SBC to receive international visitors
Tuesday, June 26 2007
A delegation from Georgia will meet with Council officials on Friday 29 June as part of a childcare study tour to the UK.
A high-level delegation from Georgia is visiting the Scottish Borders as part of a childcare study tour to the UK. A group of 10, including ministers, senior officials and an interpreter, will arrive at Council HQ on Friday. The visit is sponsored by the London based charity everyChild and is part of a European Union project in Georgia.
Starting in London, the participants will get an overview of central government structures and issues relating to child welfare. After a visit to Barnardos in Edinburgh, they will travel to Scottish Borders where they will learn about local government structures and systems and the role of local authorities, and see how national policy is implemented at a local level.
They will be welcomed on arrival at Council HQ by the Convener, Councillor Alasdair Hutton, and Director of Social Work Services , Andrew Lowe.
For a chance to see how the Council responds to the needs of children at risk, the delegates will visit Glen View residential childcare unit and a family centre.
Andrew Lowe said: “Georgia is a young democracy engaged in nation building and keen to improve its child welfare arrangements. It is a largely rural, agricultural and mountainous country so we are very pleased to be asked to host a day of their visit and to show them how we approach child welfare work in our large rural area.”
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Note for editors:
Georgia is a republic situated in the Caucasus. It was part of the former Soviet Union. It is a member of the European Union and has a population of 4.6m. The capital is Tbilisi.
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