We are happy to announce the Summer School in Kartvelian Studies for non-Georgians to be held from 5 July to 10 August, 2003.

In a broad sense Kartvelian (Georgian) Studies (Kartvelology) embraces Georgian culture, history and all fields of the humanities: linguistics, literary criticism, art, archaeology, folklore, ethnography, source study. Georgia, Sakartvelo, successor to ancient Colchis and Iberia, lies at the boundary of Europe and Asia, east of the Black Sea, in the south-western part of the Caucasus. Today too it continues to serve as a geographical, economic and cultural bridge between East and West.

The Summer School in Kartvelian Studies - the only one of its kind in the world, with a ten-year experience of continuous work - is organized by the Centre for Kartvelian Studies and sponsored by the Government of Georgia, Tbilisi State University and by the Fund for Kartvelian Studies.

The School will offer intensive instruction in Modern Georgian - both along the line of spoken as well as grammatical norms of the language - with account of the level of the mastery of the language by the participants. They can also attend lectures on Georgian history, literature, language and art and become acquainted with Georgia's cultural and historical past and her present achievements. Excursions out of town - to various regions of Georgia - are organized at weekends. The five-week course at the summer school costs $1500 per student. This includes accommodation (in a student's dormitory or at a private apartment), board, lectures and seminars, and cultural program (excursions to the countryside, visiting museums, seeing Georgian films, etc.). The Center ensures meeting the attendants of Summer School at the airport and seeing them to their destination. The attendants pay the travel costs (arrival in Tbilisi and departure from Tbilisi), and medical aid, if needed.

This year the costs of instruction and board of foreign students who cannot pay the whole cost will be met by the Fund for Kartvelian Studies. However, in all cases the attendants of the Summer School, including the students, are expected to contribute about a half of the above-mentioned course cost as a charity to the Fund of Kartvelian Studies, for the Summer School in Kartvelian Studies in the main is financed by this Charity Fund.

Those who wish to attend The Summer School should communicate with the Fund for Kartvelian Studies by 1 April, 2003.
Address: Centre for Kartvelian Studies. 1, Chavchavadze Ave., 380028 Tbilisi, Georgia.
Tel.: (995 32) 290833, Fax: (995 32) 252501,
E-mail: kartvcentre@hotmail.com, khintibidze@myoffice.ge.

Sincerely,
Prof. Elguja Khintibidze, Director of the Centre for Kartvelian Studies