The Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (DVV International) opened its 14th adult education centre in Georgia on 20 December. The new centre, which was built with the support of Germany and in close cooperation with the municipality, is located in Kaspi in the Shida Kartli region.
The Georgia Country Office of DVV International has been involved in the development of adult education and learning centres since 2005. With the support of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, 13 adult education centres are now successfully operating in 8 regions of the country, namely Kvemo Kartli, Kacheti, Samegrelo, Guria, Adjara, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Racha and Imereti.
More than 200,000 beneficiaries have benefited from the centres' education services from 2006 to date, including internally displaced persons, ethnic and religious minorities, and socially and economically disadvantaged persons.
The adult education centres are based on the experience and methodology of the German Volkshochschule, adapted to the Georgian reality and the needs of the population. They provide education and lifelong learning opportunities for all, regardless of class, gender, education, age, religion, ideology or nationality, and strengthen inclusion.
The centres are at the same time a good tool to address unemployment, poverty, inequality, instability and conflict, and social exclusion. Community-based centres are flexible and respond quickly to changing needs and new demands of individuals and society in the age of globalisation, digitalisation, demographic change and advancing technological development.
Based on a holistic understanding of adult education, the centres offer a multi-component adult education package that includes Personal Development Programme, Vocational, Cultural, Political and Financial Education, as well as Youth, Sports and Health Education.
All centres established by DVV International are members of the Georgian Adult Education Network (GAEN), which provides continuous training for the centres' staff and trainers and ensures the quality of the services offered.
