Tbilisi. On October 8-9 Tbilisi hosts the first regional conference of the Eastern Partnership cultural program. 100 program participants attend the conference, who represent the cultural public and private sectors from the six Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), as well as representatives of various EU states.

According to the organizers, the first regional conference of the Eastern Partnership cultural program has once again proved the increasing importance of the cultural sector in the area of sustainable development. In addition, at the conference the participants have acknowledged the key role of the civil society sector in the Eastern Partnership countries, which they will have to play in the national cultural development.

The Eastern Partnership cultural program is being implemented for one year and it aims to promote the institutional development of the cultural sector of the Eastern Partnership countries and enhance the role of cultural field in the country's development, social transformation, conflict settlement and approximation with the Europe. Further, one of the major objectives of the program is to support the development of cultural policies at the governmental level. The program implements these objectives through 15 regional projects, in 12 of which Georgia is already involved.