UNESCO recognition of Georgian wheat culture is world-class acknowledgment of our identity

in Georgian identity. “Today is a special and proud day for Georgia. In New Delhi, India, the Intergovernmental Committee made a historic decision to include ‘Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals’ in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This is a world-class recognition of a truth encoded in our genetics — in Georgia, wheat has never been merely food. For millennia, it has been an integral part of our identity, spirituality and very existence,” Kobakhidze said. The Prime Minister emphasized Georgia’s unique place in the global history of wheat cultivation. “Georgia is one of the oldest centers of wheat origin. Of the 20 wheat species known worldwide, 15 grow on Georgian soil, five of which are endemic and found nowhere else in the world. This biodiversity is a living treasure preserved by our ancestors and passed down to us,” he noted. According to Kobakhidze, centuries of labor and tradition have shaped a cultural heritage that unites ...