The Erasmus + Jean Monnet project – “Advancing European values and standards in Georgian schools” (EU-GS) – has been completed. The concluding conference was held on May 31, 2022, in the conference hall of the “Republic” and was attended by about 80 people.

Honorary guests included members of the government, the representatives of European embassies, local and international non-governmental organizations and, of course, the  general and higher education sector, including project beneficiaries.

The conference was opened by the First Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Tamar Makharashvili, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Science, Giorgi Amilakhvari, and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Integration, Maka Bochorishvili. After the welcome speeches, the project manager, Tatia Dolidze, informed the participants about the goals, progress and results of the project, and announced the conference opened.

Within the first panel, Giorgi Gobronidze, fieldwork coordinator, and Levan Makhashvili, chief project Researcher, discussed the challenges of the research phase and the recommendations of the policy document. There was also an virtual speech delivered from Estonia. The international expert, Einar Vara, shared the experience of the EU countries and gave relevant advice to Georgia.

The second panel was devoted to a methodological manual and a summary of trainings held of school principals and teachers around Georgia. The panelists were the project analytical team members and trainers Giorgi Lekveishvili, Nino Gvaramadze, Lela Abdushelishvili, Mariam Kilanava and Ekaterine Natsvlishvili, who presented their own training modules and discussed the overall applicability of the methodological manual.

The third and final panel dealt with the dissemination and communication phase. Among the speakers were Nino Tsereteli, Head of the Higher Department of the Ministry of Education; Beneficiary public school principals, Lia Gabinashvili and Tamar Abazadze; Representative of the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement, project researcher Nikoloz Parjanadze and project administrative assistant, Mariam Mania. Talks focused on project dissemination activities, such as adapted trainings for students, public discussions in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Telavi, and sub-grant funding for schoolchildren’s mini-projects.

The conference, together with the project manager, was closed by Nino Petviashvili, a member of the Teachers’ House, who took responsibility for integrating the project policy document and methodological manual into the European University Teacher Training Program she leads.