
A conclusive conference
for the “Social Inclusion Support Sub-program" was held at the Ilia State
University conference hall, where the guests had the opportunity to view
special presentations created by the program beneficiaries – individuals with
special educational needs, as well as the students of Georgian public schools regarding
the events conducted by the” Social Inclusion Support Sub-program”.
The subprogram participants (public school students, students, SEN students and
Romani people) provided the information to the audience with the history and
culture of the Romani people, as well as their problems and everyday life.
For the duration of
several years, the Ministry of Education and Science has been actively taking
care of the ethnic minorities, and the integration of the Romani people into
the Georgian educational system. In order to ameliorate the language skills and
better integrate the youth with their peers, a “Social Inclusion Support
Sub-program” has been launched, which entails a variety of activities during
the school time. These activities, such as; reading and theater clubs, thematic
gatherings and meetings, and conferences) attract beneficiaries with mutual
interests (including adolescents with different religious beliefs, and ethnic
backgrounds). The cohabitation with the volunteer peers gave the beneficiary
adolescents the motivation to receive education, as well as creating a positive
atmosphere at the educational institution.
Within
the scope of the Sub-program, public school volunteers are being trained to
cooperate; re-trained beneficiaries are actively engaging in the social life;
and are participating in the process of searching for the new beneficiaries and
identifying the problems.
Conference participants noted, that it is
important for the government to protect the rights of the ethnic
minorities. Additionally
it is crucial to effectively implement
such programs, which
on one hand preserves their ethnic identity,
whilst actively integrating
them into the society.