The February 8 conference at Expo Georgia in Tbilisi was organized by the opposition political party Freedom Square and the public movement Georgian Public Assembly.

“Participants discussed what kind of country Georgia should aim to build over the next two to three decades, the obstacles that have hindered this vision since independence, and Georgia’s role in the international community,” the event’s official press release said.

?We must agree on the future,? Levan Tsutskiridze, chairman of Freedom Square, told the hundreds in attendance, ?Because an agreement on the future will pave the way for us to reach it.? He added, ?All of us here must create a new foundation for the politics on which we want to build and imagine the future of our country.?

The forum also featured contributions from Ilia State University Rector Nino Doborjginidze; philosopher and teacher Levan Gambashidze; teacher Datia Badalashvili; doctor Vazha Gaprindashvili; journalist and human rights defender Tozu Gulmamedli; and actress Nino Kasradze. Participants broadly welcomed the effort to identify common ground among groups opposing what they view as Georgian Dream?s authoritarian and anti-European course.

?Organizers emphasized that the forum was not conceived as a one-off event, but as the starting point of a broader civic process aimed at strengthening public participation, forming shared direction, and building a responsible democratic alternative,? the press release added.

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