EDUCATION Issue no: 026
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• OCTOBER 2019
• PUBLISHED MONTHLY
In this issue...
FOCUS ON THE SILK ROAD
At the end of October, 2000 people from 60 countries came to Tbilisi to talk about trade and Georgia’s promising future. Find out more inside.
PRICE: GEL 2
Festival d’Automne à Paris PAGE 2
The Immortalization of Gandagana- the Ajaran Folk Dance
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Now it’s Easier to Buy an Electric Car and Help Protect the Environment! PAGE 5
Georgia 39th in Global Hunger Index 2019 PAGE 7
Zero is More than One - When Free is More Expensive than Cheap PAGE 13
Young Georgians Celebrate Int’l Day for Disaster Risk Reduction in Tbilisi Zoo
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n October 15, Tbilisi Zoo became an educational playground, showing the benefits of climateproof urban development that protects people and infrastructure from catastrophic disasters. Interactive and fun activities united over 50 schoolchildren and representatives of Georgia’s government, city, schools, civil society and international organizations. The day in the Zoo was organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as part of a project to reduce the risk of disasters,
working in partnership with the Tbilisi Zoo, the Environmental Information and Education Center at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture and the Emergency Management Service at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. October 13 was International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2019. The zoo day reminded people of the flood that hit Tbilisi in June 2015, killing 23 people and 300 animals, destroying the zoo and causing $24.3 million in damage. The Government of Georgia began to look for solutions to protect people and buildings from the impact
of climate change. In 2019, with support from the Green Climate Fund and the Government of Switzerland, UNDP began a $70 million program that covers all 11 of the country’s major rivers and protects 1.7 million people. “The Georgian government is being pro-active, and climate education is an important part of this,” said UNDP Head Louisa Vinton. “It gives people the knowledge and tools needed to understand and address the impact of global warming.” The Disaster Risk Reduction Day in the Tbilisi Zoo included quizzes and games to help young Georgians
Image source: UNDP
understand climate change and how it affects Georgia and the planet. At the end of the day, all participants visited Beglar the hippopotamus, a symbol of survival from the 2015 Tbilisi flood, who enjoys his new home in the reconstructed Zoo.