On May 25, APRC researcher Ia Katsia attended a working meeting organized by Geostat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food, and the Agriculture Organization. The aim of the meeting was to update the data on recent and pending changes in the Sample Survey of Agricultural Holdings and review the results of the 2014 Agricultural Census 2014.

We are proud to announce that Giorgi Bregadze has been promoted to the post of Head of the Research and Planning Department of the Georgian National Tourism Administration. He is now leading a team of three researchers that includes two ISET graduates. Over the past few years, three ISETers had their first work experience under his supervision and then went on to enjoy successful careers in various government organizations.

Georgia’s population is rapidly aging because of low fertility, improvements in the healthcare system, and labor migration. The challenges of living in an older society were discussed in a working group format as part of the “National Dialogue on Georgian Demographic Security Priorities”, April 18-19, which was attended by ISET-PI’s Maka Chitanava and Lasha Labadze. This UNFPA-supported dialog was initiated by the Georgian Parliament’s Healthcare and Social Policy Committee.

On April 15, ISET Policy Institute researcher Lasha Labadze attended a student conference on the topic of “Tourism Development Perspectives in Georgia and World Experience”. Organized by the Research and Planning Department of the Georgian National Tourism Administration, and supported by ISET along with other partners, the event aimed to involve students in improving and solving the issues that the country is facing today in the tourism industry.

We are proud to announce that Maya Grigolia, an ISET alumna (class 2008) and senior researcher with the ISET Policy Institute, was offered a position of Research Director at Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG). In her new capacity, Maya will be working on project management, quality control, and communication issues.