Personal Profile

Zura Balanchivadze, 21, graduated from Tbilisi State University (TSU), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, majored in Journalism. Has passed the course in English in PTG centre and has an IELTS certificate. He is working in Georgian PR and Marketing Communications Company (GEPRA) as a manager of Social Media Press Release Generator. He is focused on social media network. Balanchivadze’s major duty is to watch GEPRA’s WordPress blog and Twitter account.

Currently he is studying at Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) in master’s program in Journalism and Media Management.

He loves painting under impression of classical music. He finds art and culture very interesting and close to his major professional interest. Balanchivadze dreams to become a successful blogger and to lead his own column about art news.

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Twenty one year old GIPA student Zura found a profession which unites his interests – journalism. “Being a journalist means to be interested in a lot of things” he said. That’s why he chose to improve his skills in journalism a GIPA, as he believes that it could be a great contribution in his professional and personal development.

Zura likes to sing, to draw, to go to the theaters and listen to classical music. He has had his own blog since February and has even developed a small, but regular readership where they often have lively discussions. He also posts his articles on facebook. Mainly he writes about issues as varied as classical music concerts or street painting with chalk, or helps raise money causes that have benefited independently displaced persons from the August war.

“Being a journalist helps me to develop my skills in writing as it is important for a blogger to have his own style,” says Zura.   

Zura says he can watch or read the same thing several times and every time find something new about it, like the performance of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” which he watched four times.

“The first time I hated it, the second time I became interested in it, the third time I liked it very much, and now I really admire it,” he recalls.

Zura likes simplicity, and warmth. “I like big warm rooms with only a few things in it and the lights turned on” says Zura. This doesn’t only refer to his space perception but to everything, even his relationships with other people. He is a friendly person whenever he makes friends with someone he tries to find some common interest and to make to direct and open conversation. “Especially it is easier for me if we are at the same age, as I think we could have a lot of things in common ,” says Zura.