Two-day working conference was officially opened at Consulting and Training Center where launching of the Civic Education and Teacher Training Program was announced. USAID Deputy Mission Director, Mr. Ioakim Parker, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Ms. Irine Kurdadze and Executive Director of PH International, Ms. Ann Martin greeted the participants at the beginning of the conference.

Civic Education and Teacher Training three-year program is jointly initiated by the USAID and PH International (project “Harmony”). The program is designed to improve the quality of the school program in civic education and assist the youth to advance knowledge, change opinions and behavior; actively involve them in the development of democratic society.

The program will advance the knowledge and opinions of the youth on democratic principles as well as introduce these principles in the school governance, among the teachers, schoolchildren and broad society.

Civic Education and Teacher Training Program will be implemented in all regions of Georgia and cover 20% of the schools of Georgia. PH International together with the group of Georgian experts will assess the civic education teaching program, evaluate the textbooks for the 9^th-12^th graders and identify the priority fields of civic education that need additional educational materials.

The main goal of the program is to teach the schoolchildren how to use the theoretical knowledge in practice, get involved in the civil life as the citizens and be an example for others.

The program will encourage the leader students and give them opportunity to pass training in the summer camp. The program will support the implementation of the particular and creative ideas of the students by the short-term grant program that will finance students’ initiatives within 500US dollars.

Civic Education and Teacher Training Program will create its own web-site www.civics.ge. It will be the only electronic resource one can find information on ongoing initiatives as well as already implemented projects in civic education.