BATUMI HOSTED THE SECOND SOUTH CAUCASUS YOUTH FESTIVAL
Nino Edilashvili
Daily Georgian Times
2007.09.17 10:59
Georgia
Community
September 12-14, 2007, Batumi hosted the 2nd annual South Caucasus
Youth Festival "Caucasus Healthy Wave."
The festival brought Armenian, Azerbaijan and Georgian youth together
and along with governmental officials, representatives of civil society
organizations, UNFPA officials, an EC delegation, famous musicians and
media representatives from the South Caucasus, they effectively reached
out to young people through awareness raising activities. Guests from
BSEC countries took part in the festival, as well. As the festival
was conducted on the Black Sea, in the dynamically developing region
of Adjara, Batumi, it attracted enormous interest for both youth and
the general public. The festival was supported by the government of
the Autonomous Republic of Adjara and the Municipality of Batumi.
Martin Klaucke a representative of the EC said that "By increasing
their awareness, we want the young people of the Caucasus to live a
healthy life. Only healthy people can develop a country."
The festival’s main goal was to empower youth to realize their rights
including accessible, youth-friendly, quality sexual and reproductive
health services and supplies to reduce unwanted pregnancies, prevent
the spread of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV/AIDS),
and to eliminate gender-biased violence.
The three-day festival, though intensive, was very
interesting. Festival participants and visiting foreign tourists
participated in competitions of mini-football and volleyball. A
water marathon was another fun-making event of the festival which
ceremoniously concluded on Friday, Sept. 14.
According to Zurab Japaridze, RHIYC Technical Coordinator, "22 events
were planned within the frameworks of the festival and 17 young people
from each country participated."
This festival is the UNFPA’s three-year project. The First South
Caucasus Youth Festival was conducted in December 2006. It was one
of the largest events dedicated to World Aids Day to take place in
the region. The festival brought together many community groups and
the general public in an effective effort to combat HIV/AIDS in the
South Caucasus.
Organizers believe that such initiatives are crucial to establishing
healthy lifestyles among the current generation of youth, and improving
awareness and behaviors regarding such harmful practices as tobacco,
drug and alcohol abuse.
Research shows that for the 3 million young people (aged 15-24)
living in the Caucasus region (20% of the whole population), most have
limited access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information,
counseling or services. UNFPA’s most essential concern is to build a
healthy society for the future, and they work to do this by maintaining
and supporting new projects regarding reproductive health information
for today’s youth.
The festival was part of the EC/UNFPA co-funded three-year project
"Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in the South Caucasus"
(RHIYC). UNFPA actively supports the Georgian Government in the
implementation of the ICPD Program of Action and MDGs. It started its
assistance to Georgia in 1993 with a contraceptive supply project
and basic agenda to address reproductive health concerns of the
population. UNFPA activities and programs are country-specific and
tailored to meet Georgia’s needs in the areas of reproductive health,
population, development and gender, by addressing issues ranging from
quality and accessibility of RH services to gender equality and the
availability of reliable data for development.