Georgia has many reasons for pride rooted in its history and culture, and one of its greatest distinctions is the Georgian language itself. When reflecting on the strength, beauty, diversity, and depth of the Georgian language, one name inevitably comes to mind — Mzekala Shanidze.
For decades, Ms. Shanidze has stood as a vigilant guardian of the Georgian language, serving science and scholarship with unwavering dedication. Her contribution as a linguist and philologist is immense, as is her role in educating and mentoring generations of students. Beyond academia, she also played a historic public role: Ms. Shanidze was a member of the first convocation of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia and one of the signatories of the Act of Restoration of Georgia’s State Independence on April 9, 1991.
On January 16, 2026, Mzekala Shanidze marked her 100th birthday. Her lifelong work clearly demonstrates how one individual can build a bridge between tradition and modernity. Through her example, she teaches that loving a language means not only protecting it, but also nurturing its continuous development and maintaining a delicate balance between historical memory and innovation.
For TBC Bank, as the creator of the #WriteInGeorgian initiative, preserving the Georgian language as a cultural heritage and actively contributing to its development is a core value. In TBC’s video campaign, viewers will see and hear Ms. Shanidze’s response to one of today’s most pressing questions: in the era of globalization, how do we care for and protect our language?
“At TBC, we believe that language is a living heritage — one that requires not only protection, but constant development. Ms. Mzekala Shanidze is a person who, for decades, has safeguarded the historical roots of the Georgian language while also guiding its thoughtful transformation. We wish not only to express our boundless respect toward her, but also, as the author brand behind #WriteInGeorgian, to take responsibility as a natural extension of our values — to care for the Georgian language and support its continued development,”
— Makuna Tavberidze, Marketing and Brand Experience Leader at TBC
TBC joins the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Mzekala Shanidze — a chronicler of Georgian scholarship and a true guardian of the national language. Inspired by her advice, the brand has symbolically added a punctuation mark to its message, reminding us all: the most important thing is to believe.
