Georgian, American Students Meet at TSU

An interesting meeting was held at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University between the TSU students of master’s program in conflict analysis and management and students of master’s program in conflict studies from Johns Hopkins University. MA theses of American students participating in the meeting are dedicated to the problems persisting in our region. They are holding meetings with various groups.

The meeting was moderated by Prof. Guguli Magradze, head of the TSU conflict analysis and management program, and Prof. Susan H. Allen, director of the Center for Peacemaking Practice at George Mason University, visiting scholar.

The format of the meeting was very interesting. Following the moderators’ welcome speeches, Georgian and American students were divided into groups, where American students discussed various topics with their Georgian peers in the following thematic groups: key challenges facing regional security; Georgian-Russian relations; Georgia’s economic development; Georgian IDPs’ problems; humanitarian rights of the population living in the occupied regions; the condition of ethnic minorities in Georgia; threats of Russia’s hybrid warfare. It is worth noting that two Georgian students participating in the meeting were from Tskhinvali region and two others – from Abkhazia. So, American students had an opportunity to discuss all interesting issues with the Georgian students directly involved in the post-conflict situation.

American students hailed the meeting as “very interesting and useful.” Both Georgian and American students expressed readiness to continue online communication in the future.