Georgia  

The Ministry of Education & Science of Georgia (Eka Dgebuadze), Sokhumi (Lia Akhaladze) and Ilia (Manana Salukvadze) State Universities, Georgia; University of Haifa (Hanan Alexander), Israel; and European Access Network (Mee Foong Lee), UK, have the pleasure in inviting you to our DARE international conference on inclusive education.

This conference consists of an International Scientific Forum on 20th -21st and a Symposium on 22nd. The working languages are English and Georgian.

The International Forum, “Inclusive Education: Socially Vulnerable Groups – Problem Research, Learning/Teaching and Support” will facilitate the sharing and dissemination of knowledge and experience in the development of inclusive education in Georgia, Israel, Europe, and beyond. In the constantly changing world, the introduction, research and development of the principles of Inclusive Education is being increasingly discussed. Embracing the idea of Inclusive Education will enable our institutions to increase student diversity, open up opportunities for disadvantaged and under-represented groups to enter higher education, help overcome difficulties in their learning process, and empower them to engage in all areas of public life. Forum discussions will be arranged around the themes of the papers received. We now Call for Submission of Theses or Reports related to the following topics:

1. Teaching, research and implementation of Inclusive Education in the learning process
2. National minorities and the challenges for the higher education system
3. Elaboration and implementation of support strategies for students with special education needs
4. Multicultural education
5. Socially vulnerable groups
6. Forms of support
7. Teaching and evaluation

All abstracts must not exceed 1,500-2,000 characters. Font: Acadnusx, Sylfaen, Times New Roman
Please note that the work should not be published or read at any other conferences; and the theses should clearly state the results of the study. The results of the conference will be published in the international Georgian-English journal “Education”.

Submissions must be sent electronically to Prof Lia Akhaladze, Dean of Education Faculty, Sokhumi State University: [email protected]

Deadline: 25th October 2017 Notification of acceptance: 30th October 2017

For the Call for Papers or for more information about the conference either click on this link or contact our DARE partner, Mee Foong Lee at the EAN: [email protected]

Education inequalities contribute to social divisions and disharmony. Eliminating them is vital. All of us seeking to change the ideas, policies, practices, systems and other factors that support and perpetuate education inequalities are ‘advocates for change’. It is a challenging role. It is also a very important role. But we can sometimes find ourselves in a very lonely place. We need more ‘equity champions’ to join forces with us to effect change. Through ‘collective impact’ we will find effective ways to achieve results that are otherwise unattainable by working alone and in isolation.

The Symposium, “Inclusive Education – what do we know? Sharing successful strategies in supporting minority students” will have three specialists to deliver short addresses on the topic of preparatory courses, innovative and responsive institutional strategies in student support, including an online student assistance programme that students can access 24/7 with anonymity. This will be followed by interactive sessions where participants will work on the interventions introduced to prepare themselves as change-agents.

Conference speakers include:

• Eka Dgebuadeze, Head of Inclusive Education Development Division, Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia
• Prof Lia Akhaladze, Dean of Education Faculty, Sokhumi State University, Georgia
• Prof Michal Shany, Department of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Israel
• Lobke Dedrie (Career), Nele Pierlet (Diversity), Artevelde University College Ghent, Belgium
• Kees Smit, Head of Department (Foundation Programme), VU Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Conference is open to all and participation is free. However, for participants who are not from the DARE Consortium there is a small charge of £50 (€55) to cover basic costs, including catering. Non-consortium participants are also expected to cover their own travel and accommodation costs.

For more information about the Conference and how to register, please contact Mee Foong Lee: [email protected]

A BIT ABOUT DARE

DARE is a three-year Erasmus+ programme co-ordinated by University of Haifa, Israel. It has 13 consortium partners from Czech Republic, Georgia, Israel, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and UK; and four NGO associated partners: 2 Georgian and 2 Israeli. The European partners will play a major role in supporting DARE’s endeavour to implement higher education strategies that promote equal opportunities and access to inclusive education in partner HEIs in Georgia and Israel. The target groups are:

• Women in socio-economic or geographically disadvantaged situations
• Minority and/or ethnic groups in vulnerable situations
• Students with special needs

The main areas of focus are: raising awareness in diversity and inclusion; institutional capacity building; staff development and training; distance and e-learning; support services for students with physical or learning disabilities; national and institutional development in the principles of inclusive education.

More information about DARE can be found on: https://dare.erasmus-plus.org.il/