Widening participation and increasing access to Cultural Heritage and Natural Science Activities in Georgia.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Georgia has suffered a series of crises since the end of communism in 1991, suffering a civil war, the loss of Abkhazia and, since 2008 Tskhinvali/South Ossetia has been occupied by the Russian army. This means that there are up to 232,700 IDPs in Georgia (http://www.internal-displacement.org/europe-the-caucasus-and-central-asia/georgia/figures-analysis) out of a population of 3.9 million (http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/georgia-population/) which equates to almost 17% of the overall population of the country. 20% of the country's territory is occupied by Russia (https://www.georgianjournal.ge/politics/34274-10-years-after-putins-invasion-russia-still-occupies-parts-of-georgia-daily-signal.html) and these factors have placed a significant social, political and economic strain on society. Added to this the population of Tbilisi is now officially 1,225,000 (http://tbilisiguide.ge/w/about_georgia.php) although it is believed the real total is higher, and this movement from the villages to the capital has precipitated a crisis in life opportunities for many young people.Educational needsTo place this initiative in a wider context, it must be understood that there is such chronic underfunding of the Georgian schools system that children attend in two shifts - 10.00-14.00 and 14.00-18.00 meaning that no child studies for a full day as is normal in most other European countries. In addition the extremely long holidays and many National Bank Holidays further curtail the school year, as does the widespread practice of children being withdrawn for the last 2 weeks of term each academic year and sent off to relatives in the provinces. In the villages, school buildings are often almost derelict Soviet era constructions that are dangerously unstable and teachers earn in the region of 300 Lari (less than £90) a month, meaning that many have to take on second jobs or run smallholdings to cover their living costs. Given this chronically under-funded education system there is an urgent need to offer advanced skills training and resource packs to teachers in order to raise the level of morale and also to encourage teachers to talk to children about wider aspirations beyond their rural communities and consider the possibilities offered by tertiary education.Educational Capacity BuildingThis strategy envisages a more unified approach that builds on Ministry of Education objectives, to implement further training for curatorial staff and teachers so that they have the skills necessary to develop classes in a museum or other heritage context.For some time Prof. Dr. David Lordkipanidze, Director of the GNM, has been searching for partners to help the GMN work with teachers and children from IDP backgrounds or living in the most remote parts of the country. His vision has been to inspire children from places such as the High Caucasus or the Azeri and Armenian minorities in the south to aspire to a career in the Humanities or the Natural Sciences with a view to them ultimately working as academics or curators. His methodology has been to organise summer camps and activity days for children, which is in line with the Ministry of Culture's Heritage 2025 strategy, that calls upon institutions like the GNM to take a leading role in offering skills development to teachers and engage with the most economically marginalised members of society. This research proposes to utilise the approach favoured by the Director of the GNM and institute a training network involving GNM junior curators and educational staff interacting with regional schoolteachers to promote museums and cultural heritage sites as inviting spaces for classes in which to teach children about the value of not only cultural heritage, but also the Humanities in general.