On Wednesday, 29th October, GEOCASE Chairman Victor Kipiani hosted students from the University of Oxford and the University of Manchester for an open discussion on the current political climate of Georgia, amidst the institutional, informational and international pressures currently testing Georgia’s democratic resilience.

Among the topics addressed were the challenges in maintaining independence and access to media, the civic engagement of Georgia’s youth and the restrictions on funding for local think tanks and NGOs. 

The discussion also turned to Georgia’s external orientation and security outlook, specifically the backsliding of Euro-Atlantic ambitions and the question of increasing diplomatic cultural ties with key allied partners. 

The exchange enabled students to explore GEOCASE’s operations firsthand, gaining insight into the platform’s network-based structure and multi-channel output. Victor Kipiani described how members contribute based on expertise, not a formal hierarchy. “We don’t have strict divisions of authority,” he said. “We have experts from security, former diplomats, economists and former parliamentary staff”. This structure allows for rapid, well-informed, multidisciplinary analysis.

On the topic of the information environment, Victor Kipiani explained that “the country is so polarised today that you are expected to only praise one side and criticise another. This is unacceptable to us”. He went on to outline GEOCASE’s guiding principle: to extract insights through transparent, empirical analysis, free from partisanship or personal bias. This, he emphasised, is the clearest path to productive dialogue in an environment hindered by disinformation and divisiveness.
 

International collaboration was another key topic. Where the perspectives and priorities of Georgia are often sidelined, open dialogue ensures that its realities are accurately represented and its expectations understood. In this context, Kipiani stressed the value of engaging with opinion-makers abroad: “Our voice matters more when we are supported from outside, morally and intellectually, not in any transactional way. We are not looking for external oversight, but rather for recognition that Georgia needs to move from the margins of mainstream opinion and culture-making.” 

Through exchanges like these, GEOCASE aims to increase the visibility of Georgia’s story on the global stage. By strengthening bridges between academic inquiry and practical policy experience, the foundations can be laid for future collaboration and dialogue.