On August 19-20, 2020, the eighth group of students graduated from EECMD’s Batumi and Gori Democracy Schools. A conclusive meeting with the students was traditionally held by the organization’s Executive Director, Levan Tsutskiridze. Certificates were handed over to the graduates by the Head of the Democracy Education Program, Nino Khitarishvili, and the Democracy Schools’ coordinators. Batumi Democracy School counts 167 graduates at this stage, while the number of alumni for Gori Democracy School is 214.

The training process for the eighth group started in April 2020. Given the limitations caused by the coronavirus, the training sessions were conducted in an online format, different from the previous practices. This was the first precedent for introducing distance learning during the past ten years.

The attendees spent five months deepening their knowledge and skills on important issues such as contemporary politics, democratization and the formation of a democratic society, forms of civic engagement, economic development of cities, urbanization, cultural heritage, etc. The modified curriculum also included presentations and debates conducted through ZOOM.

It is noteworthy to mention that in addition to the activities covered by the study program, school students participated in online informative meetings and webinars organized by the EECMD at local and national levels. In this regard, online reporting meetings with local government officials on measures taken against the coronavirus were especially remarkable.

Throughout these ten years, EECMD’s network of Democracy Schools has gathered 764 graduates in 5 regions of Georgia. The organization maintains contact with alumni after graduation, too, and offers support in the form of new opportunities and projects.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Georgia, with whom we have a long-term partnership and whose financial support this project is being implemented. At the same time, over the next year, with the Embassy’s support, ​​we plan to implement various activities aimed at strengthening the network of alumni of the Democracy Schools in Georgia and increasing their civic involvement at the local level.

The project is implemented with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Georgia.