Delegation from Poznań visits their partner City of Kutaisi
The city of Kutaisi, located on the Rioni River in the Imereti region of western Georgia, has been our partner city since 2009. We collaborate in the areas of science, culture, tourism, sport and the city management.
At the beginning of May, a delegation from the City of Poznan was invited by the Mayor Ioseb Khakhaleishvili to participate in the celebratory festivities of the Day of Kutaisi. Every year, on May the 2-nd, locals celebrate Kutaisoba, also known as Gviriloba - from the Georgian word "gvirila" - chamomile. During this time numerous concerts, traditional dance shows, sports competitions, games and a local food and wine market take place. Chamomiles, the symbol of the holiday, can be found everywhere. This tradition dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when schoolgirls from Kutaisi sold bouquets of chamomile for charity, raising funds to help tuberculosis patients.
The invitation to the event in Kutaisi was also accepted by the other partner and cooperating cities of Kutaisi and the Imereti region. The City of Poznań had an opportunity to exchange experiences with Kharkiv from Ukraine (which is also our partner city), Newport (United Kingdom), Gabrovo (Bulgaria), Valga (Estonia), Valka (Latvia), Ungheni (Moldova), Szombathely (Hungary), Antalya (Turkey), Nanchang (China) and Sumy (Ukraine). Official speeches and conversations with the Mayor and City Hall of Kutaisi mainly focused on ongoing cooperation between the cities, joint plans and a summary of the recent years of cooperation hindered by the pandemic.
Additionally, we had the chance to learn more about the dynamically developing Kutaisi International University, numerous municipal cultural institutions and took part in the ceremony of awarding honorary citizenship titles to the residents of Kutaisi by the Mayor.
A symbolic event for the visiting partners was the joint creation of the "Friendship Alley" in Kutaisi Botanical Garden. Representatives of the cities and the Mayor of Kutaisi took part in the ceremonial planting of trees.
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