A certificate course on Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration – “Engagement Academy” was held for students of various universities in Tbilisi, under the auspices of the Information Center on NATO and EU under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

The Director of the Information Centre, Tamar Tsuleiskiri, delivered a welcome speech before the participants of the course. She highlighted the importance of the Centre’s activities, the importance of raising public awareness about Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration and the need to strength the population’s resilience against anti-Western propaganda.

The Deputy Head of NATO Liaison Office –Pirit Pikker informed about 60 students from across Georgia about the history of the creation of NATO, its tasks and goals and the Alliance’s role in ensuring global security. The Director of the Euro-Atlantic Integration Department of the General Directorate of Security Policy and Euro-Atlantic Integration under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Tornike Parulava, spoke at length about the existing and future cooperation between NATO and Georgia and emphasized the importance of strengthening NATO role in the region and in terms of strengthening the Black Sea security.

The founder of the “Military Journalists Association”, journalist and military expert – Giorgi Tskhvitava, spoke about the importance of building public resilience against anti-Western propaganda and misinformation. Meanwhile, Ana Gvetadze, a representative of the Media Literacy Department of the National Communications Commission, highlighted the role of media literacy in the fight against disinformation, reviewed the techniques for identifying and verifying fake news, and shared with the participants practical examples of falsifying and distorting photo/video and textual information.

The certificate course on NATO issues gives students the opportunity to gain deeper insights into and discuss with the invited experts Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration process and its prospects for the future.