120 representatives from 44 schools across Georgia participated in a two-day working conference in Tbilisi to discuss student participation in school and community decision making processes with the support of the Council of Europe. The event was an opportunity for the schools to reflect on the progress of their individual action plans to support student participation, share their achievements and challenges, and strengthen peer learning and collaboration.

The working conference was received very positively by the participants. Their feedback showed that 97% of the participants were able to generate new ideas, 96% indicated that the event facilitated experience sharing between schools, and the same percentage noted that it increased their motivation, inspired ideas for the upcoming semester, and deepened their understanding of student participation in relation to national education standards. Additionally, 89% stated that their participation enhanced their knowledge of strategies for identifying and utilising community and external resources for school projects. 79% of participants reflected strong engagement and interest in developing actionable and context-specific plans for their schools and communities.

The conference included a mix of interactive sessions and thematic workshops covering such key topics as student participation and student initiatives, media literacy, project management, parental engagement, alignment of school action plans on student participation with national standards, resource mobilisation, and new action planning. The covered topics were selected based on the interests and needs of partner schools identified by the participants through a pre-event survey.

Participants had the opportunity to take part in practical activities including role-plays, gallery walks, exhibition forums, and networking activities aimed to encourage dialogue and sharing of experience and ideas. A highlight of the event was the World Café session, which encouraged schools to plan new strategies and build lasting partnerships for ongoing collaboration.

The outcomes and insights from the conference will inform the next stage of school action plan development and implementation with the support of the Council of Europe.

The conference was organised within the Council of Europe project “Democracy Starts in Schools: Engaging School Children in Decision Making Processes in Schools and Communities” implemented within the Council of Europe – Georgia Action Plan 2024 – 2027 with financial support from Switzerland. The 44 participating schools are part of the 61 schools supported by the Council of Europe within the project to enhance student participation through a whole school approach.