International conference dedicated to 10 years of Eastern Partnership takes place in Tbilisi

An international conference dedicated to the common European values and their promotion was opened on in Tbilisi on June 25 at Holiday Inn Hotel.

The Conference provided insight into the value system, and its history, as well as modern, challenges to the said values. Speakers provided multiple interesting discussion panels all focused around the education and cultural exchange. Speakers highlighted the importance of sharing their practices and experiences from the European Union to the members of the Eastern Partnership. The conference took place within the framework of Erasmus+.

The Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia was present and delivered one of the opening speeches alongside Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport and Mikheil Batiashvili, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia.

The first speaker of the event was Dr. Jan Wouters, who talked extensively about common European values and its origins. During his speech, he dissected the character of the Union and how it transformed from the strictly economic organization to what it is today, which is a union focused around the idea of shared values, respect for human dignity, democracy, the rule of law and freedom.

Dr. Wouters also talked about the challenges in the EU regarding these values and the differences within the member states and their attitudes towards these values as well as the implementation of basic principles of the EU. While on paper integrating these principles into everyday life seems simple, the reality sometimes presents challenges within the EU and its allies.

The first official panel was completed with representatives from Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as Ukraine.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, Natia Zedginidze posed three main questions. The first part of the discussion focused around the debate on whether or not the common value’s practice through educational developments was a task or an opportunity.

The speakers agreed on the necessity of this change and about the responsibility for each one of the members of the Eastern Partnership to partake in the development process and to talk openly about the challenges, while also considering and cherishing their values and traditions.

Firudin Gurbanov, the Deputy Minister of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, talked about the importance of maintaining one’s own identity while embracing growth and development. Gurbanov also spoke about the immense importance of the unconventional education methods as well as the importance of preschool age and its importance in character development. According to Gurbanov’s statement, raising well rounded and self-aware individuals of “quality” is just as important as giving them traditional education and teaching them about “the word and history.”

The representatives then talked about the challenges as well as the improvements made throughout the years within the framework of the EaP. The need for change in the approach towards the promotion of cultural values was also brought up by the moderator.

Primarily the message was that these countries are on the right track and have achieved a lot during these 10 years, but the speakers agreed on seeing the need for change in the approach towards the promotion of these values.

The main challenges discussed were corruption, implementations of judicial reforms and the Rule of Law, as well as the protection of the environment and actively tackling climate change.

Audrone Perkauskiene, Head of Eastern Partnership, the Head of Eastern Partnership talked about the responsibility, a task to provide the people of the countries of the Eastern Partnership with the opportunity to benefit from these projects and adopt the tested practices from the EU.

The benefits of visa-free regimes were also brought up, which is critical in promoting the movement of both EU and partner country citizens in a secure and well-managed environment. The EU has facilitation and readmission agreements in place with Armenia and has finalized negotiations with Belarus.

One of the achievements, highlighted during the panel was the Easier access to a high-capacity broadband internet network for 2 million scientists, academics and students at over 700 Research and Education institutions in the six Eastern Partner countries. And of course, the ERASMUS+ program, that is so heavily utilized in Georgia, as well as other members of the EaP, was mentioned as one of the successes of the Eap, along with other projects allowing young people to develop their skills and foster their employability through different EU programs.

The attendees had an option to attend follow up parallel sessions on Integrity in Education and Research, Education for Democratic Participation and Civic Engagement, Critical Thinking, and Media Literacy. The conference will also continue on June 26.