Caucasus International University (CIU) and Journalism Resource Center, with the support of Mercy Corps, an international non-profit organization, hosted an international conference on agri-journalism and agri-education online on April 13. The representatives of the neighboring agri-guild from Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan took part in it. Western colleagues from Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom were also involved in the forum.
The meeting, which lasted for three hours, was open for any interested individual, based on which the interest towards the forum was high. According to the participants, despite the online format caused by the pandemic, the conference was conducted in a business manner. Work on the sections continued after the plenary session. The sections were thematically divided. The speakers talked about the goals of teaching agricultural journalism and the importance of agricultural education.
As it was noted by Natia Kuprashvili, the head of the Journalism Resource Center and one of the members of the Scientific Council of the Agri-Conference, the conference reports showed a very high level of both research and practical analysis. According to her, the topics presented at the conference created a general picture of what is happening in the region in the direction of agriculture.
“The conference was of high level according to its content and significance. The fact that the forum was successful can be considered as another step forward not only for the development of agri-journalism, but also for the development of the sector as a whole. Discussing agricultural development with partner countries and practical work on joint projects will lead to greater results than just scientific goals. Together with Caucasus International University, which justifies its name, we will publish our practical and scientific works,” - stated Natia Kuprashvili.
According to Professor Nino Chalaganidze, Head of the Multimedia Center at Caucasus International University, experts in the field, including the ones from the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries, highly rated the conference.
“The International Scientific-Practical Conference, which was held on April 13, is another step towards the development of the agri-communications sector. We are glad that not only the representatives of our country, but also our foreign colleagues were interested in the theme of the conference. We plan to publish the received papers as conference proceedings in order to offer another useful document to the readers interested in the field,”- said Nino Chalaganidze.
Helen Bradbury, Team Leader ALCP (Alliances Caucasus Program), expressed hope that after the pandemic is over, it will be possible to meet in an interpersonal environment and make future plans for agricultural development. She noted that the messages delivered at the conference were very significant. In the video, Bradbury also spoke about the significant projects implemented in the field of agri-journalism: in 2017, she started intensive work for the development of agri-journalism at Caucasus International University and Tbilisi State University. In 2018, engagement increased regionally. In 2019, a five-language textbook on Constructive Agri-Journalism was published. As Bradbury noted, the course of agri-journalism has been successfully introduced in Georgian media schools.
In general, the agri-conference served several main purposes: to encourage the development of agri-communications in the Caucasus region, to establish modern methods in teaching agri-journalism, to promote a unified academic environment between the high schools of Georgia and neighboring countries.
Soso Gazdeliani
Salome Shalikashvili
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