WSIS Forum 2018 Photo Contest Finalist

Internet Access for Tusheti V

WSIS Forum 2018 Photo Contest Finalist

Internet Access for Tusheti V

Zurab Babulaidze (right), Irakli Khvedaguridze (centre) and Murmani Tcharelidze talking to Khvedaguridze's son on a Viber video call from the village of Bochorna in Tusheti, a beautiful and very remote region of the Greater Caucasus Mountains in the Republic of Georgia, on 15 July 2017. Babulaidze and Tcharelidze were part of a team building a solar-powered wireless network bringing broadband to Tusheti, and had just installed a connection at Khvedaguridze's home. Bochorna is said to be the highest continuously settled place in Europe. During the long winter, when the road to Tusheti is impassable, 76 year-old Khvedaguridze is the village's sole resident. He is the local doctor, and must go out on his homemade skis if his services are required by one of the very few people who stay in Tusheti during the winter. The project was a joint effort between several organizations including the Internet Society, Small & Medium Telecom Operators Association, the Tusheti Development Fund and Freenet. It aims to support Tushetians’ ability to build economic opportunities while preserving their heritage, traditions, and ways of life.

Bochorna, Tusheti, Republic of Georgia


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