The Tbilisi initiative: outcomes
The “Tbilisi Initiative” project has produced significant results and achieved the major part of the goals planned.
This project:
- a) was the first to set up new methodological approaches for regional co-operation in history teaching within the Council of Europe’s programmes. The valuable experience gained within the “Tbilisi Initiative” was crucial to the Black Sea Initiative on History, which led to the publication in 2004 of the first set of pedagogical materials on the history of this region, prepared by the teams of authors from the seven countries involved.
- b) helped to establish contacts between the Ministries of Education of the countries concerned. The first Ministerial Conference (Tbilisi, March 2000) led to a series of meetings of higher officials of the Caucasian countries.
- c) promoted a new understanding of history teaching in the 21st Century based on the approach of multiperspectivity, which aims to bring people together rather than separate them. This understanding is at the basis of Recommendation (2001) 15 of the Committee of Ministers on History teaching in twenty-first-century Europe.
- d) promoted a new image of the Caucasus through history which was no longer seen as a region of conflicts but, for the first time, as a melting pot of different cultures which have been interacting creatively through the ages.
- e) drew special attention to the idea of cultural diversity in the Caucasus while emphasising the common roots and common heritage of this area and promoting a positive image of neighbouring countries.
- f) promoted the development of new skills-oriented approaches in teaching history aimed at bringing up responsible and active citizens by developing their ability for independent and critical thinking and resistance to all kinds of political and ideological manipulations.
- g) provided a basis for methodological changes with special emphasis on the development of interactive methods and the use of a dialogue style in the teaching and learning process.
- h) showed that a basis for common work in a regional context can be provided only by respecting values such as tolerance and mutual understanding, and attitudes such as confidence, trust, open-mindedness and a willingness to compromise.
Finally, the only result which has not been achieved within the project was the publication of supplementary pedagogical material on the history of the Caucasus prepared by the teams of authors appointed by the Ministries of Education of the countries concerned. This material was intended to supplement and not to replace textbooks used in the countries involved in the project.