(Mar 6) – Thirty Georgian children, from families displaced by the Russian-Georgian conflict of August 2008, will be hosted by Sicilian families from July 15th to August 30th. The initiative, funded by the Italian Foreign Ministry, aims to repeat in a small scale what happened in the early 90s, when children from Abkhazia were received by Sicilian families for several summer holidays. “In many cases – according to a note from the Foreign Ministry – the Sicilian experience for those guys represents a unique opportunity to raise from the difficult context of war, learn a new language and develop emotional ties that still last. Boys now become young adults, as well as beneficiaries of the ‘Argo Project’, a database of résumés of Georgian citizens Italian speaking available for companies or organizations wishing to undertake activities involving Italy and Georgia”. The “Laboratorio per l’Innovazione di Palermo” (Laboratory for the Innovation in Palermo) will be responsible for the project implementation and will find host families. The Ministry of Displaced Persons of Georgia will select children, basing its choice on their needs and their scholastic merit, while the Association Georgia-Italy in Tbilisi will provide attendants, chosen among the young people who benefited, as children, by the experience in the 90s. (Roc/Peg)
