Campaign content

‘’Bjaminoli’’ is a Mengrelian word and in literal translation it means a place from where the sun comes in. That’s why, when we decided to create a space that would bring novelty and mental clarity into people’s lives and give them the opportunity to express their emotions, we didn’t think much about the name. The idea soon became an occupation and we created the first series of electronic music events in Zugdidi. Bjaminoli is founded by people united around an idea. By people of different ages, different statuses, different experiences, who believe that such spaces are much more than just a place to have fun. Zugdidi host the only University of entire region with more than 1200 students. Most of them are from Russia occupied Abkhazia. Upon graduating high schools in Gali, Ochamchire, Sukhumi they left occupied Abkhazia to embark on higher education.  It was based on extensive conversations with these students and lengthy discussions of their interests, we came up with the idea of creating a free and safe space for youth entertainment. In big cities, there are plenty of opportunities and when those students move from the occupied territories to get higher education, it is even more difficult to travel hundreds of kilometers to the capital in order to have fun, develop and socialize. This is how the mission of ‘’Bjaminoli’’ became to launch and popularize a culture of electronic music in Samegrelo region, away from the capital and other major cities. ‘’Bjaminoli’’ has soon become one of the safest, free event series in Zugdidi with diverse guests, where everyone is equal and most importantly - the environment promotes the socialization of local and internally displaced youth. Among youth, we have also discovered a big interest in studying the profession of DJ. This is how a new idea of - founding a DJ School – was born. The school will give many young people the opportunity to develop their musical skills, acquire new profession and strengthen them economically. The absolute necessity to implement this idea is the need of musical equipment (sound recorder, tape recorder, speakers, decks), which is essential part of teaching DJing. The course will be led by invited artists/DJs.  Graduates will be given the ‘’Bjaminoli’’ platform and the music created by new DJs will be promoted through various channels. To sum it up, all this will contribute to the reduction of internal migration towards the capital and will motivate young people living in the region to stay locally and do fascinating work in their own villages and towns. And most importantly - to tell their peers living in Abkhazia that in Georgia, far from the capital, in the regions, there are plenty of opportunities to develop yourself.