Esma Berikishvili, PhD student of Social and cultural anthropology at Ilia State University, received a four-month residential fellowship at the Center for Eastern European Studies (CEES) at the University of Zurich. At the CEES she will work on a project titled “The City of Eternal Promises – Navigating Infrastructure, Informal Economies, and Geopolitical Dynamics in Poti, Georgia”. This project explores how local communities in Poti have responded to the socio-economic changes triggered by the neoliberal reforms and infrastructural developments since the Rose Revolution. It investigates the impact of these policy shifts on everyday life, livelihoods, and the broader social and economic dynamics within the community. During her fellowship, Esma will deliver a lecture – “Ruined Infrastructures and Informal Economies: The Post-Neoliberal Landscape of Poti, Georgia”. The lecture will explore the intersection of infrastructure, neoliberal reform, and informal economic practices in the port city of Poti, Georgia.

2024