Since 2016 the Regional office of DVV International in Tbilisi is responsible for the regions of Caucasus and South Eastern Europe. The programme of DVV International is implemented in four countries: Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Kosovo with national offices in the respected countries and a Regional Office in Georgia, responsible for regional activities and cross-border cooperation.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a political and economic reform process was initiated in the Caucasus, which is still ongoing and has various inherent difficulties. A condition of stable democratic systems and functioning market economies has not yet been attained. Large segments of the population in the partner countries Georgia and Armenia live in poverty, unemployment is high. The resulting lack of perspective for the future leads to strong drives toward migration.
At the same time there is a great need for vocational training in order to meet the new requirements of the labour market, which is one of the most important prerequisites for economic and social development of the region. DVV International therefore supports its partners in Georgia and Armenia, in government and civil society, in developing and implementing effective, market-oriented non-formal education offers.
Since the collapse of Yugoslavia the relatively young states Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are facing similar problems and challenges as the Caucasus region: high poverty and unemployment rates, strong labour migration. And, as a particularity of this region: interethnic conflicts.
Thus the main objectives for the work in South Eastern Europe are to modernise the existing structures of adult education and to secure access to adult education as well as to increase the quality of the offers. The focus is on measures that:
The integration of Southeast Europe into the European Union also gets a special attention. Our partners from civil society and the public sector have different experience as regards the opportunities and challenges of an approach toward the EU in education. DVV International therefore promotes the exchange of experience within Southeastern Europe and the European network. Through tailored study tours, international conferences and the European network of the European Association for the Education of Adults, the Institute brings in technical expertise and supports the rebuilding of a system in which everyone has access to educational opportunities, remedial education for school-leaving certificates and lifelong learning.
At the regional level, DVV International promotes the exchange of expertise between the Caucasian and the South Eastern Europe partner countries through joint project activities, regular meetings, etc.