USG-funded Journalism School Marks 5th Anniversary of Successful Operation in the Caucasus
On March 24, the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) represented by Rector Levan Tsutskiridze, Dean Maya Mikashavidze, and the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Officer Rowena Cross-Najafi, opened a conference, “The Future of Journalism Education in the Caucasus,” to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management (CSJMM) at GIPA. The conference gathered more than 30 journalism educators from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan and focused on regional experiences from the challenging and rewarding past of the Journalism School, oriented towards the future development of journalism programs to promote free, independent and professional media in the Caucasus.
The journalism school project at GIPA started as an American initiative in 2002. “We are very proud of our role. We see the School is committed to keeping professional standards high and establishing networks among future media professionals in the region. Keep up the good work!” remarked Ambassador Tefft at the closing ceremony at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel, which included successful alumni from the South Caucasus region and representatives of the academic community, media, government and donors. Victoria Sloan, former Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi and initiator of the CSJMM project in 2002, arrived from Kazakhstan especially to participate in this festive event.
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