7 July 2006

Georgian students write essays on NATO Link Essay by the competition winner (PDF/19Kb) In April 2006, the Information Center on NATO in Georgia launched a project aimed at raising awareness about the Alliance in the the country’s high schools. Together with the Ministry of Education, the Information Center on NATO selected 20 schools that covered all areas of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. After the selection process, the Information Center on NATO held a two-day seminar for around 40 school teachers. The seminar covered the history of NATO and NATO-Georgian relations. In addition to Information Center on NATO staff, presenters included experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, and the Office of the State Minister of Integration into European and Euro-Atlantic Structures. After the seminar, participating teachers taught special classes dedicated to NATO and NATO-Georgian relations. A total of 2,400 students attended these special classes and participated in an essay writing competition. The topic of the essay was Georgia and NATO. During the next stage, each school presented the two best essays, which were submitted to the special interagency commission, composed of experts from the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Office of the State Minister of Integration into European and Euro-Atlantic Structures, and the Information Center on NATO. The commission selected the winner of the competition, who was awarded first prize, a visit to NATO headquarters. Runners up received prizes from the co-sponsor of the project, the mobile phone company Geocell. The others (as well as the winner and runners up) received T-shirts and hats with the NATO logo.