Some 140 youth of various ethnic and religious backgrounds and regions of Georgia recently exhibited traditional art works side by side in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, marking the end of a three-year Arts and Crafts project that supported youth integration and development.

The Arts and Crafts project was implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science enabling 400 socially vulnerable youth to undertake vocational training, with 250 of them receiving certificates.

Youth have been trained in traditional crafts from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan at former World Vision Community Youth Centres in seven towns throughout the country.

Apart from giving youth the opportunities to share their cultural heritage, views and values and enable non-Georgian youth to learn language skills and better integrate into the wider community, the project has given students new 'saleable' skills and some have even secured employment.

'Each year the youth improve the quality of their work and thanks to acquired skills some of them have managed to find jobs. I would say that this year's exhibition is the best - most of our students want to continue studying at the academy and our certificates will help them to do so', said Arts and Crafts Project Manager Ana Mgaloblishvili.

'I took a one-year course in embroidery and this year was unbelievable for me. With a new profession I have also gained new friends, met so many people and have become acquainted with the cultures of different people,' said 16-year-old Elene, a student of the Arts and Crafts project.

'I am very surprised to see so many good works of art here. Everything is performed on a professional level and one can see how much effort and enthusiasm was put into each of them', said exhibition visitor Nino Mazanashvili.

Exhibition participants created several thousand pieces of various art and craft items ranging from Georgian "Fardagi" and traditional Azeri carpet, batik, felt, 'gobelin' (tapestry), embroidery, ceramics, traditional stone carvings and Armenian 'Khachkara', enamel and jewellery art.

In 2006 the Arts and Crafts project signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Art Academy of Georgia, whereby the project became part of the newly established state vocational program offering young people the opportunity of certified study in World Vision workshops.

World Vision's Community Youth Centres have now transformed into independent non-governmental organisations and actively cooperate with World Vision to offer new opportunities for development for all youth in Georgia.

-Ends