Over the recent years, the issue of restoration and rehabilitation of buildings at Gudiashvili Square has been the focus of many public discussions.  

Regrattably, authorities have not yet made any effective steps for restoration and rehabilitation and preservation for future generations of the historic cultural monuments at Gudiashvili Square.

 

Gudiashvili Square is the property of Tbilisi Self-Government while the buildings are owned by the legal entity of public law Tbilisi Development Fund. Public remains unaware of what the future of the cultural heritage will be. Regrettably, neither Tbilisi City Hall nor Tbilisi Development Fund or the Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection can provide the timeline of rehabilitation and future plans for the cultural heritage at Gudiashvili Square. Furthermore, the developments around Gudiashvili Square and the cultural heritage lack transparency and adequate involvement of civil society groups in the process is not ensured.

 

In this light, we would like to state that to safeguard Gudiashvili Square and the cultural heritage,

 

1. The buildings at the square should be transferred by Tbilisi Development Fund into the ownership of Tbilisi Self-Government

 

2. An international open competition should be announced for the development concept of the square and restoration projects. Terms of the competition should be elaborated and winning projects should be identified with the involvement of a broad spectrum of professionals. Transparency and public access of the project should be ensured both for the professionals and other interested individuals

 

3. By means of a conditional auction, Tbilisi self-government should alienate the buildings, attached with the concept and restoration documents created in frames of the competition. Terms and conditions and other important aspects of rehabilitation of the buildings should be strictly determined. Further, we believe that the process of alienation of the buildings must be transparent, in which Tbilisi self-government will ensure involvement of interested groups, field specialist and civil society representatives. 

 

4. The Ministry of Culture and Monuments Protection, the National Agency for Safeguarding Cultural Heritage and a group of independent experts should be put in charge of monitoring the fulfillment of these obligations.