The State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality of Georgia, Tea Akhvlediani, awarded Dimitri Gulia a state scholarship and a relevant certificate to a student from the occupied Abkhazia region.
Giorgi Gamisonia, who graduated from Saberio High School in the village of Gali district of occupied Abkhazia region, and became a student after successfully passing the Unified National Exams. A nominal scholarship of 600 GEL will be given to him every month for four academic years.
During the event, the Minister of State for reconciliation and civil equality, Tea Akhvlediani, First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Chairman of the Temporary Commission on Restoration of Territorial Integrity and Deoccupation Issues Giorgi Volski, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Youth Baia Kvitsiani, and the Autonomous Region of Abkhazia Chairman of the Government of the Republic Giorgi Jincharadze.
The Minister of State addressed the public with an opening speech and discussed the priorities of the policy of reconciliation and engagement, and the Step for a Better Future for Peace Initiative, with a special focus on supporting and empowering young people.
Tea Akhvlediani focused on the unique mechanisms and educational programmes designed to provide access to quality education for young people living in the occupied regions; stressed the importance of engaging youth in the peace process and wished them success in their studies and further endeavors.
The Minister of State thanked the Ministry of Education, Science, and Youth for theirnews support and cooperation with the scholarship initiative.
“Within the framework of the State Policy of Reconciliation and Inclusion, our priority is to expand education opportunities for young people living in Georgian Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.” Remarkably, we have such outstanding young people who can prepare independently on the spot and become students for National Exams despite these lucrative programs designed for them. To support such eager young people with the best scores, we established a scholarship named after Dimitri Gulia, with which we awarded Giorgi Gamisonia this year. I congratulate him once again, and I believe that with more education and development, peace and trust, we will be able to overcome the occupation and unite members of societies separated by war,” said Minister of State Tea Akhvlediani.
The Dimitri Gulia and Costa Khetagurov Scholarships were established in 2018 on the initiative of the Minister of State and with the support of the Ministry of Education, Science, and Youth of Georgia, and are intended for students from the occupied territories who show the best results in the uniform national exams.
