Model UK Parliament held for the first time in Georgia

June 27–29 The British-Georgian Academy hosted the first-ever event in Georgia Model UK Parliament-S – Three-day simulation of the British Parliament Educational The project, in which about 30 public and Private school About 90 students received it.

Within the framework of the project, participants took on the roles of members of the British Parliament, worked in five parties and three committees, presented initiatives, engaged in debates, and discussed current political and social issues in English.

The aim of the Model UK Parliament was to provide young people with practical, international experience and an environment where they could develop public speaking, argumentative reasoning, critical thinking, teamwork and leadership skills.

The event is particularly significant because it is the first time that the Model British Parliament has been held in Georgia. As the organizers note, Tbilisi has hosted Model UN and other informal events of a similar format. Education The projects are already popular, but Model UK Parliament offers participants a different educational experience to better understand British parliamentary culture and democratic processes.

One of the project organizers, British-Georgian Academy 11th grade student Nicholas Tabatadze, says that work on the idea began in December and the organizational process lasted about five months. According to his assessment, the project provided both the organizers and the participants with valuable experience.

“We have been planning this project since December and in the end, in my opinion, we reached a very good result. The project involved five parties and three committees, with about ninety participants. The feedback from the participants was mostly very positive,” noted Nikoloz Tabatadze.

According to Nikoloz, this was the first project of this scale he had undertaken. Although he had some experience in the role of organizer before, the scale and significance of the Model UK Parliament was unique to him.

Another organizer of the project, a 12th grade student at the British-Georgian Academy Saba Kvlividze, notes that participating in the role of organizer in an event of this format was his first experience. He says that the project developed many important skills for him and he hopes that Model UK Parliament will be held again next year.

“This event was a very good experience for me, because it was the first time I was an organizer in a similar project. It was the first British Parliament Modeling event held in Georgia. This project gave me a lot, I learned teamwork and many other important issues. I hope that this project will be held at the British-Georgian Academy next year,” said Saba Kvlividze.

According to Saba, the participants’ activity and serious attitude were particularly important. Both experienced and new participants were involved in the project, which made the conference diverse and dynamic.

The Model UK Parliament proved to be a valuable educational experience for the participants.. Nino Kalandarishvili, from the sixth form school, who represented the Scottish National Party, SNP, in the project, says the conference gave him practical experience of debating, communication, group work and working on bills.

“It was a really good experience. We developed various skills – debates, group work, communication, drafting laws, information retrieval, and more. The environment was also extraordinary and I really appreciate all of this,” said Nino Kalandarishvili.

For Nino, this was her first experience participating in an event of this format. She said that it was particularly interesting to have the process conducted in English, as it gave the participants the opportunity to discuss in a foreign language environment, defend their positions, and better understand the culture of international debates.

Participated in the project Dimitri Cebu too, a student at Public School No. 189, Komarov School, who was involved in the Foreign Affairs Committee and represented the Labour Party. He said that the Model UK Parliament was his first experience in parliamentary debates and political activity.

“At first, when I was filling out the application, I thought that I had never participated in parliamentary meetings and similar political activities and this would be my first experience. Despite the fact that I didn’t know much on the first day, I adapted well to the situation, learned new things and even achieved success,” said Dimitri Sebua.

According to Dimitri, the highlight of the project was not only the debates and the parliamentary format, but also the social and analytical skills that the participants developed during the three-day work. According to him, during the days the participants got to know each other better, observed each other’s positions, interests and behavior, which is an important experience for compromise, negotiation and effective communication with people.

“In my opinion, it is a very important skill in life to analyze a person, to understand what they want, what compromises you can make, what to give up, and how you can ask people for something else,” said Dimitri Sebua.

The Model UK Parliament demonstrated that there is a high level of interest among young people in Georgia in debates, international relations, public policy and democratic processes. The first conference created an important foundation for the project to continue in the future, to become even larger and to unite more young people.

The successful implementation of the project would not have been possible without the supporting companies that expressed their trust in the youth educational initiative. The event sponsors were: Byblos, IT Step Academy, Shavdia, Piel Naturals, Zellatos, Frixx And Natakhtari. ბრიტანულ-ქართული აკადემია და Model UK Parliament-ის საორგანიზაციო გუნდი განსაკუთრებულ მადლობას უხდიან თითოეულ სპონსორს მხარდაჭერისთვის, ჩართულობისთვის და ახალგაზრდების განვითარების პროცესში შეტანილი მნიშვნელოვანი წვლილისთვის. მათი მხარდაჭერა განსაკუთრებით ღირებულია, რადგან მსგავსი პროექტები მოსწავლეებს აძლევს პრაქტიკულ გამოცდილებას, ავითარებს მათ მოქალაქეობრივ ცნობიერებას და ხელს უწყობს მომავალი ლიდერების ფორმირებას.