“Debates Program” in the Georgian Armed Forces
Friday, November 6
The Ministry of Defence of Georgia launched another new project – the Debates Program. The purpose of the project is to support the future leaders of the Georgian Army in mastering the skills of discussion, eloquence and critical analysis. The first debates about NATO integration were held at the National Defence Academy of Georgia, in the framework of NATO Week, which was organized by the Information Center on NATO and the EU. The Minister of Defence of Georgia, Tinatin Khidasheli, and her Deputy Ana Dolidze attended the presentation of a pilot project.
“One of the most important components of any educational process should be structure debates, more experiments and giving more opportunities to our students. They should have the chance to discuss, debate and talk in a free environment that is not considered in the so-called conventional curricula. Support from the Information Center on NATO and the EU in this regard is of the utmost importance. We introduced a guest speaker series as a parallel system. Many professionals are working in our country as well as abroad in various fields, and we try to attract many of them and increase the engagement of our students in various discussions. We are not talking about our youthful generation who are making a decision about their future career, and it is important for us to know that their decision to stay in the Georgian Army is firm. Even if they decide to leave the Army, their choice should be well thought out,” Tinatin Khidasheli said.
Cadets of various courses took part in the debates – “Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic Choice”. Four teams had a discussion about seven topics, arguing about pros and cons of the integration process. Members of the Jury – Deputy Defence Minister Ana Dolidze, the Head of the Information Center on NATO and EU Elene Gotsadze, and the Director of the Center on Democracy and Strategic Studies Giorgi Rukhadze nominated the best team, two best debaters and sympathy of the Jury.
Parliamentary Debates is a wide-spread competition at High Schools around the world. The debates help the participants in the development of critical thinking, effective communication and research. Debates about the defence and security sphere will now be held regularly in the Georgian Armed Forces.
The Defence Minister also met with the leadership of Defence Academy and was briefed about the aims and objectives of the educational institution.
