Project title: Raising Awareness on Georgia’s Europeanization in Academia
Project acronym: RAGEA
Project number: 575096-EPP-1-2016-1-GE-EPPJMO-PROJECT
Project Duration: September 2016 – February 2018
RAGEA project, implemented by the Center for Social Sciences in 2016-2018, aimed to support Georgia’s academic community in its efforts to advance their knowledge and engage in the discussions on European integration. For this purpose, series of seminars, public talks and debates, and an international conference was organized during 18 months of the project duration. As a result, students of higher education institution in Tbilisi and regional cities attended and participated in the seminars and so-called EU Talks – series of public debates dedicated to various topics of Europeanization, including mechanisms of Europeanization, education and employment, foreign policy and security, etc. The project was concluded by an international academic conference entitled “Performing Europeanization: the Case of Georgia and Other EaP Countries” that brought together established and emerging international and local practitioners and scholars who shared their research findings on the current developments and transformations taking place in Georgia and other EaP countries, as well as the EU’s enlargement strategy and Europeanization mechanisms targeting the EaP region.
Seminars:
Seminars were conducted in the following universities:
- Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (Tbilisi)
- Ilia State University (Tbilisi)
- International Black Sea University Tbilisi
- Iakob Gogebashvili Telavi State University (Telavi)
- Samtskhe-Javakheti State University (Akhaltsikhe)
- Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University (Batumi)
- Shota Meskhia Zugdidi State Teaching University (Zugdidi)
Seminar Topics:
- Mechanisms of Europeanization in Georgia
- Georgia’s Foreign Policy Vision within the Context of Europeanization
- Europeanization and political Institutes and Actors in Georgia
- Georgian National Identity in the Context of Europeanization
- Higher Education Reform in the Context of Europeanization
- Political and Popular Discourses about Georgia’s Europeanization
Target group: university undergraduate and graduate students.
Series of EU Talks:
- “Higher Education and Science in the Context of Europeanization”
- “Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Programme”
- “Georgia’s EU Integration since Signing the Association Agreement: Achievements and Challenges”
- “Role of Media in the Context of Georgia’s EU Integration”
- Students’ EU Talks – Panel I
- Students’ EU Talks – Panel 2
- “CSOs in the Context of Georgia’s EU Integration”
- “Human Rights in the Context of Georgia’s EU Integration: Achievements and Challenges”
Target group: Each EU Talk featured representatives of the various groups: students, university professors, CSO representatives. Each EU talk had several presenters and a moderator.
International Conference:
At the final stage of the RAGEA project, 2-days international conference entitled “Performing Europeanization: The Case of Georgia and Other EaP Countries” was organized at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. The conference brought together established and emerging international and local practitioners and scholars who shared their research findings on the current developments and transformations taking place in Georgia and other EaP countries, as well as the EU’s enlargement strategy and Europeanization mechanisms targeting the EaP region. The conference was attended by the representatives of Erasmus+ and EU Delegation in Georgia. The scholars from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Germany, Hungary, and Ireland participated in the conference.
Target group: students, professors, CSO and governmental representatives.
Honorary Guests:
The project featured not only the representatives of the Georgian academic community, but that of governmental structures as well:
EU Talks honorary participants:
- Ambassador Janos Herman, Delegation of the European Union to Georgia
- Dr. Anna Dolidze, then Parliamentary Secretary of the President of Georgia
- Dr. Lika Glonti, Head of Erasmus+ National Office in Georgia
- Ms. Manana Mikaberidze, then Director General of Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation
- Dr. Kakha Gogolashvili, Director of EU Studies Center at Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies
- Ms. Nino Bolkvadze, Head of Information Center on Nato and EU
Part of seminars were conducted by
- Mr. George Khelashvili, Advisor to the Head of the Parliament of Georgia
- Mr. Levan Makhashvili, Advisor to the Head of the Parliament of Georgia
Invited participants to the conference:
- Dr. George Mchedlishvili, Advisor for the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
- Dr. Attila Melegh, Corvinus University of Budapest
- Dr. Abel Polese, Dublin City University
- Dr. Esther Ademmer, Free University of Berlin
The EU Talks and the international conference were livestreamed through CSS official Facebook. According to the Facebook statistics, each video had an average of 200 views, making in total of 1525 views and 5092 reaches for the EU Talks, and 1252 views and 7661 reaches for conference panels.