Visual Education Center - Pankisi Mediatheque, was inaugurated on 21st May 2022 in the village Jokolo at Nazy’s Guest House.

Pankisi Mediatheque is part of a new concept developed by Tbilisi Photo Festival together with Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum. The concept of the Visual Education Center aims at creation and activation of alternative educational platforms in diverse geographical locations in Georgia.

Pankisi Mediatheque is a non-formal educational platform in Pankisi Valley and provides new educational and professional opportunities to the local youth. It focuses on visual literacy using the power of documentary image as a tool for civic development. The mediatheque consists of photo book library, rich multimedia archives freely accessible for mediatheque users and educational program “Fabrika of Images”, with series of theoretical lectures and workshops on photography, media literacy, digital security etc.

The project is implemented by Tbilisi Photo Festival in partnership with the Tbilisi Photography & Multimedia Museum and Nazy’s Guest House. The project is financially supported by the Georgian Center for Strategy and Development.

In 2018, PVTDA collaborated with Ostava University and Charles University in Czechia to create a unique exhibition promoting awareness of the Kists and Pankisi Valley, as well as presenting information about its tourism potential to leaders, policymakers, institutions, academics, professionals, media, and the public, in order to foster better understanding, relations, and peace.

Vincenc Kopeček and Slavomír Horák led a group of students to conduct 20 interviews with leading Kist figures as part of their field trip to Georgia. The interviews and accompanying photographic portraits of the Kists comprise the exhibition. It was hosted at the Assembly Hall at the Ostrava University in November 2018, then at the Great Meeting Room at the Institute of International Relations (IIR) in Prague in April 2019.

In 2019, PVTDA worked in partnership with USAID Zrda to produce the first Kist cookbook called "Kisturi Tabla".

This is a professional quality cookbook presenting a range of recipes, written in English and Georgian.

This book is more than just a collection of traditional Kist recipes, it is a part of a larger holistic effort to promote and develop culinary tourism in Georgia.

Through this work, Kist cuisine has been brought to the limelight, telling a unique story of Kist identity and culture.

"Kisturi Tabla invites you on a journey through the world of traditional Kist cuisine while highlighting the diversity of the rich and flavourful gastronomy of our country. This book is a project intended to showcase traditional Kist cuisine in support of sustainable tourism development in the region and contribute to the continuous celebration of the country's diverse gastronomic heritage both in Georgia and abroad, with a focus on unexplored regional culinary traditions."

Ketevan Tchumburidze (Chief of Party, USAID/Zrda)

In 2019, Tom Masters from Lonely Planet visited Nazy’s Guest House to learn about Pankisi Valley and local sustainable tourism. Subsequently, Tom included an excellent feature providing useful information in the Lonely Planet travel guide book for Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan in its June 2020 publication.

This was the first time Pankisi Valley has been included in a major international travel publication with global appeal and reach.

This recognition for Pankisi Valley as an interesting, safe and inviting travel destination in Georgia, is a remarkable achievement, placing the Kists and Pankisi Valley firmly on the national and international tourism map.

PVTDA mobilized its local and international network of supporters to help provide vulnerable people in Pankisi Valley with food and other essentials from the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Through the generous donations PVTDA received it was able to provide food parcels to 185 families locally who were identified as vulnerable. Additionally, 30 people were provided financial assistance to cover medical expenses and other priority needs.

In August 2020, PVTDA completed the cleaning and restoration of the oldest cemetery in Jokolo, Pankisi Valley, thanks to the generous financial support provided by Mike Romanes and Ray Cook. To protect the cemetery, a wire fence was installed around the site to prevent cows and other animals from trespassing and causing damage, as well as keeping litter out. The overgrown vegetation was cleared and collapsed grave stones were assembled to reconstruct the graves.

The cemetery belongs to the early Kist settlement period (early 1800s) and was the first cemetery in Jokolo. The gravestones are marked with Georgian inscriptions. The cemetery is an important cultural heritage site.

In 2020, PVTDA implemented the “Healthy Environment, Economically Strong Women” project funded by the Women's Fund in Georgia. It provided information on environmental issues and educational training courses about environmental protection.

The project aimed to raise awareness and establish a public monitoring system to facilitate the exchange of information and develop sustainable solutions to protect the environment.