of Education and Science, Aleksandre Jejelava; Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria; German Ambassador to Georgia, Heike Peitsch attended the opening ceremony. Dr. Steffen Mehlich, Head of the Humboldt Foundation’s Department on Sponsorship and Network, as well as Joni Apakidze of the German Archaeological Institute also participated in the event.
Rector Giorgi Sharvashidze said that Georgia’s cooperation with the Humboldt Foundation has a long history. “It is not only a 25-year relationship. It started long ago; we had already established some relations before Georgia became independent. A lot of scientific projects have been implemented with their support and co-participation,” the Rector said.
Minister of Education and Science, Aleksandre Jejelava said that the conference brought together high-profile scientists from various countries. “We are glad that among the participants of this conference are our famous Humboldtians – Defense Minister Levan Izoria, Georgian Ambassador to Germany, Lado Chanturia, many other famous scientists and public figures,” he noted.
“There is high growth dynamics in German-Georgian relations in terms of scientific, as well as economic and political cooperation. Those values, which are shared by our societies, are further strengthened due to this cooperation, including in the direction of science. We are grateful for this cooperation,” Minister Izoria said.
German Ambassador to Georgia, Heike Peitsch focused on the importance of the year 2017 in Georgian-German relations and noted that the conference is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. She also added that the 200th anniversary of establishing the first German settlement in Georgia will be marked in 2017 that is yet another important date in bilateral relations.
Humboldt Research Award Laureates, Tamaz Gamkrelidze (Georgia), Konstantin Azadovsky (Russia) and Anil Bhat (India) presented their papers during the first day of the conference.
Humboldt Kolleg, a large-scale representative conference, is financed by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Each year, Humboldt Kolleg is hosted by various foreign countries.
