Presentation of the Folklore Center's 3-Year Report and Opening of the Hall

Badri Maisuradze, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, attended the opening of the Folklore Center's hall and the presentation of its three-year activity report.

The Center was founded 82 years ago, and its main purpose is to preserve and develop Georgian folklore heritage—folk music, dance, verbal art, fine and applied

arts, and traditional chanting—as well as to replenish and enrich the Center's archive. Currently, the Center's archive preserves: original sheet music recordings of Georgian folk songs and chants, samples of verbal art, works of prominent scientists, biographies of folklore creators, and audio-video and photographic materials from olympiads and festivals.

At the initiative of Giorgi Donadze, Director of the Georgian State Center of Folklore, chanter schools have been opening in the regions of Georgia since 2015, where anyone interested can study Georgian folk music and traditional chanting free of charge. With the support of the Government of Georgia, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, and local municipalities, 850 children are mastering Georgian singing and chanting across 28 chanter schools.

The Center has published numerous audio albums, scientific works, and anthologies of chants. Several important complex expeditions have been organized in various regions of Georgia. Two annual festivals were established: the International Folklore Festival "Georgia" (2016) and the Chanter Schools Festival — "Voices of the Future" (2019).

Initiated by the Folklore Center and supported by the Government of Georgia, infrastructure projects have been implemented: in Ozurgeti, with the funding of the Municipal Development Fund, the Folklore Center building was renovated with modern standard infrastructure and adapted conditions. In Tbilisi, the historical hall at the Georgian State Center of Folklore was renovated.