Happy New Year!

From ABGEO International

About Nino Tatunashvili

ABGEO INTERNATIONAL: MAKING A DIFFERENCE ANYTIME ANYPLACE

Presents Nino Tatunashvili

Dear readers,

First, we would like to thank all participants for nominations and making “Making a difference any time any place” initiative such an enjoyable journey for us. We are excited to introduce these wonderful individuals to you, one at a time.

After much consideration, out first candidate will be NINO TATUNASHVILI. Born in the city of Kaspi, to creative minded parents, Nino moved to Russia along with her family in 1994. She currently resides in Moscow and will be graduating from the State University this year.

She is an active member of an association of Georgians in Russia, which strives for culture preservation, aid, unification of the community and development.

Nino has published a memoir “letters of an Immigrant” in 2008 based on her diary both in Georgian and Russian. The book addresses her experiences in her new homeland and nostalgia towards her birthplace. The “letters of an Immigrant” was thereafter shot in motion picture and drew full film halls with Nino in lead role. She was also the force behind the project “Georgian’s in Russia in XV-XIX cc”, which was produced in 2009 under the guidance from senior advisor to the Georgian Embassy of Russia.

When asked about her opinion of the Abkhazian/Ossetian conflicts, she answered: “I’m not on the side of any political party; I’m on the side of peace”. We chose Nino because her involvement, motivation and we would like to introduce her to you. As speculated before, we will be choosing 5 questions from our readers. Write us if there is something you would like to ask Nino.

Again, we really encourage you to keep nominating and suggesting, we love to hear from you. Here is the list of nominees so far, who would you like to be the next? Let us know!

Stay tuned for the interview which is to be released January 2011!

For more information about Nino please visit:

http://ninotatunashvili.blogspot.com/

Interview with Georgia Times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJLasFv5Gts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVfxr3FYGOA

Upcoming changes

Dear friends of ABGEO International,

The New Year is upon us and we would like to update you on some of the things that have been brewing in the minds and hearts of the ABGEO team. As some of you know, ABGEO started as a little forum sparking from an idea that change is possible given the opportunity. The forum slowly evolved into a blog that is operating since 2007.

We have been brainstorming and thinking of next steps for a while now, and after many meetings and considerations decided to take things a step further and register as an organization. We are convinced that the need for it is great, just by reading many of your comments. We believe that we can play a vital role in the transition of the future and our ambition and care for our community is taking action that hopefully motivates others to do the same. So, be prepared for the upcoming changes and plan your participation. We are looking for members, volunteers, partners, and supporters as we all can contribute to our future.

Apart from a new website which will be launched soon, we will kick off the New Year with an exciting interview of Nino Tatunashvili as part of the ‘Making a Difference Anytime Anyplace’ initiative. Furthermore, ABGEO International will be acquiring a non-for-profit status in 2011, offering you numerous interesting programs. To cover some of our start-up costs, we will be launching a fundraising campaign and will be most grateful for your donations. Our recruitment campaign is also underway as we are looking to staff several volunteer positions which will be available in the New Year.

We are truly blessed to have so many of you offering us help and words of encouragement. We hope you continue being by our side as we take these steps forward. Stay tuned and check back often! As always we’d love to hear your suggestions, questions, or just comments. Write us at info@abgeo.net

Wishing you all a happy holiday season!

ABGEO International

Board of Directors:

Khatia Odzelashvili

Ketevan Natsvlichvili

Nino Gabetsadze