On November 28, the project “Early Marriage Prevention in Kvemo Kartli” was summarized and closed. The project, which was carried out by “Sapari” with the support of The Reserve Fund of the President of Georgia, UNFPA Georgia Office and the Netherlands Embassy, was aimed at raising awareness of the adolescents and young people living in Kvemo Kartli with regard to the negative aspects of early marriages.

The summarizing event consisted of two parts: First, a meeting of project supporters and partners, and ethnic Azeri youth and the winners of the competition (within the framework of the project) was held at the hotel “Kopala”. The representatives of Ministry of Education, Chancellery of the Government, Presidential Fund, UNDP and the Embassy of the Netherlands discussed the problems emerged during the meetings held within the framework of the project. Soon these issues will be presented by Sapari to all project supporters and partners in the form of recommendations.

The second part of the event was took place at the presidential palace, where an award ceremony for the participants of the project and the competition winners was held. The First Lady of Georgia, the head of the United Nations Population Fund Office Lela Bakradze, and Baia Pataraia addressed the participants of the project. One of the winners of the competition Malak Ashirova read her essay. The participant of the project, Jeyhun Narzalov, talked about the experiences in the project and its importance.

It’s worth noting that 20 ethnically Azeri students conducted informational meetings in Azeri language for senior class students in 90 schools in Kvemo Kartli.

Despite the fact that the project ended in November, “Sapari” aims at continuing to work on these issues in the given region.