‘My Europe, My Future’: UN Women marks Europe Day in Batumi

UN Women joined the Europe Day celebrations in Batumi on 11 July with a focus on Georgian women, highlighting the important role they have played throughout history and continue to play today.

At the “My Europe, My Future” live podcast space, where guests—both speakers and audience members—came together around shared values, opportunities and the future, UN Women hosted Tamar Tsopurashvili, PhD, Professor at Ilia State University and Director of the Savle Tsereteli Institute of Philosophy.

The main topic of the podcast was Medea, a courageous and formidable woman with unique knowledge who has inspired numerous artists and continues to generate enormous interest to this day. Although accounts of Medea’s story are contradictory, they all clearly demonstrate the close historical and cultural connection between Georgian women and Georgia, on the one hand, and European civilization, on the other, while highlighting the important role Georgians played in shaping modern Western culture. The myth of Medea provides further evidence that Georgia has always been part of European civilization.

Dr. Tsopurashvili noted that the characteristics presented in the myth of Medea clearly demonstrate the high degree of cultural and social integration of Colchis into the Greek world. She also discussed Medea from a feminist perspective: “Medea rebels against her father’s patriarchal order and flees in search of personal happiness, only to find herself in her husband’s patriarchal order abroad. A feminist reading of this myth tells us that as long as the patriarchal order exists, a woman will be unable to find happiness,” Dr. Tsopurashvili noted.

In addition to the live podcast, UN Women supported a fair as part of the Europe Day celebrations, enabling 30 women entrepreneurs to showcase and sell their products. Visitors had the opportunity to view and purchase their distinctive goods and support women who create exceptional products with limited resources, thereby strengthening their villages and their country. Among the entrepreneurs was 33-year-old Marta Mushkudiani, a winemaker from the village of Okureshi in Tsageri Municipality, who runs Marta’s Winery and is the first woman to produce an organic semi-dry wine from the Usakhelouri grape variety.

“For me, each bottle is more than just wine,” she explains. “It is an expression of my vineyards, my work, my knowledge and my love for Lechkhumi. At Europe Day, I established new contacts, gained valuable experience and further raised awareness of Marta’s Winery. This exhibition convinced me that initiatives like this create real opportunities for small entrepreneurs.”

Europe Day in Batumi was celebrated by the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia together with thousands of people, EU Member States and partners. This year, this particular occasion brought together numerous interactive, cultural and educational activities, facilitating the sharing of unique experiences and inspiring stories and the establishment of useful and strong networks.

Europe Day showcased more than 30 years of partnership between the European Union and Georgia and emphasized the importance of various forms of cooperation. This cooperation continues, strengthening Georgia’s communities and contributing to improved quality of life in the country. Notably, prior to the celebration in Batumi, UN Women also joined the Europe Day celebrations in Tbilisi earlier this year, on 9 May 2026.

With the financial support of the European Union, UN Women has implemented numerous projects in various areas such as combating violence against women and domestic violence and promoting girls’ participation in technology and other fields, and this cooperation continues today.

The live podcast was held within the framework of the “Gender Equality for Georgia” project, generously funded by the European Union and implemented jointly by UN Women and UNFPA. The fair of women entrepreneurs’ products formed part of UN Women’s programme “Women’s Increased Leadership for Resilient and Peaceful Societies”. Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the programme is implemented by UN Women country offices in Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, with the support of the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia.