Today, the Orbeliani Palace hosted the Edit-a-Thon event of Georgian Wikipedia editors, an event during which 21 young people wrote 45 articles and made 500 edits on Kartvelology and on the COVID-19 pandemic using literature provided by the Library of Tbilisi State University. Following the event, President Salome Zourabichvili and TSU Rector Giorgi Sharvashidze met with the participants to learn about their activities and discussed future cooperation plans.

The President stated,

“I am glad that a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed today, because it is a sign that we are really ready to help you with our means to contribute to this national cause.

“It is clear that the Georgian Wikipedia is important for Georgia in terms of maintaining knowledge and disseminating correct knowledge as we all know that one of the problems is false and inaccurate information.

“Even more important is our popularization abroad to the whole world, through Wikipedia’s different languages. For this, we must involve our diaspora very actively and effectively. This needs to become a systematic approach and not an individual engagement as it has been until now.

“Wikipedia’s space around the world is a new form of battle today. It’s very important that our information and the information written about us be protected.”

A Memorandum of Cooperation has been signed during the event between Natia Sulava, Head of the Administration of the President, and Mehman Ibragimov, Chairman of the User Group of Wikimedia Georgia. The Memorandum expresses the sides’ desire to promote joint partnership in the field of information and to strengthen bilateral cooperation.