The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkeli held a meeting with the Director of the Georgia Office of the United States Peace Corps, Jeffrey Goveia, where the sides discussed issues of strengthening cooperation.

Mikheil Chkhenkeli thanked, Jeffrey Goveia for the extremely important and necessary programs that the Peace Corps is implementing in Georgia in various directions. For his part, Jeffrey Goveia informed the Minister about the planned programs and noted that as soon as the pandemic situation in the world stabilizes, volunteer activities will resume as usual.

According to Jeffrey Goveia, the Peace Corps is launching a new initiative in Georgia - a virtual service, in which former Peace Corps volunteers will work remotely with partner schools and organizations to achieve specific goals. The program includes American culture and history clubs, summer, youth and English language camps, and other activities that focus on student and teacher support. The Peace Corps has already created the appropriate resources for these programs by 2020.

The Peace Corps has also approved two projects: English Language and Youth Involvement (EYE), which will help Georgian students, youth and teachers improve their English language skills and expand their personal, professional and academic opportunities.

As for the second project - Individual and Organizational Development (IOD) - it will help Georgian citizens, especially young people, women and vulnerable inidivuals, to improve their social and economic well-being.

At the meeting, the parties noted that within the framework of the short-term support program, an inclusive education specialist will visit the Ministry of Education and Science, which will contribute to the strengthening of inclusive education in Georgia. The parties discussed in detail the issues of cooperation in this direction.

The meeting at the Ministry of Education and Science was also attended by: Peace Corps Individual and Organizational Development, Education and Youth Involvement and Response Program Managers.

The Peace Corps is a partner of the United States Government in the education sector. Volunteers who come to Georgia work and live in Georgian communities and implement educational projects. Volunteer activities include aspects such as healthy living, promoting volunteerism, sharing American culture, Western organizational practices and values, using technology, raising environmental awareness and tolerance.