The Horizon 2020 Information day was arranged on November 21 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event was organized by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia in collaboration and with the support of the Eap PLUS project. The information day was attended by the representatives of the Georgian scientific community, research universities and scientific centers. The event agenda included the topics related to the  Horizon 2020 Work Programme , participation rules, legal and financial issues, various  opportunities for enhancing international cooperation for Georgian scientists etc. the following speakers delivered presentations:  Dr.  Béla Kardon - the Chief Scientific Officer and Mr.  Ádám Dávid  – international expert from the Regional Centre for Information and Scientific Development (RCISD).   Dr. Teymuras Kurzchalia  – research Group leader at Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics.   The second session of the event focused on the  SPIRE Calls (Sustainable Process Industry)  .   Secure, clean and efficient energy  (2018- 2020)  and SPIRE was presented by the Georgian National Contact Point Ms. Natalia Shatirishvili, SPIRE National Contact Point – Ms. Marita Arabidze and Dr. Jaroslaw Piekarski- National Contact Point in Poland also made a presentation through skype call. The third session was led by the Georgian NCP panel discussing the recently published work programme and the upcoming calls in their fields: Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing (NCP Dr. Maia Okujava); Information and Communication technologies (Dr. Givi Kochoradze); Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine Maritime and inland Water research and the Bioeconomy (NCP Dr. Vladimer Elisashvili). Useful links and materials of the Information day, including the presentations can be found  here.

  Information is avialable in Georgian

  Information is avialable in Georgian

Access4SMEs,  the network of Horizon 2020 National Contact Points (NCP) for Small Medium-sized Enterprises and Access to Risk Finance (SMEs, ARF), would like to invite you to participate in our three next webinars still coming this year. The webinars are listed in the training plan and are parts of the curriculum. Please find the updated  Capacity Building Strategy  attached .  Please find following the invitation to attend the webinars: 1)      InnovFin Science and InnovFin Emerging Innovator  -   basic  on November 17th, 2017 at 12.00 am CET The aim of this webinar is to present the different opportunities included under the new H2020 Access to risk finance 2018-2020 Work Programme and highlight to the NCP community which key messages they should be spreading in their communities. The registration link and the Agenda  –   http://www.access4smes.eu/events-single/?id=17 2)      SMEs in collaborative projects  - basic   on November 30th, 2017 at 10.00 am CET The registration link and the Agenda  –  http://www.access4smes.eu/events-single/?id=16 3)      Business Model Development, Business Plan Developing  - basic  on December 12th, 2017 at 11.00 am CET The link for the webinar in due time, the registration as well as the detailed agenda of the webinar, will be available on the website of Access4SMEs soon. 

On 14 th noveber the hotel “Radison Blue Iveria” guested the scientific research presentation about Georgian winemaking culture. After the presentation, scientists have admitted that the first winemakers in the world were Georgians, and that the culture of winemaking started from Georgia. Professor David Lortkipanidze announced the research results and methods during the presentation. The official scientific journal of the National Academy of Sciences PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America), which is one of the highest-ranking science journals of the world, published the article „Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus". Along with the Georgian researchers, the authors of the article are scientists from USA, France, Italy, Canada, Denmark and Israel. The article describes a new multidisciplinary study, according to which Humans were fermenting grapes into wine in Georgia as early as 6000-5800 BC - in other words, yet 8000 years ago.  Since 2014, with the initiative of Georgian Wine Association and support of Georgian government, National Wine Agency of Georgia guides the international multidisciplinary Research Project for the Study of Georgian Grapes and Wine Culture. The project is joined by the Georgian scientists, as well as by the researchers from Pennsylvania, Montpellier, Milan, Copenhagen and Toronto universities, also the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) and French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA). The scientific director of the project is the corresponding member of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences David Lordkipanidze. The project is coordinated by the National Wine Agency scientist Dr. David Maghradze. The study of the archaeological sites of the Neolithic period (VI Millennium B.C) on the territory of Georgia started yet in 1960-ies by the expeditions of Georgian National Academy of Sciences, Simon Janashia State Museum of Georgia. It was gradually guided by Alexandre Javakhishvili, Otar Japharidze and Tamaz Kiguradze. Currently, the excavations are led by archaeologist Mindia Jalabadze. In recent years, the Georgian National Museum's archaeological expeditions are supported by the National Wine Agency, The Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation and the University of Toronto. The biomolecular and archaeological researches of the newly discovered pieces of jars from "Gadachrili Gora" and "Shulaveri Gora" archaeological sites (Marneuli Region, south-east part of Georgia), led by Pennsylvania University Professor Patrick McGovern, revealed the fingerprint of organic acids: tartaric, malic, succinic, and citric acids. This is a marker for wine, made fromVitis vinifera grape variety. The palaeobotanical studies, held by the Georgian National Museum scientists Eliso Kvavadze and Nana Rusishvili, showed that grapes were abundant in the region during the early Neolithic. The researchers from the University of Milan, headed by Osvaldo Failla, restored the climate of the VI millennium B.C and confirmed, that 8000 years ago, in Kvemo Kartli there were appropriate conditions for vine cultivation. In Israeli Weismann Institute, under the guidance of Elisabetta Boaretto, the age of samples was determined by the method of dating C14. This research proved that these samples are dated with 6000-5800 BC and are 600 years older than previously earliest-known wine remains from Zagros Mountains (Iran).  Thus, the world scientific community recognized that the oldest wine remains were discovered on the territory of Georgia, from where it spread around the world with profound consequences for agriculture, human culture, biology, medicine, and ultimately civilization.

The Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia with support of EaP PLUS Project is organizing Information Day regarding EU Framework programme for research and Innovation “Horizon2020”.  The event will be held on  November, 21, 2017 from 09:30 to 17:30  at the hotel Coutryard by Marriot in Tbilisi.  Main aim of the Information Day is to raise awareness regarding “Horizon 2020” and the programme calls.  H2020 new work programme for 2018-2020  and thematic calls in accordance with various sections of the framework programme will be reviewed on the event along with legal and financial issues, international collaboration opportunities for Georgian scientists (including  Grants for networking ), and project proposal evaluation issues. It is worth mentioning that special attention will be paid to the  SPIRE  (Sustainable Process Industry) calls under the new work programme and EaP countries’ (including Georgia) participation in them. Thus, the event will have special importance for the scientists in the field of Energy. Besides, presentations will be given by the international experts and H2020 National Contact Points (NCPs) during the event. The information day will be held as part of the  EaP PLUS Project  funded by the EU Framework programme for Research and Innovation “Horizon 2020”. Working language of the event is English. The agenda of the Information Day will be published in the nearest future.