UNICEF 75 anniversary marked with a national teachers’ conference in Georgia

Tbilisi, Georgia, 11 December 2021. UNICEF Georgia joins the global UNICEF 75 anniversary with the national teachers’ conference aimed at sharing digital educational resources to ensure inclusive and quality education for all children in Georgia. The conference is organized as part of the three-year partnership between the Ministry of Education and Science, the Norwegian Government and UNICEF aimed at strengthening the quality and inclusiveness of the national education system. The Education for All Coalition, Ilia State University and STEM association also joined efforts to organize the conference to further enhance digital learning opportunities.

The conference was attended by more than 200 STEM subject teachers across Georgia. Opening remarks were delivered by Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF Representative in Georgia, Berika Shukakidze, Director of the National Center for Teacher Professional Development, Giga Zedania, Rector of Ilia State University, Irina Khantadze, Head of the Education Coalition and Neeru Khosla, Executive Director of the CK-12 Foundation.

"Among other solutions, we urgently need to reimagine education by revolutionizing learning and skills development through digital learning and internet connectivity for every child in Georgia." - Ghassan Khalil

“This year UNICEF turns 75 – a milestone anniversary at a critical juncture”, says Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF Representative in Georgia. “The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated deep-rooted inequality and the most vulnerable children are the most affected. Yet these disruptions also present a unique window of opportunity to reimagine the future for every child. Among other solutions, we urgently need to reimagine education by revolutionizing learning and skills development through digital learning and internet connectivity for every child in Georgia. Thanks to the support from the Norwegian Government and in close partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science we continue working to ensure children in Georgia have access to quality digital educational resources. We call teachers to apply these resources into their daily work to make lessons more interesting and engaging,” added Khalil.  

Covid 19 pandemic posed challenges to the education sector in Georgia including delivery of quality lessons remotely and scarcity of high quality open digital resources. In response to these challenges, UNICEF initiated and supported a partnership between the Ministry of Education and Science, CK12 Foundation and Georgian Education Coalition to ensure translation and adaptation of CK12 digital educational resources for Georgian students.

With UNICEF’s support, a Georgian language webpage www.ck12.edu.ge was created which provides access to adapted digital books in all STEM subjects for basic and secondary school students. More than 200 teachers have been mobilized across the country who are successfully using those resources. The project also envisages the development of the online portal by the Teacher Professional Development Center in cooperation with UNICEF and Education for All Coalition to consolidate and to promote the use of digital programmes and resources in accordance with national education policy.

Throughout the year, UNICEF Georgia organized various activities to commemorate the 75^th anniversary with the slogan “Reimagine the future” being the main driver. A series of digital advocacy trainings were organized for young people to empower them to identify and solve the issues and challenges in their communities. A number of discussions were held with teachers and young people in different regions of Georgia about access to the internet and electronic devices. A safe school reopening and reducing the digital divide advocacy campaigns were carried out including meetings with government officials, community leaders, decision-makers, teachers, parents and children as well as field visits and an intensive media engagement.