Representatives of the Children’s Rights Centre of Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University participated in a meeting of the Georgian Academic Network for Children’s Rights. Batumi State University delegation included Professor Lela Tavdgiridze, Head of the Children’s Rights Centre; Professor Lela Turmanidze, Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences and Education; and Professor Levan Jakeli, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences.

The meeting was organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and was held on 13-14 June 2025 in the city of Borjomi. The event was attended by Jesper Møller, UNICEF Representative in Georgia, as well as UNICEF Georgia staff members, including Natia Jokhadze, Education Specialist, and Teona Kuchava, Child Protection Specialist.

The main objective of the meeting was to review the activities of university-based children’s rights centres, establish agreement on their strategic priorities and action plans, and develop a long-term strategic framework for the further advancement of the network.

During the meeting, the UNICEF Representative in Georgia congratulated Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University on becoming a member of the Children’s Rights European Academic Network (CREAN) and emphasized that Batumi State University is the first Georgian university to join this European academic network. Batumi State University delegation shared its experience related to the membership process, as well as its future plans and initiatives, with representatives of other universities. The participants also discussed current challenges in the field of children’s rights and explored possible approaches for addressing them.