On December 28, 2015, the Central Election Commission and the Training Center summed up the pilot awareness-raising and training projects implemented under the program Society and Elections.
Tamar Zhvania, CEC Chair, Giorgi Sharabidze, Deputy CEC Chair, and Natia Zaalishvili, Training Center Director, opened the meeting. They spoke about the importance of the mentioned projects.
25 trainers participated in the meeting. The trainers took special training for the implementation of pilot projects. The trainers’ corps was made up of the Election Administration trainers and members of district election commissions.
The meeting was focused on the assessment of implemented training programs, sharing practical experience and setting plans. The following issues were discussed during the meeting: training the corps of trainers, the system of trainings, training modules and materials, methodology, logistics, effectiveness of communication and monitoring.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Sciences of Georgia, the awareness-raising and training course Elections and Young Voters, aimed at raising civic awareness and civic responsibility among youth, was implemented in piloted at 22 municipalities, among them at 14 ethnic minority municipalities and 8 high-mountainous districts (Marneuli, Bolnisi, Gardabani, Dmanisi, Tetritskaro, Rustavi, Tsalka, Telavi, Lagodekhi, Sagarejo, Mtskheta, Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda, Akhaltsikhe, Oni, Ambrolauri, Tsageri, Lentekhi, Mestia, Keda, Shuakhevi). 1,356 11th-12th grade students from 75 public schools participated in the project, and certificates were distributed to them.
Election Administrator Courses, aimed at raising civic awareness around electoral issues and forming qualified human resources at the election administration, were implemented at 4 ethnic minority municipalities (Lagodekhi, Marneuli, Akhaltsikhe, Akhalkalaki). 197 citizens participated in the project. Certificates were distributed to the participants.
The CEC and the Training Center plan to scale up the awareness-raising and training course Elections and Young Voters and Election Administrator Courses throughout Georgia in the future, which will enable the Election Administration to share own knowledge and experience with more youth and electoral stakeholders.
The CEC and the Training Center implemented the pilot projects in cooperation with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
