10th International Congress ''Education at the Botanical Gardens'' of BGCI

''Bringing Nature to the City'' Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the University of Warsaw Botanic Garden

On September 9-15, 2018 a Coordinator of International Relations and Program of Batumi Botanical Garden Zurab Manvelidze and Head of the Department of Exotic Plant Collections Ms. Julieta Jakeli were invited to the 10th International Congress organized by BGCI in Warsaw, Poland.

Theme of the 10^th Congress 2018 was ''Bringing Nature to the City'', Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the University of Warsaw Botanic Garden. Main topic of the Educational 10^th Congress 2018 was discussion on various problems, sharing experiences and ideas, representing one of the basic fundamental for the activity of World Botanical Gardens today, which includes the following directions:

- Urban Gardens: What are offered by the City Gardens to the Population? What kind of challenges are faced by them (how do they respond to the Educational Programs. Their challenges and advantages;

- New learning needs: Practical approaches and the decisions applied in the sphere of education at the Botanical Gardens, creative resources applied with more accomplished technologies of education and their assessment;

- Educational Initiatives: The ways of forming external networks by the Botanical Gardens; supporting and promoting initiatives; Botanical Gardens have a huge potential for connecting peoples and organizations, being functioning as a significant ''hub'';

- Supporting Formal Education: The ways of cooperation of the Botanical Gardens with the Partners (Schools, Pupils, etc.)? How do they influence on the curricula and Government Educational Policy? This session is oriented on Nature research methods, inspirations and innovations in the process of formal education;

- Invitation of a new audience: sharing the importance of audience achievements and researches related to the projects, which aims at developing new audience and its success (including new and creative ways of working with a new audience, less successful projects, audience achievements and effective ways);

- Assessment of the impact on the environment: As prescribed in the Objective 4 of the Plant Conservation Global Strategy ''Education of the plant diversity and public awareness, its role for preserving sustainable environment and life on the earth''. Education in the Botanical Gardens and Public Engagement must be defined for achieving this objective;

- Educational at Polish Botanical Gardens: The problems faced before Polish Botanical Garden in the educational activity. This special session of the Congress was dedicated to Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the University of Warsaw Botanic Garden.

In the format of Congress Activity, plenary sessions, symposiums, seminars, round table meetings and Master Classes were organized.

The Delegates were enabled to get introduced with the speeches and discussions by the Keynote Speakers of the Congress: Dr. Paul Smith – BGCI, Secretary General of Botanic Gardens Conservation International-BGCI); Professor Marianne Krasny - Department of Natural Resources and Director of the Civic Ecology Lab at Cornell University; Nico Wissing - founder and owner of Greenm 2 and NL Green Label) Greenm2 and NL Green Label; Richard Deverell is the fifteenth Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He has devoted his career to leading innovative and ambitious improvements to public engagement and education); Dr. Chris Thorogood is Head of Science and Public Engagement at Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum; Krzyszt of Spalik is a Professor of Botany in the Department of Molecular Phylogenetic and Evolution at the University of Warsaw.

The scientists, pedagogues, various communicators of the society were enabled for sharing experiences, developing visions and implementing specific acts for the future by the organizers of 10^th International Congress of the Botanical Gardens.

Main venue of the 10^th international Educational Congress was the Botanical Garden of Warsaw University and Faculty of Biology of the same university.

On behalf of Batumi Botanical Garden, the participants made a presentation and poster o the theme: “Conceptual fundamentals for creating new collection plot of the ligneous plants included in the “Red List” and program measures at Batumi Botanical Garden“, which gain a huge resonance.

Tony Allison - Project Leader, US-Russia Environmental Education Exchange, Patrick Mulligan- of Kew Royal Botanic Garden, Wen Xiangying-Executive Director, BGCI China, Jun-Gyu Bae- Korea National Arboretum. Division of Gardens and Education, Senior Researcher, Benjamin Ong- Founder and Project officer expressed willingness for mutual cooperation and sharing experiences with Batumi Botanical Garden.

Organizers of the Congress enabled the delegates to take part in various cultural events: visiting Warsaw Botanical Garden, Botanical Excursion at Kampinos National Park/Kampinoski Park Narodowy, Copernic Museum, Gala Dinner, accompanied by the classical music.

The results of the 10^th Educational Congress of Botanical Gardens were summarized by the Administrator of Congress Organizational Committee Helen Miller.

11^th Educational Congress of Botanical Gardens will be held in Argentina, Buenos Aires in 2022 (BGCI’s 11^th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens 2022 Argentina, Buenos Aires).