Abstract
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I am the Director of LEPL Zurab Zhvania School of Public Administration (ZSPA). ZSPA has been established in June, 2005, based on the special Decree of the President of Georgia. It is a state educational institution, working under the Ministry of Education and Sciences of Georgia within the framework of Civil Integration Program. The mission of the School is to facilitate integration of ethnic minorities in political, social and public processes that are underway in Georgia. ZSPA aims the goal to train and retrain employees of local governments, promote integration of representatives of ethnic minorities by delivering courses in Public Administration and state language. As a school Director, I directly face all the issues connected with the diversity management and interethnic relations. So, I am particularly interested in increasing knowledge about values, standards and competencies, existing in Central and Eastern Europe in the sphere of Public sector management, of exploring how other schools of PA and training centers in the NISPA community work in line of preparing current and new public officials to work in a cultural competent way in a diverse environment, how effective education and training for public officials is being implemented in other schools of PA to respond to multi-ethnic communities, what are other effective tools for successful delivery of training programs in this regard. It is extremely important that ethnic minorities speak Georgian. It is necessary that these people speak Georgian and integrate them as today they are isolated. In order to facilitate this process, the school was established especially in Kutaisi, in the heart of Georgia, to offer to ethnic minorities mostly Georgian environment. School provides trainees with learning and living environment so that they can live and learn at the same building _ the school has a dormitory on its last floors. So, ethnic Armenian, Azeri, Oss, Greek people live and learn in friendship. This is the main value of our school besides other important ones. Two programs function at ZSPA: 1.Intensive Georgian Language Study Program and 2.Public Administration Program. Both programs run three months and provide intensive learning environment (5 days a week).Successfully graduated students continue study on PA program. Within the PA Program curriculum we are running special course on Management of: 1)Interethnic Relations, 2)Specific Circumstances in order to acquire new skills and knowledge to public officials of multiethnic societies to make informed decisions and choices of diversity management strategies. After graduation the trainees become real friends so that they are in touch with each others, supporting and networking amongst, does not matter which ethnicity they are. Most of them are advancing in their carrier_some of them become the heads of local authority, or local departments, etc. Those unemployed representatives of ethnic minorities after graduating the school become active in the social and political life of Georgia, with the increased sense of citizenship and acquired skills in Georgian state language, they got jobs in local authorities thus becoming actively involved in decision making process. So, in this Conference I am interested to explore and gain much knowledge about diversity involving ethnicity approaches, effective education and training for public officials’ issues, promoting inclusive policies responsive to the needs of ethnically diverse communities. I am looking forward to get new ideas and practice in diversity management involving ethnicity so that to advance both institutional and personal competence in it for achieving social cohesion, of how to make democratic changes and better manage ethnic diversity and deliver effective public services in our society, to transfer knowledge gained by me to my school staff and students, who are future leaders of our country, able to make democratic changes.
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