Civic Awareness Workshop in Georgia Makes Strides with High School Students

Between October and December 2008, no less than 550 Georgian high school students based in regions ranging from coastal Batumi in the Southwest, to Telavi in the East, applied for the 40 slots available for the Democracy Awareness Workshop, organized by Mikheil Benidze ’06. FLEX alumni commitment to the values of civic engagement was an engine of the event’s success, and the high number of applications. The project overall was aimed at “raising civic awareness and promoting the values of democracy and civil society by strengthening the civic education level in Georgian youth.”

In order to get out the word about the workshop, Benizde and project co-author Eka Rostamshvili ’06 collaborated with the Educational Resource Centers of the Georgian Ministry of Education, and advertised through the FLEX alumni network. Alumni such as Ketevan Chaduneli ’07, Dodo Gotsiridze ’07, Ana Jonjua ’06, Ia Okhanasvili ’05, Sophie Rostomashvili ’06, and Ketevan Tateshvili ’07 encouraged civically motivated youth to apply from high schools in Khashuri, Zugdidi, Telavi, Tbilisi, and Akhaltsikhe respectively. The group of students that were selected assembled at the Tbilisi State University on the morning of February 16, and represented a broad spectrum of geographic regions, interests, and backgrounds. Some participants were Internally Displaced Persons, widely known as IDPs. All participants shared the desire to become more deeply involved in bettering their communities and become more educated proponents of civic-mindedness.

The workshop, which ran February 16 - 19, 2009, included a full day dedicated to each of four basic topics: defining democracy, civic activism and social responsibility, core democratic values, and government and the separation of powers. Eight guest speakers, each with expertise in his or her field, made presentations during the course of the workshop, and after each lecture the students were divided into two groups for discussion. At the outset, students also received booklets outlining speakers’ backgrounds, and the schedule for the workshop.

David Aprasidze, professor of Philosophy and Social Science at Ilia Chavchavadze State University, opened the workshop with a talk on democracy in transition periods. That evening, Lasha Chkhartishvili ’01 shared his experience working in the Michigan state legislature in 2008 as a Legislative Education and Practice (LEAP) alumnus. On the following day, Georgian Public Broadcaster and Radio Host Davit Paitchadze made a presentation on the role of media in democracy, and obstacles frequently faced by Georgian journalists, which was followed by a related group dialogue regarding human rights. Nodar Khaduri, the head of the Macroeconomics program at Tbilisi State University, wrapped up activities for the day with a talk on the market economy, and moderated lively debate on the best economic policies for Georgia.

During the third day, the forty students headed to the Georgian Parliament and Supreme Court, where in addition to being given guided tours, they had the opportunity to speak with Konstantine Kublishvili, chairman of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Kublishvili introduced the group to the country’s system of checks and balances, spoke on the role of the judiciary branch, informed the participants about recent court reforms, and helped the students examine the penitentiary system. The exchange of ideas continued later that day at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies, where the president of the foundation Alexander Rondeli spoke on national security and foreign relations.

U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer Cynthia Whittlesey, as well as FLEX Program Coordinator Tamila Vatcharadze ‘01 and American Councils country Director Tim Blauvelt attended the closing ceremonies for the program, held at the Tbilisi Courtyard Marriott on February 19. Certificates were distributed to the students, and the youth TV studio Radio Fortuna additionally broadcast the event.

The program did much more than bring together a diverse sector (16 Georgian cities plus the capital were represented) of talented youth with government representatives and civic leaders. On the final day, the students were also asked to think about problems in their communities and present their own Community Action Plans regarding how they personally can participate in the development of their local communities. Their Community Action Plans, brainstormed in groups and then presented at the closing ceremony of the Workshop, addressed a wide range of pressing issues, such as AIDS, drugs, poverty, ecology and civic awareness.

In the words of Teona Kontridze from Rustavi (a city located south of Tbilisi) “the most important thing that we learned was how to become active citizens, and this, I believe, is the best assurance of democracy.”