Anticipating the Thud of Train Wheels | Akhalkalaki, Javakheti

What will the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway bring to and what will change in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region is a question that interested journalists who participated in a journalism outing organized by Go Group.

During their stay in Samtskhe-Javakheti, they met with local residents, got acquainted with their life and tried to get answers to questions of interest.

Journalists were interested in:

Will the level of migration change if the number of jobs increases.  Generally, seasonal migration in Samtskhe-Javakheti can reach 80 up to percent.

Will qualified teachers start working in rural schools if the local budget is increased?  Today, only 15 percent of teachers here have a higher education.

Will there be normal hotels in the area if tourism is developed? Will the roads be repaired?  Will communication with other regions of Georgia be restored?

Is it possible to implement a reform that will bring a constant water supply to the high-mountain villages of Javakheti?

Expedition participants

Anna Barsegyan, Times.am, Yerevan
Giga Gelkhiidze,  KutaisiNews news agency, Kutaisi
Ruzan Gishiyan, Radio Liberty, Yerevan
Rimma Garibyan, jnews.ge, Akhalkalaki
Seymur Kazimov, Radio BBC, Baku
Salome Sarishvili, Resonansi newspaper, Tbilisi
Kristina Marabyan, jnews.ge, Akhalkalaki
Shushan Shirinyan, jnews.ge, Akhalkalaki
Alan Tskurbayev, ‘Kavkazskiy Uzel’ web-portal, Vladikavkaz