BACKGROUND

The event is a follow-up activity of the 2025 International Nelson Mandela Day that we have co-organised with The Sokhumi State University, Georgia, 18-20 July 2025, as you can read in the attached Narrative Report, Madiba Journal and Conference concept and list of participants.

The conference is orgainzed by Georgian national academic institution LELP Sokhumi State University, in partnership with NGOS in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations: CIRID (Centre Indépendant de Recherches et d’Initiatives pour le Dialogue), The Training-Center for the Development of Former Combattants (CEDAC) and Réseau Communautaire d’Assistance aux Victimes (RECOVI)

Nelson Mandela International Day 2025

Theme:

“The Role of Youth in Peacebuilding in Eastern Europe’s South Caucasus and Ambassadors for Peace Training”

• 18, 19th of July 2025, Sokhumi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

The International Nelson Mandela Day 2025 in Georgia was organized under the academic and diplomatic auspices of Prof. Dr. Amb. Zurab Khonelidze (photo, right), President of the Georgian Academy of Educational Sciences and Rector of the Sokhumi State University, host of the event, in
partnership with UN ECOSOC NGOs, the Universal Peace Federation, CIRID (Centre Indépendant de Recherches et d’Initiatives pour le Dialogue), and RECOVI (Réveil Communautaire d’Assistance aux Victimes), Tbilisi, Friday 18 July.

The two-day seminar’s theme was: “Nelson Mandela International Day – The Role of Youth in Peacebuilding in Eastern Europe’s South Caucasus”, from Friday the 18th to Sunday the 19th of July 2025 at Sokhumi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.

Inspired by the United Nations General Assembly’s Resolution of 24th of September 2018, which established the Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace (2019-2028), partner organizations and academic institutions have drawned on Mandela’s legacy to engage young people in an intergenerational participatory training program focused on best practices in conflict transformation. The Opening Day served as both a celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy and as the official launch of the Ambassadors for Peace training program in the Southern Caucasus Region. This event offered a moment of cultural exchange among participants and organizers, featuring discussions on Mandela’s impact and the distribution of booklets highlighting his legacy.