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Events Archive ’07
Archive 2008, 2006, 2005, 2004
December 20, 2007
second-year students of Master Programs at the School of Government, Georgian Institute of Public Affairs hosted Mr. Aleksi
Aleksishvili, Board Member of the National Bank of Georgia. Interesting and challenging issues were discussed with the
students, who are conducting research in the field of public economics for their diploma theses. On December 27 Mr.
Aleksishvili will meet with the students for further cooperation. |
December 18, 2007
On December 18, Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management hosted Irakli Chikovani, general director of
TV company Rustavi 2, Irma Nadirashvili, producer of weekly analytical show P.S. and Vakho Sanaia, host of a
political talk-show Archevani.
A lively discussion ensued. The guest speakers explained Rustavi 2's personnel, marketing and programming
strategies. The coverage of current political events was discussed in Q&A session. |
Prime Minister Visits GIPA
Monday, December 17 Mr. Lado Gurgenidze, Prime Minister of Georgia, visited Georgian Institute of Public Affairs and
met with students.
The Prime Minister spoke about the economic development of Georgia and answered students’ question.
The full audio recording of the meeting can be downloaded from here. |
Presidential Candidate Giorgi Maisashvili Visits GIPA
On Friday, December 14 Giorgi Maisashvili, candidate for the presidential elections 2008 visited Goorgian Institute of
Public Affairs and met with students. Mr. Maisashvili spoke about his views on the economic development of Georgia
and told students that his economic program envisages the introduction of the sale and luxury taxes instead of
value added tax. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Maisashvili answered questions about the reforms of judiciary and
education systems in Georgia, as well as regulating relationships with Russia, NATO integration and conflict
resolution.
A special interview with Mr. Maisashvili with Radion GIPA will be aired on Friday at 7:00 after Caucasus Weekly
News Roundup. |
GIPA Alumnus Nominated Deputy General Director of the Georgian Railway
In October 2007, Zviad Zakariadze, an alumnus of Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Program of Public Administration,
has been recently nominated the Deputy General Director of “Georgian Railway” LLC. Since his graduation in 2005, Mr.
Zakariadze had been working on various positions at the “Georgian Railway” prior to this nomination. |
10 December, 2007
The Georgian Institute of Public Affairs hosted Mr. Levan Gachechiladze, one of the candidates for the Presidential
elections of 5 January. The even was organized within the framework of planned meetings with the candidates for Georgian
presidency.
Mr. Gachechiladze spoke about his presidential programme, which envisages a 200-day plan of Georgia’s shift to
the parliamentary republic. Later, Mr. Gachechiladze and members of the “United Opposition”, Ms. Tina Khidasheli,
Mr. David Zurabishvili and Mr. Koka Guntsadze answered students’ questions about NATO integration, international
relations, and judicial and educational reforms.
Mr. Gachechiladze’s in-depth interview with Radio GIPA will be aired on Friday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. after
Caucasus Weekly News Roundup. |
6 December, 2007
On Thursday, 6 December Mr. David Gamkrelidze, one of the candidates for the presidential elections 2008 visited
GIPA to meet with students. This was the first in the series of meetings GIPA is organizing with the candidates for
the Presidency of Georgia.
The meeting lasted for 2 hours during which Mr. Gamkrelidze spoke about his programme as well as about the
strategy and concrete actions he is going to address if he is elected as the President of Georgia. He also answered
the many questions GIPA students had on healthcare, conflict resolution and the possibility of Georgia’ shifting
to constitutional monarchy system.
A special interview with Mr. Gamkrelidze will be aired on Friday, 7 December at 7:00 after Caucasus Weekly News
Roundup on Radio GIPA. |
29 November, 2007
On Thursday, 29 November, Mr. Nika Gilauri, Minister of Finance of Georgia visited Georgian Institute of Public
Affairs. He met with students and presented a new employment program for attracting young professionals to the
Ministry of Finance. Mr. Gilauri spoke in details about the structure of the Ministry and explained to the students
how the specific departments work at the Ministry. He said that at present the Ministry has 35 vacancies only at
the central office and urged GIPA students to apply. |
24 October, 2007
On October 24, at 4:00, Vakhtang Khmaladze visited GIPA. The topic of the meeting was:
"Constitutional Monarchy". |
18 October, 2007
One more very interesting meeting was held at GIPA on October 18.2007. Mr. Levan Vasadze was the guest speaker
this time. An “Unmeployed” businessman as he called himself used to be a vice-president in the huge conglomerate
“Systema” and the General Director at one of the Insuring Companies in the “Systema” group “Rosno” in Russia.
He gave himself a chance of long vacation and now he is in Georgia.
The meeting was led in the traditional way. First he told us about his experience and then he answered
student’s questions. |
11 September, 2007
On September 11, 2007 the opening ceremony of Kachreti professional educational center took place in
village Kachreti, Kakheti region. The center will train around 400 students each year in the fields of agriculture,
bread/grain product production, agro business, wood processing, automobile repair etc.
The President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, Minister of Education and Science of Georgia Kakha Lomaia,
deputy education Minister Bela Tsipuria, Robert Watkins UNDP chief in Georgia, Head of the committee of Education and Culture
from the Georgian Parliament Nodar Grigalashvili, representatives of International organizations, GIPA rector Levan Tsutskiridze
and GIPA representatives Kate Natriashvili, Nestan Tsitsishvili and Zaza Zedginidze attended the opening ceremony.
In his speech the president underlined the importance of development of Georgian agro tourism especially in
Kakheti region and its close relation with agriculture development. Education Minister underscored that establishment of such
vocational education centers are very important as thousands of students and adults could be studied/retrained there and find
appropriate job with good salary.
The center director, Natela Papunashvili thanked the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, UNDP and
GIPA for provided contribution. She presented to the guests material and technical base of the center and also viticulture
and beehive projects developed with GIPA support.
All donor organizations agreed that collaboration with Kachreti professional educational center should
continue. |
20 July, 2007
Mr. David Bakradze, GIPA Alumni 96, the Chairman of the Committee on European Integration of Georgian
Parliament was appointed the Minister of Georgia for Conflict Settlement. We congratulate Mr. Bakradze
with this new position and wish him success in this challenging mission. Mr. Bakradze, together with the
Minister of Economic Development, Mr. George Arveladze is the second GIPA alumni occupying the cabinet
level position. |
30 June, 2007
In the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between GIPA and the Ministry of Defense,
which engages high ranking officials of the Ministry of Defence and its international partners to lecture
on the matters of defense and military affairs at GIPA, on June 30, the First Deputy Minister of Defense
Levan Nikoleishvili paid visit to the institute. He delivered a lecture - "the Review of the Structure,
Objectives and Varieties of the Armed Forces of Georgia” for the students of International Affairs program
as well as other interested people. Mr. Nikoleishvili gave an overview of functions and objectives of the
Ministry of Defence, analyzed the structure of General Staff and underlined the priorities of Georgian
armed forces today. At the end of the lecture the guest-speaker answered students' questions. |
7 June, 2007
On June 7 Minster of Economic Development Mr. Giorgi Arveladze visited the Georgian Institute of
Public Affairs and met students of Masters’ programs.
The Minster spoke about the investment potential of Georgia and the special importance of tourism
in the country’s economic development. The issues of tax reform, merging of income and social taxes
and establishing duties in old parts of Tbilisi and resorts of Georgia were also discussed at the
meeting. Mr. Arveladze pointed out the perspectives of creating free economic zone in Poti port.
The meeting was conducted in a very lively and interactive manner. Students actively participated
in discussion of current issues. |
25 May, 2007
On May 25 Minster of Agriculture Mr. Petre Tsiskarishvili visited the Georgian Institute of Public
Affairs and met students of Masters’ programs. The main topic of the meeting was the agricultural policy
of the Ministry and development perspectives of Georgian agriculture. The Minister also discussed the
importance of new technologies in the field of agriculture and problems of Georgian winemaking. |
22 May, 2007
On May 22, 2007, GIPA and USAID organized a roundtable dedicated to the public administration reform in Georgia.
The meeting was attended by GIPA faculty, USAID Public Administration Reform Project representatives and
representatives of other state and non-governmental organizations. The meeting consisted of two parts. In the
first part a presentation of GIPA research – Country Governance Analysis: Impact of Civil Service Reforms
(funded by DFID) – was held. The main objectives of the project aim at engaging the government in a dialogue on
the future shape of the civil service in Georgia and enhancing its interest in Civil Service Reform. In addition,
the project will strengthen GIPA research capacity and its public role. The presentation included a brief
overview of GIPA vision and interventions in support of public administration reform, the scope of work, strategy
and methodology of the research project.
In the second part of the meeting there was a group discussion about Civil Service Reform in Georgia, where
different ideas of the topic were discussed along with the agenda for the next meeting. |
17 May, 2007
On May 17, 2007, GIPA and Georgia’s Ministry of Defense signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which sets the
ground for comprehensive cooperation in areas of teaching, dialogue and policy analysis. The MoU envisions
the creation of the Military and National Security Forum, which will facilitate the discussion on the issues
of national security with government officials, international organizations and diplomatic corps on the one
hand, and the GIPA expert community on the other. The MoD will engage its high ranking officials and its
international partners to lecture on the matters of defense and military affairs at GIPA. GIPA and the Ministry
of Defense will jointly launch and operate the Military History Club to facilitate an in-depth analysis of
Georgia’s military history.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding signifies an important milestone in Civil-Military Relations
in Georgia. It sets a new stage in advancing the cooperation between academic institutions and the state agencies.
The signing of the Memorandum underscores the need for policy-relevant research and informed debate between the
State and the academic community, which is a cornerstone of GIPA’s philosophy. |
26 April, 2007
Minister of Finance of Georgia Mr. Aleksandre Aleksishvili visited the Georgian
Institute of Public Affairs. The main topic of the meeting was the current trends, statistics
and future perspectives of the Georgian Economy and Financial situation.
The minister discussed in details the positive changes expected in the future of the
Georgian economy including growth of GDP and direct foreign investments. He introduced the
plan of the Macro economical indices for the year 2007 and underlined the policy Georgian
government is following in order to make Georgia as attractive as possible to the foreign
investments.
The minister also noted the importance of reducing taxes together with institutional and
infrastructural improvements in order to attract investors. He introduced the future changes
in the taxation system and pointed out the aim of reducing profit tax from 20% to 15% and explained
the practical aspects of combining social and income taxes and it’s effect on the market.
Students asked a lot of interesting questions and expressed their own ideas about the topics
discussed during the meeting. |
April 18, 2007
GIPA ‘s guest-speakers were Mr. James Mackey, Assistant to the Representative of NATO General
Secretary in the South Caucasus and the Coordinator of the Division of Political and Security Affairs
in Georgia, and Mrs. Elene Khoshtaria the Head of Euro-Atlantic Integration Coordination Department.
The main topic of the meeting was the issues of Georgia’s integration into NATO.
Mr. Mackey reviewed a broad specter of NATO - Georgia relationships: why is NATO interested in
Georgia’s integration into the Alliance, what is being planned in terms of future collaboration, what
responsibilities the government and the civil society are expected or should assume and carry out. The
speaker underlined that due to the fact that cooperation is actively ongoing it is important that civil
society has more in-depth information about the reforms, in order to inquire into the nature of integration
processes in a more professional manner. At the end of the meeting the guest-speakers answered the
questions raised by the students. |
March 26, 2007
In the hotel “Courtyard Marrioti” conference hall, GIPA and Ministry of Defense
announced the year 2007 as the year of North Atlantic Alliance. GIPA students, representatives
of Ministry of Defense and Media, military attaches, accredited in Georgia were participants
of this event. |
March 24, 2007
Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management held a journalism education conference
and a reception to mark its 5th anniversary at Courtyard Marriott Hotel.
The conference, "Future of Journalism Education in Caucasus", brought together journalism
educators from colleges and univresities of the Caucasus. The discussion centered on the
successes and challenges faced by journalism educators and trainers, newest curricula and
teaching methods, the relevance of programs compared to the needs of the media market and
the future of western-style journalism programs in the Caucasus. The participants exchanged
useful tips, contacts, and resources. |
March 23, 2007
Georgian Institute of Public Affairs hosted a presentation of the discussion club “Eduriti”.
The main purpose of the aforementioned club is to increase (improve) the level of general education
of the students. The honorable members, who represent different fields, will hold the discussions
with the students once in two weeks and will enlighten them with interesting information. |
March 22, 2007
On March 22nd students of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs met Mr. Gocha Svanidze, Head of the law
firm “Svanidze&Company”. Legal protection and guarantees of public servants, jury and other issues connected
to the sphere of legislation were discussed at the meeting. |
March 21, 2007
The students of Georgian Institute of Public Affairs met the head of Old Tbilisi, Lasha Purtskhvanidze
on March 21. The meeting with Mr. Purtskhvanidze, the member of the Urban Monument Council of Georgian Ministry of
Culture, Monument Protection and Sport, was initiated by the first-year students of the School of Government of
Public administration. |
March 15, 2007
Mr. David Rakviashvili, Board Chairman of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs and Managing
Director of the Georgian Event visited the Institute and met students of Masters’ Programs. Mr.
Rakviashvili, the author of many successful projects talked about issues of event management and
planning. He introduced his concept as to the skills and characteristics necessary for an individual
to organize an event effectively. |
March 9, 2007
In art cafe “Karavani” the School of Government of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs
held a presentation of the following books developed and published within the School during the year 2006:
Privilege of Our Generation, Essentials of Contemporary Management, Public Finance, Ethics in Public Management,
Collected Georgian Cases, Gender Mainstreaming in the Public Service, Glossary of Public Policy and Economic
Terms. The Rector of the Institute Mr. Levan Tsutskiridze and the Head of Local Government Center Ms.
Liza Sopromadze spoke about the work and future plans of the School in regard to development of new books and
textbooks. Editors, Mr. Giorgi Margvelashvili, Ms. Nino Dolidze, Mr. Nodar Khaduri and Mr. Mamuka Makhatadze
presented the books to the invited guests. |
February 14, 2007
Mr. Levan Koplatadze, Director of Tbilisi Metro and graduate of GIPA Local Government
Administration Program, visited the Institute and met students of Master’s programs. Problems and achievements
associated with work of Tbilisi Metro were discussed at the meeting. |
February 9, 2007
Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) graduated 12 employees
of the Georgian National Investment Agency, who were trained in Public Administration
by the School of Government. Training Certificate course included lectures,
discussions, written and verbal exercises. The Dean of the School of Government
Ms. Maka Ioseliani have greeted the graduates, Deputy Minister of Economic
Development Ivane Nakaidze and other honorable guests. |
February 2, 2007
GIPA hosted the US Government delegation. Ambassador Tom Adams, Department
of State Assistance Coordinator for Europe and Eurasia and Mr. Douglas Menarchik, USAID
Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia were interested in the Institute’s
educational, scientific and various other programs, some of which are funded by the US
Government. |
February 1, 2007
Graduates of Public Administration Master’s Program, Nino Ghonghadze and Levan Samadashvili, and the
first-year student of the same program, Nata Maghradze, participated in 7th Annual Atlantic Conference on
Public Administration hosted by the Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. On February 1st the Georgian
participants made a presentation “Intergovernmental Relationships in Georgia.” Participation of the GIPA
PA program representatives in the conference was funded by the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA). |
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