Education Key to Raising ASD Awareness in Georgia, US Experts
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facebook.com/ georgiatoday Issue no: 877877 • SEPTEMBER 9 - 12,12 2016 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY PRICE: GEL 2.50 In this week’s issue... Armenian PM Set to Resign After Months of Civil Unrest, Economic Downturn NEWS PAGE 2 The Carrot & The Stick: Ogden on NATO FOCUS POLITICS PAGE 5 ON NATO TBC Offers Farmers New Agro Sending a message to the world: Investment Loan Sec-Gen Stoltenberg pledges continued assistance to Georgian BUSINESS PAGE 8 govt. for NATO membership PAGE 2, 4 The Amazing Contradictions of Georgian Society SOCIETY PAGE 9 Unite for a Sustainable Future Education Key to Raising Conference to be Held at Goethe Institute ASD Awareness in Georgia, CULTURE PAGE 11 Georgia Takes 2 Gold, 1 Silver in the World Nomad US Experts Say Games BY VAZHA TAVBERIDZE very year, we are witnessing a rise in the number of peo- ple diagnosed with autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Out of every 68 chil- Edren, one is diagnosed with autism spectrum (CDC, 2014). And Georgia is by no means an exception, where SPORTS PAGE 15 the numbers are also on the rise. The Saint George Autism center, under the aegis of the Child Develop- ment Institute at the Ilia State Univer- sity in Tbilisi, is the very fi rst such institution in Georgia and uses the world-acclaimed Applied Behavioral Analysis methodology. For four years now, a Czech NGO, Caritas Czech Republic, has been cooperating with the Institute, with funding provided through The Czech Development Agency. Continued on page 10 Source: blogs.jpmsonline.com GEORGIA TODAY 2 NEWS SEPTEMBER 9 - 12, 2016 Armenian PM Set to Resign After Months of Civil Unrest, Economic Downturn NATO Secretary General Meets with Georgian MPs in Tbilisi on members of Parliament for active engagement BY TAMAR SVANIDZE in strengthening Georgia’s democratic institutions. “Your reform efforts are important for the people of Georgia and as a means to help Georgia meet ollowing a meeting with Georgia’s Prime the standards required for becoming a member of Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, on Wednes- NATO. We pledge that we will continue to work day, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stolten- closely with the Georgian government to help pre- Russia has stunted its economic growth and forced BY NICHOLAS WALLER berg and ambassadors from the western pare your country for future NATO membership,” it to become a clingy dependent of Moscow. Alliance’s member states met with Geor- Stoltenberg said. Armenia relies heavily on remittances from its Fgian Parliament members and speaker David Usu- Usupashvili reiterated that full membership is citizens working in Russia, which are a badly needed pashvili on Thursday. the only thing absent from the current relations. rmenian Prime Minister Hovik Abra- source of income and is a key contributor to the In his opening remarks, Stoltenberg said the pres- Otherwise, Georgia and NATO are “effectively hamyan’s government is expected to country’s Gross Domestic Product. ence of the North Atlantic Council in Georgia is working together and discussing global security resign following months of violent Russia’s economic slide following a sharp decrease an expression of the strong importance NATO issues by allowing Georgia to be a fully-fl edged civil unrest and an increasingly falter- in the price of oil and stiff international sanctions attaches to Georgia and its future membership. participant in all NATO activities.” ing economy, Russian news agency for its invasion of Ukraine cause the Ruble to lose “The North Atlantic Council’s visit to Georgia “The question is not about ‘yes or no’ on NATO AInterfax and international outlet Reuters reported half its value from late 2014. sends a very important message to the world,” he membership, but which way is the quickest and early Thursday. Abrahamyan’s embattled government - which has said while meeting Georgian parliamentarians. most effective,” Usupashvili said. Abrahamyan was set to meet with top offi cials been in offi ce since 2014 - has been sharply criti- The upcoming October parliamentary elections On Thursday afternoon, Stoltenberg met with from the ruling Republican Party on Thursday to cized for the handling of a short four-day confl ict will be an important benchmark for Georgia’s Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili before discuss his resignation. with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno- democratic standards, NATO offi cials said on the ending his two-day offi cial visit to the small South Armenia’s economy has faltered badly in the last Karabakh region and the seizure in July of a Yere- sidelines of the meeting. The NATO Chief called Caucasus nation. year following the collapse of the Dram, the national van police station by armed men demanding the currency, and widespread unemployment. The rul- release of a jailed opposition politician. ing party’s expectations of an economic windfall Local media has named Karen Karapetyan as a following their ascension to the Russian-led Eura- likely successor. Karapetyan is a technocrat and sian Customs Union has had little knock-on effect. former mayor of Yerevan. Before entering govern- The tiny, landlocked South Caucasus nation’s ment, he served as the head of a national gas dis- deep reliance on aid and direct investment from tributing company. Georgia’s Viticulture Heartland Hosts UN Wine Tourism Conference impact on the local cultural, economy and environ- BY TAMAR SVANIDZE ment. Various workshops are being held at different wineries in Kakheti, home to 65 percent of Geor- eorgia’s Kakheti region, known as the gia’s wine producing vineyards and 80 percent of cradle of the country’s winemaking, the country’s grape harvest. is hosting a UN-organized conference Winemaking in the Kakheti region has been dated on wine tourism September 7-9. back 8,000 years. Organizers hope the conference The UN’s World Tourism Organiza- will help promote Georgia’s unique winemaking Gtion is playing host to the fi rst annual Global Con- traditions, including the UNESCO-listed method ference on Wine Tourism, a forum where experts of fermentation in large tear-shaped terracotta and industry leaders are to focus on the wineries’ amphorae known as Qvevri. GEORGIA TODAY SEPTEMBER 9 - 12, 2016 NEWS 3 EU’s Civil Liberties Committee Backs Visa Waiver for Georgia and Kosovo Photo: Georgia’s Foreign Minister and President of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation free travel to the Schengen Zone is a vitally impor- BY TAMAR SVANIDZE tant step for both Georgia and Kosovo towards strengthening their economic and cultural relations with EU members and will add a further impetu- Georgia, Switzerland he European Parliament’s Civil Liber- ous for the governments in Tbilisi and Pristina to ties, Justice and Home Affairs Com- pursue widespread political and human rights mittee on Monday voted to grant reforms. citizens of Georgia and Kosovo the “More efforts are necessary when it comes to Increase Co-Operation right to travel to the Schengen zone media freedom, women’s and minority rights and Twithout a visa. judicial reform,” Gabriel said. With 44 votes in favor and 5 against for Georgia; Citizens of Georgia, Ukraine and Kosovo, had rent situation in the region, relations between 25 votes for and 24 against, as well as 2 abstentions, originally expected to receive visa-free travel to BY THEA MORRISON Georgia and Russia and the ongoing develop- for Kosovo; the committee approved visa-free travel the EU’s Schengen Zone this past summer, but ments in Georgia’s occupied territories. for citizens of both nations who possess a biom- Germany suddenly backtracked on its previous The Georgian Foreign Minister thanked the Swiss etric passport. support over concerns about organized crime links he increasing potential of co-oper- side for the support of Georgia’s territorial integ- Negotiations for visa liberalization began in 2012. and unfettered immigration. ation between Georgia and Switzer- rity and sovereignty and for playing the delicate By the end of 2015, the EU Commission had con- The abolition of the Schengen Zone’s visa regime land in different spheres and the role of mediator in Georgia-Russia relations. cluded that the country had fulfi lled all of Brussels’ for Georgian citizens requires approval from the importance of concluding the Agree- Later on Tuesday, Christa Markwalder also met benchmarks. council of EU home affairs and justice ministers, ment between Georgia and the Euro- with the Georgian Prime Minister, Giorgi Kviri- The visa waiver issue is not included on the agenda which failed to agree on the issue in June after Tpean Free Trade Association (EFTA) were the kashvili. The PM underlined the signifi cance of of the European Parliament’s next plenary session Germany’s last-minute about-face. main topics of the meeting between the Georgian the Swiss aid in the area of developing highland on September 12-15. Without a last-minute amend- The EU is now making it easier to suspend visa Foreign Minister, Mikheil Janelidze, and Presi- regions in Georgia and highlighted the support ment to the parliament’s debate schedule, the issue waivers for countries wishing to move closer dent of the National Council of the Swiss Con- provided by the Swiss Agency for Development of a new visa regime for both Georgia and Kosovo towards full integration with Brussels. federation, Christa Markwalder, on Tuesday. and Cooperation in the process of implementa- would take place at the next plenary session on The visa waiver regime allows easier access - but According to Markwalder, the agreement con- tion of the projects. October 3-6 or October 24-27. not working rights - for up to 90 days in the Schen- cluded with the EFTA by Georgia would signifi - Kvirikashvili informed Markwalder about the EU Parliament member Maria Gabriel said visa- gen Zone and several non-EU members.