“The state needs free thinking, the education of a new generation on free foundations, and the symbol of all this is what we must protect—the Georgian State University,” said Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, in a video address.

According to her, without a university that remains a center of free and critical thinking, the state cannot survive independently.

“Today is February 8, and I want to congratulate the entire society on this great day. On February 8, 1918, the Georgian State University was founded. This was not just the establishment of a university; it was also the first step toward independence. Significantly, Georgia’s state independence begins with two things—the declaration of autocephaly and the founding of the university.

The founding of the university followed years of work by the Society for Literacy to restore Georgian, national education in Georgia after the Russification policies of the empire. The continuous efforts of the intellectuals of that time laid the foundation for our university. That is why the Georgian State University is so important for all of us who believe that Georgia’s independence has no alternative other than being strengthened, being European, and securing the country’s true future.

We, like all those who led the founding of this university, believe that without an independent university—without a university that remains a hub of free and critical thinking—the state cannot exist independently. The state needs free thought and the education of the new generation on free foundations, and the symbol of all this, which we must protect, is the Georgian State University,” Salome Zurabishvili stated.