The Communications Commission has started implementing media literacy projects in Adjara, with the Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University (BSU) being the first location. Pupils from Adjarian state schools will join the university students in the media literacy projects starting from the new academic year.

COMCOM has already concluded an agreement with the university, which will see academic personnel and students taking part in joint projects aimed at developing media literacy. Furthermore, international experts will be involved in staging joint sessions, conferences and competitions and devising recommendations for improving the new syllabus and various other areas of media literacy.

The cooperation agreement between COMCOM and the Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University was signed by COMCOM member Vakhtang Abashidze and the Rector of BSU Merab Khalvashi.

Together with academic personnel, COMCOM will hold seminars and training sessions at BSU to develop media literacy, critical and creative thinking skills. The educational sessions will help students distinguish real information from fake news. Students will also take part in the media literacy competition “Truth or Fiction?” At the next stage of the process, they will be involved in implementing the educational component in schools.

Through COMCOM’s media literacy project “Media Economics,” students will learn about the latest international approaches to media economics. As part of this project, they will be working simultaneously in the fields of education and start-ups.

The cooperation between COMCOM and BSU will involve university professors and academic personnel having access to the online media literacy platform where they will have the possibility to learn about media literacy projects implemented internationally and familiarise themselves with new learning resources. They will also have the possibility to place their own educational materials on the online platform.

COMCOM and the Georgian Ministry of Education will start implementing media literacy projects for students and academic personnel starting from the new academic year. To this end, the Commission has already signed cooperation agreements with the Tbilisi State University and the Business and Technology University.