Georgia cited by OECD as one of top education innovators during pandemic. Andreas Schleicher, head of the Directorate for Education and Skills of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, has cited Georgia and Finland as leading examples of states innovating and adapting their educational systems and methods successfully to the pandemic crisis, pointing particularly to Georgia’s transition to remote classes and teaching. Microsoft Corporation’s Vice President for Education, Anthony Salcito, echoed this praise, singling out Georgia’s Ministry of Education for “tremendous resilience” during the pandemic. Georgia’s online teaching system for primary schools featured Microsoft’s software tools. In a separate initiative by U.S.-based non-profit platform “Charte,” hundreds of socially vulnerable high school students gained access to the internet for the first time.
World Health Organization selects Georgia to participate in COVID-19 clinical trials. Georgia will participate in the World Health Organization’s international clinical trials in the search for an effective treatment for Covid-19, including testing the efficacy of Redemsevir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir with Interferon beta-1a, and Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine. Tbilisi’s Hospital for Infectious Diseases will take the lead in Georgia.
Georgian innovators shift gears for the pandemic. Georgian companies continue to innovate to assist the fight against the coronavirus. CaucasPack, a packaging manufacturer, has produced 40,000 adjustable and reusable face shields from recycled bottles.
Georgian philanthropist and former Prime Minister’s contribution recognized. Former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is cited by The Telegraph (London) as the world’s largest individual donor to Covid-19 relief efforts. His efforts are recognized along with those of philanthropists Andrew Forrest, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Jeff Bezos, among others.
Artists communicate to advance creative pursuits during pandemic. Georgian artists addressed “Creative Industry Challenges” via an online platform, following a survey of people involved in the creative/cultural initiatives. The platform offers them a chance to communicate across creative industries, to promote non-formal education in the arts and culture, and to create an e-library of relevant materials. Meanwhile, the famous Kolga Tbilisi Photo Week went fully viral for the first time in 19 years, with the virtual space open for exhibitions and discussions.
Russia strives to make Georgian citizens in occupied territories officially “Russian.” Russia took aim again at Georgia’s territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia it has occupied since 2008 with its policy of passport proliferation. The purpose of this policy, which constitutes adjustments to Russia’s citizenship law, appears to be “to build a legal justification to interfere in the internal affairs of [Russia’s] neighbours, supported by an implicit threat of military action, and even possible annexation.” The Georgian government meanwhile has provided students from the occupied territories living in Tbilisi wgith food and other essential items.