The Mission of the Alexander Kartveli Association
A Not for Profit Georgian Entity
The story of Alexander Kartveli and his contributions to aviation science and US-Georgian relations is one of courage, freedom and perseverance and speaks poignantly to events unfolding today in the area of democracy and human rights.
Since 2014, we have embarked on a major preservation effort to collect rare footage, images and artifacts about Alexander Kartveli and publish the collection on a dedicated website. To continue this work and to better garner support for the mission of the Association, the founding member, Richard Rubin, created a not for profit organization in Georgia (the Alexander Kartveli Association). That effort culminated in a 2016 exhibit at the Georgian National Museum curated to highlight Kartveli's life and accomplishments. The exhibit greatly advanced awareness about Kartveli and the Association's mission and helped create the platform for all the Association's current programs that continue to unfold today.
Our work continues to date with an exhibit at the Free University in late 2016 and now the opening of a dedicated learning center with the National Youth and Children's Palace in Georgia.
From our inception we have generated public awareness about this prominent major aircraft designer and aeronautical engineer who has remained largely unknown for decades. The outreach campaign and preservation efforts are designed to:
• Create and increase awareness of Kartveli's scientific achievements and personal life qualities that made his impact on the world stage so compelling;
• Promote and underwrite, to the extent possible, academic scholarships at the high school or college level for Georgian students and professional internships in the areas of math, science, entrepreneurship and scientific innovation (STEM) as well as to work with corporate sponsors and supporters to achieve this goal; and,
• Curate events related to the arts, sciences, education and general information that highlights Kartveli's and life and contribution to Georgian, U.S. and European relations.
Notable Achievements:
• The Association together with the Georgian National Museum (GNM), curated an exhibit about Alexander Kartveli's life and accomplishments. The exhibit was announced at the November 2014 Science Fair hosted by the GNM. It showcased real artifacts from Kartveli’s personal collection of model planes and sketches obtained though loan arrangements and gifts from museums in the United States. The exhibit opening was widely covered in the media. In attendance was Georgia's Prime Minister and Wesley Clarke, who symbolically represented the U.S;
• We created awareness by publishing articles in the American Chamber of Commerce and International Chamber of Commerce magazines over the 2015 holiday season and in early 2016 in the Investor.ge magazine.
• In November 2016, Richard Rubin, Founding Member, was featured in Voice of America (Georgia) news documentary aired in Georgia as well as in public speaking engagements at Diaspora Days in mid 2016.
• We opened an Alexander Kartveli educational exhibit at the Free and Agricultural University in Tbilisi in late 2016.
The Future
The Association is developing plans to open a learning center in Tbilisi that will promote STEM educational programs and create a resource center for further research about Kartveli. The learning center will also house the various artifacts related to Kartveli collected over the years by Aviation Media LLC (its parent) and the Association.