Project: Dissemination of Documentary film on MLE Georgia
Date: 2013
Status: Completed
The project was implemented with the financial support of OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM).
Multilingual education is a key approach ensuring cohesion of society regardless of ethnic, linguistic, religious and gender discrepancies of those communities living n the country. Based for an important part on recommendations and expert advice by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), the Georgian government has fully acknowledged that multi-lingual education is conductive to integration of minorities in Georgian society and has embarked on a comprehensive reform to establish multi-lingual education in minority schools.
A documentary film “Georgia: One State Many Languages – Bridging the divide”, which was commissioned in 2012 by OSCE is about HCNM’s ten-year engagement in language education in Georgia. The film aims to raise awareness on the advantages, achievements and challenges of the MLE reform implemented by Ministry of Education of Georgia and reach out to all stakeholders.
The project aims at encouraging all stakeholders to jointly pursue the MLE reform. After a period of unsteady progress of the reform, MoES is currently making steps to develop a broad education strategy, for which the documentary and the outcomes of the discussions could be very useful. Through this short documentary film, the HCNM is taking stock of the achievements attained to make both the necessity for further commitment and the challenges at hand more tangible for the actors involved across the education chain. It covers the changes perceived among the communities in minority areas and the steps made and still to be made by government decisions affecting such aspects as policy, curriculum, teachers’ professional development, facilities, etc. The documentary film also provides an opportunity to give a voice to the many actors involved and give them a new impetus to pursue their joint commitment in the reform.
Project objectives: To raise awareness of all stakeholders on the wide range of activities related to the long-term process of MLE reform, including the valuable contributions of each stakeholder, the results achieved and the challenges encountered in the local conditions; And to stimulate a debate on MLE and convey the necessity of further commitment, interaction and communication between all levels to ensure successful implementation of the reform.
Target groups and beneficiaries: More than 500 participants from Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe Javakheti, who engaged in meetings/debates; 30 persons representing the Ministry of Education and Science and relevant governmental institutions, education experts and specialists, international organizations and NGO’s participated in the final conference in Tbilisi.
Activities:
• Within the project CCIIR organized film screenings and subsequent discussions for various audiences across the country, with the opportunity to talk to people who have benefited from the MLE reform or other HCNM-supported activities. 21 meetings were held in the regions of Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti: in Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe, Ninotsminda, Marneuli, Gardabani, Bolnisi, Dmanisi and in Tsalka. Representatives of minority schools and communities (teachers, school administration, school children and their parents), local officials and other stakeholders engaged in the meetings/debates at the village schools and Education Recourse Centers.
• Short collage-film was produced by CCIIR. All the meetings conducted in Samtske-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli were represented in this video and the key thoughts, assumptions, attitudes, considerations and ideas of the participants were emphasized.
• CCIIR organized the conference on impact, outcome and future steps for representatives of MoES, including policy makers and implementers, independent experts, education specialists, NGO’s and international society working on education reform and civic integration issues in Georgia. The one-day conference included projection of the film and a collage-film from the meetings.
Georgia: One State, Many Languages