AED Annual Report | 2007-2008

Civil Society: The Young Leader | Giorgi Kakuliao, Georgia

VIDEO: See how young leaders
in Georgia are working for peace and development.

Giorgi Kakulia was looking for a way to fill his free time. At 16 years old, he was attending school and playing basketball. There wasn’t much else to do in the refugee housing where he lived in Tbilsi, Georgia. Plus, there were the shootings, robberies, and fights to avoid. But “that was nothing,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I had already seen a lot of that.” He and his family were forced from Abkhazia, a region seeking independence, six years earlier when civil war broke out.

When Kakulia joined AED’s Young Leaders Program in 1999, he was signing up to spend a good deal of his free time with Abkhaz youth, whom he thought of as enemies. Through football and basketball games, mock negotiations, and theatrical performances—all designed around conflict resolution—the two groups of young people realized they had more in common than they thought.

“It was quite a good experience,” he said. “When you don’t know people, and you think they are your enemies, you just think they are bad. But then you meet them and you see what you have in common. You realize that you don’t have to struggle, and you can be friends.”

Kakulia stayed with the program for five years, until it ended. He said the most valuable skills he learned were how to work as part of a team, resolve problems, and communicate with other people.

Today, he is applying those skills in his role as the president of the Academy for Peace and Development, a nonprofit organization that grew out of AED’s activities in Georgia. Kakulia’s organization, which employs five full-time staff members and has an annual budget of more than $100,000 USD, focuses on projects that engage young people.

“It is brilliant,” said Kakulia. “The same things I do for young people, I went through myself. I know how it can affect young people’s future lives.” And now, he added, he has no free time at all.

When the latest conflict began, Giorgi Kakuli was safe in Poland, where he was running a conference for the Academy for Peace and Development. He returned Tbilisi shortly thereafter to mobilize humanitarian help for internally displaced people in the western region of Georgia. In a recent email, Giorgi had this to say about the current struggle:

"I am definitely deeply concerned about the situation, as the lives of innocent civilians are in danger. All civilized worlds should be very much concerned and should take action to prevent such crises situations. I believe that peace will come soon, but you cannot bring back the lives that have been lost."

VIDEO: See how young leaders in Georgia are working for peace and development.



	Home VIDEO: See how young leaders in Georgia are working for peace and development. Giorgi Kakulia was looking for a way to fill his free time. At 16 years old, he was attending school and playing basketball. There wasn’t much else to do in the refugee housing where he lived in Tbilsi, Georgia. Plus, there were the shootings, robberies, and fights to avoid. But “that was nothing,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I had already seen a lot of that.” He and his family were forced from Abkhazia, a region seeking independence, six years earlier when civil war broke out. When Kakulia joined AED’s Young Leaders Program in 1999, he was signing up to spend a good deal of his free time with Abkhaz youth, whom he thought of as enemies. Through football and basketball games, mock negotiations, and theatrical performances—all designed around conflict resolution—the two groups of young people realized they had more in common than they thought. “It was quite a good experience,” he said. “When you don’t know people, and you think they are your enemies, you just think they are bad. But then you meet them and you see what you have in common. You realize that you don’t have to struggle, and you can be friends.” Kakulia stayed with the program for five years, until it ended. He said the most valuable skills he learned were how to work as part of a team, resolve problems, and communicate with other people. Today, he is applying those skills in his role as the president of the Academy for Peace and Development, a nonprofit organization that grew out of AED’s activities in Georgia. Kakulia’s organization, which employs five full-time staff members and has an annual budget of more than $100,000 USD, focuses on projects that engage young people. “It is brilliant,” said Kakulia. “The same things I do for young people, I went through myself. I know how it can affect young people’s future lives.” And now, he added, he has no free time at all. When the latest conflict began, Giorgi Kakuli was safe in Poland, where he was running a conference for the Academy for Peace and Development. He returned Tbilisi shortly thereafter to mobilize humanitarian help for internally displaced people in the western region of Georgia. In a recent email, Giorgi had this to say about the current struggle: "I am definitely deeply concerned about the situation, as the lives of innocent civilians are in danger. All civilized worlds should be very much concerned and should take action to prevent such crises situations. I believe that peace will come soon, but you cannot bring back the lives that have been lost." VIDEO: See how young leaders in Georgia are working for peace and development.