Education can be one of the main peace-building potential for the South Caucasus.

 Arda Inal-Ipa's Statement  

Conference  on Working Together to Improve Human Security in the South Caucasus,  

Wilton Park

3 December 2013 |

Education is a critical issue for all post-soviet regions including South Caucasus. In recognized countries this problem was more or less solved with international support. Different situation is in partly recognized or unrecognized countries. After the Georgian-Abkhaz war and long years of sanctions the main question was how to survive, and in these bad conditions education could not be the priority. But schools and University were still working, so the standards had significantly declined. On the other hand – the old system without reforming couldn’t meet needs of new reality – market economy,  political diversity, civil society, freedom of speech and many other important components of democracy. Russian help in this regard could not solve all the problems, because Russian educational system itself needs serious reforms. It was clear that international support was extremely needed. But getting the international assistance for Abkhazia was very problematic.

There was very restricted access to International Programs especially designed for post-soviet countries in transitional period. Many international organizations  sponsored special programs for preparing reforms in governance, judiciary system, economy, finances, and, of course, in education. As you know, Abkhazia was not in the list of recipients of such important support. The independent attempts of young Abkhazians to get access to educational centers in the West in most cases  were not successful, as a number of limitations related to the unrecognized status of Abkhazia, and created serious obstacles. The problems are well known - issues related to travel documents and visas, refusal to accept certificates of secondary and high schools, absence of English language centers, etc. Even today Abkhazians are excluded from the majority of charitable programs and scholarships, so many doors are still closed. But the matter for Abkhaz youth is not only documents. Even during first steps in any on-line registration there are questions about  the place of residence, citizenship and other administrative requirements, where students applying from Abkhazia can not  find the name of their own country. I think, that the option “Other” has to be included into on-line registration form. That will give opportunity for people from various countries with different political status to mention their real citizenship, place of birth and place of residence. It is not just to force youngsters to make choice between refusing their identity and refusing the opportunity to study.

Now, after 20 years after the war we have found out negative results of lost years – apart from problems with low level of knowledge of various subjects of the curriculum, there is evidence of  a lack of critical thinking, inability to analyze complex problems from different perspectives, inability to hold a constructive discussion with  opponents, growing intolerance, lack of  political culture in general and lack of many other very important for democracy skills.

At the same time, during  the post-war period  big amount of international programs on conflict resolution and confidence building were offered, which tried to use the desire for good education for political purposes.  This very familiar for Abkhazians manipulating approach illustrates that   the issue  of education was politicized. The opportunity to attend even short courses was conditioned with necessary cooperation with Georgian counterparts. The aim of these initiatives was very clear and it was nothing to do with access of Abkhaz youth to western education. It is difficult to say if those projects helped to build trust between Abkhaz and Georgian youth. But there is evidence that within the Abkhazian society  trust towards Europeans was very much harmed. Abkhaz authorities and ordinary people became more suspicious towards western educational programs, thinking that pro-Georgian political agenda is hidden.in every western initiative. 

Fortunately, during the  last two or three years British organizations in cooperation with Abkhaz and Georgian experts and civil society activists conducted a great work convincing people in Brussels, that isolation of Abkhazia is not in  the interests of both conflicting societies. And we can say that European approach has been step by step changed. Now there is understanding about a significant role of education in conflict transformation. Unfortunately,  this year  the first European attempts to create some educational options for Abkhaz youth free from any political preconditions  have faced big problems in Abkhazia, ingrained in already mentioned negative attitudes. Fortunately our European colleagues are very confident in the idea that  the opportunity for good education will provide more broadmindedness,  respect for human rights, and they  continued their uneasy efforts.

 So, how can education serve peace-building? From my perspective first of all it can be open for everybody according to universal University basic principles, without any political preconditions. Education can be one of the main peace-building potential for  the South Caucasus. In this respect US authorities gave us good example, they decided not to build borders between youth and educational opportunities, accepting any internationally recognized passports. If we can unite our efforts, I hope it will be possible to provide access to good Western education for every citizen, when only  the extent of personal efforts could restrict or widen opportunities. This will help  creating new social environment and young people from different sides of conflicts can find each other themselves. They can feel themselves not only as citizens of their countries, but also as  the residents of the South Caucasus  responsible for the whole region. Here are a lot of regional problems – in economy , transportation,  ecology, and communications.

       I think that  stimulating youth cooperation aimed not for one sided political reasons, but for solving real regional problems will inevitably lead to the creation of regional organizations, forums and other regional institutions. This approach has more chances to meet the aspirations of the Caucasian youth with their big ambitions and their strong irritation about the inherited conflicts.  All this will establish really strong fundament for building trust and peace.