On June 25, the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) held a concluding event of the project ” Protecting IDP rights during the COVID-19 crisis in Georgia“. The project was funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The first part of the event was held in the village of Obcha, Baghdati, where an agricultural tour was organized for the project beneficiaries in the enterprise “Baia Wine”. The entrepreneur Baia Abuladze held an inspirational meeting with the youth on the topic “Entrepreneurship and the active role of women in the development of entrepreneurship.” She shared her experience with young visitors and talked about entrepreneurship, challenges, and ways to succeed. The participants of the meeting visited the vineyards and the cellar and visited the place where wine is produced.
The second part of the event was held in Kutaisi, where Anna Gabeskiria, Master of Labor and Organization Psychology, Visiting Lecturer at the Agrarian and Free Universities of Georgia, held an inspirational meeting on “Social Influences and Stereotypes in Profession Selection, Understanding Success in the Profession and Obstacles”.
At the end of the event, the project achievements were summarized and the participants of the peer educators’ training course were award certificates.
The UNDP-supported project, implemented by EDEC in Imereti, Shida Kartli, and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti aimed to address youth needs and promote youth participation in the development and delivery of the response to COVID-19 and to improve entrepreneurship skills among conflict-affected young women living in the areas adjacent to Georgia’s administrative boundary lines (ABLs).
A peer education program was introduced under the project. 30 young people were trained in the target regions. They deepened their knowledge on issues such as human rights; COVID-19 virus prevention in educational institutions; domestic violence; diversity, tolerance, and peacebuilding. In order to motivate the youth, meetings were held with famous public figures: Bidzina Kulumbegov, the allergist-immunologist, Giorgi Mshvenieradze, the lawyer, and Rusudan Gotsiridze, the Bishop of the Evangelical Baptist Church.
Peer educators shared the gained knowledge through informational meetings with the public school students and young people living in IDP settlements in the target regions.
A design competition “Peace and Human Rights” was held for the project participants. The participants of the training course presented a logo/symbol that reflected the idea of peacebuilding and the protection of human rights. Various branded items were made with 4 winning symbols, which were handed over by the peer educators to distribute among the young people attending the information meetings.
In addition, within the project 40 young women attended the online training to develop entrepreneurial skills. EDEC also provided them with mentoring and consulting services.
