On January 29, the Civic Education Lecturers Association (CELA) presented the second issue of the journal CIVICUS at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. It was attended by students, CELA members, university administration and representatives of the non-governmental human rights organizations. The issue was dedicated to the persons with disabilities, as each day, these people fight against bias and stereotypes and try to change our world for better.
CELA executive director, Tamak Karaia, spoke about the importance of the CIVICUS journal and needs for civic education promotion, since the journal aims to raise civic awareness. The journal seeks to achieve its aim by focusing on issues, such as, implementation of the democratic principles and values, human rights and youth involvement. One of the main objectives of the journal is to introduce people, who are concerned with improvements of social and political environment, to a wider audience.
During the presentation, CIVICUS editor Giorgi Lolashvili and the authors of the articles discussed the preparation process and said that it was related to the people, who are open to discuss the steps which would bring changes to the society and eventually lead to the more adapted environment.
During the presentation, Davit Kviriliani, the Union of Blind in Georgia chairman of the branch in occupied territories, spoke about current issues of persons with disabilities and the blind in particular. He also referred to the ill-equipped environment, which is hard to live in and expressed eagerness of the persons with disabilities to become an integrated part of the society, so that they are able to fulfill their civic duty and participate in the development of the country. In pursuit of this goal, he emphasized the importance of public awareness raising process and the Media.
At the end of the presentation the audience visited a reading corner for visually impaired in the library of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, which was created thanks to the grant that was obtained by the students of the “Democracy and Citizenship” university course.
The publication of the journal CIVICUS was made possible with the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the framework of the project Strengthening Electoral Processes (SEP), implemented by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
You can access the second issue of the journal on our website CELA.GE/CIVICUS or on CIVICUS Facebook page.
