Waste management efficiency, environmentally friendly initiatives, and Tegeta's environmental policy - these issues were discussed at Tegeta Academy together with participants of the national debate tournament. The students were hosted by Shalva Akhvlediani, Director of Tegeta Green Planet Company, and Tamar Dolidze, Head of Labor Safety and Environmental Protection Department of the company.

The main purpose of the meeting was to prepare the students for the national debate tournament, which will be held on the environmental topic and is attended by young people from all over Georgia from debate clubs.

The National Debate Tournament is organized within the framework of cooperation between Tegeta Green Planet and the Georgian Institute of Debate and Education. The project is also supported by the United Nations Development Program's Climate Promise initiative (UNDP).

Shalva Akhvlediani, Director of Tegeta Green Planet: The main concern of Tegeta Green Planet is environmental protection, which implies specific waste management, including recycling and recovery. We believe that by collaborating with the Debate Institute, we have taken another step towards caring for the environment. This project was one of the best ways for young people to gain in-depth knowledge on environmental topics. At the meeting, it was clear that the project helped them to better understand environmental issues and they became more interested in the topic. Our goal was to inform as many students as possible about the importance of waste management so that they themselves can become initiators of better environmentally friendly practices in the future.

The preparation for the national debate tournament lasted 5 months, with more than 400 students from 30 schools from all over Georgia participating. Students who were selected from debate clubs in the regions participated in the regional tournaments. The best-selected debaters will compete in the national tournament on June 23. Using debate techniques, they will discuss issues related to the topic and share their knowledge and experience with each other. The best speakers of the national tournament will be revealed on July 12 at a grand ceremony.

For information, the large-scale tournament is organized within the framework of the "Debates for Better Education" project, which has been implemented for several years already with the support of the Gudavadze-Patarkatsishvili Foundation, and its goal is to create debate clubs in schools and to develop knowledge and skills necessary for argumentative reasoning among the youth. 

Tinatin Tsertsvadze, Chairperson of the Georgian Institute of Debate and Education (GIDE): Projects such as the national debate tournament serve to raise the level of education among students. Tegeta Green Planet's participation in this process is very important - after all, the company supported us in the process of working with teenagers and helped us to solve all pressing problems related to environmental issues. 

It was very impressive for the students to learn what Tegeta is doing in the direction of caring for the environment. The information gained from finding materials or meeting experts was used by the students in their discussions during the debates. This means that young people have become well aware of the importance of environmental issues and will be better able to raise these issues in their families, communities, and the whole society, which is very important in our current reality.