The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia –Ms. Tamar Sanikidze awarded the winners of the school competition. The works of the winners will be stored in a so-called “Time Capsule” on May 26, due to the 25th anniversary of independence, and will be opened in 25 years.

Due to the 25th anniversary of independence of Georgia, the Ministry of Education and Science offered various contests in photography, painting and essay writing to private and public schools across Georgia. The contests aimed at encouraging civic awareness amongst the students, in conjunction with developing critical thinking skills and the ability to critically analyze historical events. The students should have presented their vision of how they wanted to see Georgia in 25 years.

Students presented photographs, paintings and essays in regards to the latter-mentioned theme. Additionally, the photo contest was offered to the students of VII-XII grade, where a specially selected commission revealed the winners of I, II, and III place. Consequently, the winning authors received diplomas and were given 500, 300 and 200 GEL worth of computer hardware and accessories gift cards, respectively.

Photo contest winners are:

I place - Milana Khitarova, XI grade, Tbilisi №132 public school;

II place - Ekaterine Gabisonia, XI grade, Demireli Private College;

III place - Irina Gabisonia, XI grade, Zugdidi Municipality- Koki public school.

Painting competition was offered to the students of I-XII grade, where a special commission revealed 12 best works. The authors were given diplomas and 200 GEL worth of Art store gift cards. The paintings of the best 12 authors will be published in the calendar of 2017.

Essay contest was offered to the students of VII-XII grade, where a special commission unveiled the winners of I, II, III place. The winning authors received diplomas and 500, 300, and 200 GEL worth of book store gift cards, respectively.

Essay Contest winners are:

I place - Zaur Tsakadze XI grade, Bolnisi N1 public school;

II place - Mariam Giorgadze X grade, Ozurgeti N2 public school;

III place – Mariam Bochorishvili VIII grade, Abkhazia N5 public school.

Furthermore, it should be noted, that the commission revealed other participants’ works as well. For instance, the participant of the essay contest – Vartan Voskanyan (XI grade, Municipality of Tsalka, Bediani public school) received a book as a gift from the deputy director of the National Library – Mr. Mirian Bazerashvili. Whereas, David Grigolia (III grade, Modern Education Academy) received a gift from the head of the General Education Management and Development department – Ms. Ketevan Grigolia.