Several Caravan events took place in different cities of Georgia on 8 October.
The day started with the presentation of the modelling game “Sinoli” at the Shota Rustaveli State University in Batumi. The meeting gathered 27 motivated trainees, teachers from different schools.
The presentation was conducted by Maka Bibileishvili, a citizenship education expert. The participants of the meeting were also other experts Natalie Gamtsemlidze and Tamar Karaia.
The aim of the game was the influence of media on public opinion and citizens’ behaviour. The simulation game showed the participants the importance of balanced and objective information.
The presentation was interactive and did not resemble a standard lecture. The participants openly expressed their emotions, declared their interests and asked questions. Teachers who participated in the meeting noted that the situations described in the game were very similar to the situation in Georgia. They noted that today it has become difficult to distinguish misinformation from reality, and the media have a significant influence on the formation of public opinion.
“I think that meeting was useful. I will definitely use the experience I`ve gained today in my class at school. I strongly believe that the information that simulation games gives them will be used in practice”
Ketevan Surmanidze
„Caravan is really adorable project, which maintain principles of democracy. Meeting was such a pleasure for me and for all of the participants. I will definitely implement the received knowledge and an experience“
Nugzar Beridze
Another presentation of the game was held in parallel at School #15 in Rustavi. It was conducted by Sopio Bachilava, an expert in citizenship education.
The participants of the meeting were 23 civic education teachers, several schoolchildren, as well as the Chairperson of the Shida Kartli Regional Council Lia Gugunishvili.
The next meeting was also held within the walls of the University in Batumi. Sixteen teachers under the leadership of Nino Gvaramadze discussed the 12 recommendations of the European Union on the establishment of democracy. The participants of the meeting discussed the principles of democracy as well as each of the 12 recommendations.
The possibility of using these topics in the educational process was also discussed during the meeting. The participants shared the opinion that the implementation of the recommendations would be a step towards democracy in the country.
“The meeting helped me to understand how important it is to fulfill the 12 recommendations of the European Union in the process of developing Georgian democracy.”
Lado Shainidze
“The topic of the lecture was especially important to me, as I am a historian by profession. I gained even more in-depth knowledge about civil, state, administrative management”
Kemal Gorgadze
“Today’s meeting once again convinced me how important it is to receive news and implement it in school life. I will describe the project with three words: positive, democratic, equal.”
Natalia Kadagidze
Another information meeting was held at School #5 in Bolnisi, Kvemo Kartli region. Citizenship education experts Maka Kemkhadze and Keti Mukhiguli organised a discussion on how young people can get involved in issues important to themselves and society.
Another venue of the Caravan was the Centre for Management of Vocational Programmes and Continuing Education, where the project participants discussed the importance and peculiarities of using electronic and other mechanisms for teaching citizenship education in vocational colleges.
The participants received information from Lela Javakhishvili on how to request public information from different institutions, how to create a petition to be able to prevent/solve problems and issues in their community.
The caravan team also travelled to the seaside town of Chakvi, where they were received by students from the First People’s School. Here, the students, their parents and teachers watched and discussed the short film “Sky”, the main storyline of which is devoted to the issue of equality and humanity. The issue of socialisation of people with disabilities is an urgent challenge for Georgia today and therefore such discussions play a great role in the process of forming a democratic society.
The participants discussed the content of the film and talked about the main problems of people with disabilities and possible ways to solve them. The participants were maximally involved in the discussion process and noted that such meetings should be held more often.
“In my opinion, the film shows the problems of socialization of disabled people in a best possible way. I liked the project very much and I am glad that I got involved. I am attracted to such projects and I want them to continue.”
Salome Beridze
“The project is very important for raising civic awareness and establishing democratic principles. From this one meeting, we saw how much it is needed for parents to be involved in similar activities and it also appeared that they are willing to participate in the similar projects.”
School principal – Lela Kontselidze
Caravan in Georgia is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office. The local partner of Caravan is a Civic Education Teachers’ Forum (CETF, Georgia).
Read more:
The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan in Georgia has started
See the programme of the EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan in Georgia