I. Social Foundation "Glasnost" Opens a Branch in Krasnodar
II.Moscow Oblast Center to Support Social Organizations Created by the Foundation "Sem'ya"
III. Antinuclear Campaign Stopped Entrance of The Ship with Uranium into the Port of Kaliningrad
ANNOUNCEMENTS
IV. A New Movement "Disabled for Social Justice" Was Formed in Nizhny Novgorod
V. A Seminar on International Humanitarian Law is Held in Sergiev Posad
VI. DOE/AAAS Announces Travel Fellowship Program on Environment and Health
VII. Center for Women's Initiatives Helps Women to Get New Skills
VIII. Non-Governmental Organizations to Form Citizens' Committee of Moscow
I. Social Foundation "Glasnost" Opens a Branch in Krasnodar
The foundation "Glasnost," led by well-known human rights activist Sergei Grigoryants, has opened a new branch in Krasnodar headed by Duma Deputy Vladimir Grizan to promote glasnost, to provide protection of constitutional principles such as freedom of speech and expression, and to support citizens' participation in creating and developing free information exchange.
One of the first initiatives of the new "Glasnost" branch was to create a social foundation to resist organized crime and corruption in Krasnodar. Named "Anti-Mafia," it will work closely with the Interregional Department for Fighting Organized Crime and other law enforcement agencies, and will support families of law protection workers killed while on duty. All citizens, including deputies of all levels, journalists, lawyers, law-enforcement agents, crime victims, and others, can participate in both foundations' activities.
Address of the Glasnost office in Krasnodar:
ul. Shaumyana 36, Suite 214
Krasnodar, 350001
Tel.: (8612) 52-26-39, 52-20-97
Contact: Vladimir Grizan, chair
II. Moscow Oblast Center to Support Social Organizations Created by the Foundation "Sem'ya"
The Center to Support Social Organizations of the Moscow Oblast, created half a year ago by the association "Sem'ya" (Family), offers training programs and seminars, information and literature for NGOs, consultations on project proposals and implementation, and round tables on Third Sector issues. The Center also offers consultations by a psychologist. The Center now works with over 40 associations in 20 towns near Moscow, such as Sergiev Posad, Troitsk, Zhukovskoe, and Mytishi. The Center's activities are supported by a grant from the Eurasia Foundation within the Civic Initiatives Support Program. To accommodate visitors, the Center is open on weekends.
Contact tel.: 551-3216 (Elena Egorova)
III. Antinuclear Campaign Stopped Entrance of The Ship with Uranium into the Port of Kaliningrad
On August 11, the ship "Amber-2" with a cargo of uranium left the harbor of Kaliningrad without docking in this port as a result of the protest actions by the Socio-Ecological Union's Antinuclear campaign and other Russian nongovernmental organizations. The ship had stayed in coastal waters off Kaliningrad for 6 days on its way from St. Petersburg to San-Francisco expecting to enter the port for additional cargo and technical support. Previously, the ship was denied entrance to the port of Klaipeda (Lithuania), but it was given permission by city authorities to enter the port of Kaliningrad. Socio-Ecological Union reports that a similar campaign has started in San Francisco.
Contact tel. for the Socio-Ecological Union in Moscow: (095) 298-3087
ANNOUNCEMENTS
IV. A New Movement "Disabled for Social Justice" Was Formed in Nizhny Novgorod
On August 22, a meeting of social nongovernmental organizations for the disabled was held at the Nizhny Novgorod office of the Russian Peace Fund to form a new movement to protect rights of the disable people. For more information, contact: (812) 33-02-75
V. A Seminar on International Humanitarian Law is Held in Sergiev Posad
Between August 22 and 30, the Russian Red Cross Association is organizing a seminar to introduce representatives of Russian universities to methods of teaching international humanitarian law, including the issues of refugees, human rights, and Red Cross operations on the territory of Russia. Among participants are faculty members and scientists from institutes of higher learning of Russia and other NIS countries, representatives of the Presidential administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in Moscow, OSCE mission in Russia, and human rights and other nongovernmental groups.
Address of the seminar: pr. Krasnoi Armii 192 (library)
Sergiev Posad
Tel.: (254) 2-39-48
VI. DOE/AAAS Announces Travel Fellowship Program on Environment and Health
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announce a program of travel fellowships for five young scientists from countries of Eastern and Central Europe and NIS. The topic of the 1997 fellowship is "Clinical and Dose Reconstruction Aspects of the Relationship between Glandular Disease and Exposure to Radioactive Iodine." Specialists with previous experience of dealing with this issue, such as epidemiologists, doctors, and others, and those studying this issue are encouraged to apply. Applicants should possess a degree, obtained no earlier than August 1987, be fluent in English, and be allowed by local authorities to leave the country. Selected fellows will be invited to an annual meeting of scholars in Seattle, WA, on February 13- 18, 1997, to present their projects.
Application deadline is September 30, 1996. Applications will be reviewed by an independent admission committee and results will be announced on October 31, 1996. For more information, contact:
Ms. Mary Beth Boswell, AAAS
1200 New York Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20005
Tel.: (202) 326-6427
Fax: (202) 289-4958
E-mail: [email protected]
VII. Center for Women's Initiatives Helps Women to Get New Skills
The Center for Women's Initiatives is a charitable
organization established in the late 1995 with the support
of the German Association of People's Universities to
provide educational and training programs for women. The
Center opened a school of free training in crafts for women
at risk, including unemployed, disabled, and refugees, in
the town of Tosno, Leningradskaya oblast. The school helps
women to get new specializations in making leather goods,
embroidery, knitting, and other skills. The Center for
Women's Initiatives is looking for similar organizations to
establish partnership relations. Contact information:
ul. Stanislavskogo 2, kv. 13
Tosno, Leningradskaya oblast
Tel./fax: (261) 29-403
VIII. Non-Governmental Organizations to Form Citizens' Committee of Moscow
Representatives of a few nongovernmental organizations, including ecologico-cultural center "Tsaritsino," the international charitable fund "Interlegal," the society "Sem'ya" (Family), the foundation "For the Sake of the Future," and the movement "Children for Environmental Protection and Humanity," suggested forming a citizens' committee in Moscow, which will serve as a social mechanism of regulating relations between governmental authorities and social organizations, particularly related to the use of finances and city management.
One of the initiators of the project, D. Georgis, chair of the organization "Children for Environmental Protection and Humanity," said that the committee--Council on City Self- Management--will be a way for citizens and nongovernmental nonprofit organizations to participate in governmental decision-making and city development. The committee will carry on the traditions of the Russian Zemstvo, an independent body of local self-government, which monitored local authorities and participated in local and financial decision-making. The source of funding for Zemstvo will be a part of the city's budget, not less than 3 per cent of Moscow enterprises' profit (the amount will be covered by taxes paid by enterprises or they can donate the same amount).
The functions of the new establishment will include legislative initiatives; promoting the development of self- government and social organizations; determining expenses on social needs and mechanisms of distributing funding between involved organizations; supporting development of small- scale businesses and enterprises; protecting the interests of citizens and nonprofit and commercial organizations in Moscow's Duma and government; monitoring use of taxpayers' money for social needs, and representing citizens' opinion and providing citizens' participation in governmental initiatives and activities.
D. Georgis argues that the suggested model will let nongovernmental organizations to get funding not in the form of grants from particular sponsors, but through the centralized system of collecting enterprises' taxes and distributing them on social programs.
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