Environmental conference slated for Tbilisi in September

On September 6-7, Tbilisi will host Tbilisi+35, a large scale intergovernmental conference which focuses on environmental education for sustainable development. Goga Khachidze, Minister of Environment protection of Georgia, made an official statement on Friday highlighting that Georgia was the first country to discuss issues related to environment education. This was followed by the Declaration of Tbilisi in 1977.

“This will be the most large scale conference in the history of Georgia that focuses on environmental protection issues. More than 400 participants including various heads of states will be involved in this conference. The goal of the project is to reiterate the importance of the meeting held in 1977 which aimed at raising environmental awareness,” Khachidze stated.

“On one hand, the conference will sum-up those achievements which have been accomplished during those years and different countries will share their experience and obstacles with each other. Future plans will also be discussed,” Deputy Minister of Environment Giorgi Zedginidze told the paper.

The minister presented volunteer students from various universities who will assist event organizers in planning and contributing to organizational issues.

The conference also enjoys one significant innovation. It has barcode, which can be found next to the logo. Anyone interested in the conference details can point their smart phones towards the barcode and they will be automatically directed to the Tbilisi+35 webpage where they will find important updated information.

The partners of the project are the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Conference participants will meet the ministers of corresponding ministries, representatives of international organizations, experts and other stakeholders.

The Declaration of Tbilisi entered into force on the first intergovernmental conference on environmental education organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).