In March, Consul Cunanan met with the officers and staff of the “Teach and Learn with Georgia” (TLG) program of the Ministry of Education and Science, at the agency’s headquarters in Uznadze St, in downtown Tbilisi. Present were Ms. Maia Siprashvili-Lee, Program Manager; Mr. Giga Ishkhneli, Operations Manager; and Ms. Mariam Baramidze, Selection/Recruitment Coordinator. Consul Cunanan also met Ms. Mallory Lohmeier, Marketing Coordinator. TLG is a progressive education movement initiated by the Georgian government that recruits fluent English speakers to co-teach English alongside local English teachers in public schools throughout the country. It aims to improve Georgia’s nationwide English language proficiency in an effort to improve the nation’s human resources and facilitate the country’s advancement through globalization.

The program aims to promote English language education across Georgia, implement new teaching methodologies focusing on listening and speaking skills, track progress and tackle challenges in the Georgian education system, and provide an opportunity for Georgian communities to share their values and engage in a cultural exchange with people from all over the world. To achieve this objective, TLG is bringing 1000 English speakers to volunteer in Georgian schools and live in Georgian communities, serving as language teachers, communication partners, and cultural ambassadors.

Consul Cunanan and Ms.Siprashili-Lee discussed ways to recruit more qualified Filipinos to participate in the program. Ms. Siprashili-Lee expressed her satisfaction at the performance of the Filipino volunteers and thanked Consul Cunanan for helping them process their documents with the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). For his part, Consul Cunanan praised TLG for a job very well done and stressed his full and complete support for the program and its objectives.

To date, Consul Cunanan has facilitated the deployment of a dozen Filipino volunteer teachers to Georgia. Consul Cunanan is also in talks with POEA on ways to expedite the volunteers’ applications and exit clearances. Filipino volunteers embark on either a 6-month or 1-year tour of duty. Each participant is provided transportation to and from Georgia (at the start and end of the tour), a modest monthly allowance, and is housed with a local family.