Teachers from Pankisi Visit Brussels

A 20-member group of teachers and principals from the public schools of Pankisi Gorge went to Brussels, Belgium, on a study visit. On the first day, they were hosted by the Kingdom of Belgium and the Ambassador of Georgia to Luxembourg, Natalia Sabanadze. The main theme of the meeting was European values, Georgia's aspiration to Euro-Atlantic structures and EU-Georgia cooperation.

Later, the Pankisi teachers visited the European External Action Service (EEAS), where they met with the Group Leader and received information about EU projects, relations with Georgia and future prospects. The first day was completed at the private school of Belgium "Ecole International Mongomery", where teachers were acquainted with the characteristics of the Belgian education system and school teaching methods.

According to Deputy State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia Lia Gigauri, each teacher had the chance to ask important questions in the course of their work and received information that will be forwarded to students, parents and other representatives of the community after returning home.

“Program participants visited Belgium’s private school with great interest,” Gigauri said. “It was interesting for them to learn how to organize the learning process, communicate with pupils and what values feature in the education system there. This day from them was evaluated as very informative, important and even a turning point,” she added.

The Pankisi teachers started their second day with a visit to NATO. They met with the relevant persons at the Alliance, including the representative of Georgia in NATO, and received information about NATO-Georgia relations, planned events, the way forward for Georgia to join the Alliance.

“NATO is the guarantor of our peace, the salvation of our people,” said Lamara Margoshvili, a teacher at the Duisi public school.

The project was implemented by the Office of the State Minister of Georgia on Reconciliation and Civic Equality and the NATO & EU Info Center, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The financial supporter of the project is the EU Delegation to Georgia.

By Mariam Merabishvili

Image source: NATO & EU Info Center