Lia Gigauri, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, attended awards ceremony at a final round of a contest “Photosynthesis” and Niko Ketskhoveli Prize 2017. Various prizes were given to schoolchildren there.

Contestants presented their respective photos regarding the topic of “It is my forest”. On the initiative of Gigla Agulashvili, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia, vacation packages on the protected territories of Georgia were given to distinguished pupils of the Ministry of Education and Science for environmental video appeal. In particular, pupils of Surami School No 4 will visit Okatse Canyon, pupils at Chiatura Public School No 2 – Borjomi – Kharagauli National Park; as for pupils of Sairkhe Ecclesiastical Boarding School in Sachkhere Region, they will visit Sataplia and Prometheus Caves. As regards Elene Gogoladze, pupil in the 11th grade at Chiatura No 2 Public School, she will hold a position of Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection for a day on the Minister’s initiative.

“Green Reaction” - that was the name of the 2017 Niko Ketskhoveli Prize, under which around one thousand environmental activities were held. School initiatives covered all the regions of Georgia, including occupied Abkhazia. Best 100 schools faced each other in semi-final rounds on Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Telavi and Tbilisi. Finalist schools were selected there.

Prize-winners were given projects by school-social centers, the so-called “Eco-hubs”. They will provide every working conditions to three most active schools.

The aforementioned initiative is implemented by Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN), with the financial support of Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC). The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection and Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia respectively are coorganizers of Niko Ketskhoveli Prize.

Awards Ceremony was attended with Austria’s ambassador, partner state, representatives of international, public and private organizations.