Ekaterine Dgebuadze, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, remotely participated in the conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Hague Recommendations on the Rights of Education of National Minorities. The main topic of the conference panel was the role of the Hague Recommendations and multilingual teaching in the era of digital education.
Ekaterine Dgebuadze briefed the conference participants on the programs implemented by the Ministry for the promotion of ethnic minorities and spoke about the importance of ensuring access to quality education for national minorities living in Georgia. As the First Deputy Minister noted, one of the main priorities of the Ministry is to promote the integration of ethnic minorities into society and, at the same time, to protect their linguistic and cultural identity.
According to the First Deputy Minister, in recent years, at the initiative of the Ministry, bilingual education has been introduced non-Georgian schools or sectors and the national curriculum has become available in the languages of ethnic minorities. In addition, the Ministry has developed special educational programs in both higher and vocational education, which, in addition to mastering the profession, also allow them to study the state language.
The conference dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Hague Recommendations was held online and was attended by high-ranking officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), leading experts, non-governmental organizations and other invited guests.
OSCE established the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities in 1992 and since then, at the Commissioner's initiative, has published nine sets of thematic recommendations and guidelines, including the Hague Recommendations on the Rights of National Minorities (1996) and the Oslo Recommendations on National Minorities. In connection with (1998). These recommendations will help OSCE countries develop a policy document that will further enhance integration into a multi-ethnic community.