I. Forum of Women Leaders of Social Organizations in St. Petersburg

II.The Volga Environmental Information Agency Can't Survive Without Work

III. Ekaterinburg is on the Road Toward Civil Society

IV. Altai Journalists Discuss the Problem of Interpreting Elections in the CIS

V. A Seminar on Alternative Civil Service in Russia will Take Place in Moscow November 16-17

I. Forum of Women Leaders of Social Organizations in St. Petersburg

The association "VERA" has existed in St. Petersburg since 1991. It is a nonprofit, charitable, social organization that unites 4 institutional and 197 individual members. In the 5 years of its existence the association has accumulated work experience in the renewal of the best traditions of our country's intelligentsia promoting the professional standing of women and their social defense, the moral education of the young generation, and the development of diplomatic relations and international cooperation.

In the last week of October in St. Petersburg VERA, which is an organization of women with a university education, organized a forum of women leaders of social organizations. The forum was dedicated to a discussion of the use of women's abilities in creating jobs and in the economic development of St. Petersburg. Invitees included women leaders of social organizations and members of the new city government. For this reason, the president of VERA N. P. Andreeva views the forum as a social defense measure, as the possibility of cooperation between the government and social organizations.

A partner from America, University of Wisconsin Professor Sara Harder, who for about 20 years has done research into the condition of women, played a most important role in organizing the forum. As the Vice Present of the International Federation of Women With University Education, Ms. Harder has been an initiator of political and civil forums of women in Russia. The project was created by the National Peace Foundation with financial support from the National Foundation for the Support of Democracy.

The participants in the forum determined that the principal problem is the absence of an exchange of reliable practical information between governmental institutions and social organizations as well as within the organizations themselves. Given this situation, the adopting of a resolution on the creation of a nonprofit information center which would serve not only the goals of gathering and analyzing data but could also provide specific assistance in social and civic orientation seems appropriate.

Address: 191126, St. Petersburg, a/ia 14 (Nina Petrovna Andreeva, president of the association VERA.)

Contact telephone: (812) 164-6919

II.The Volga Environmental Information Agency Can't Survive Without Work

Nizhnii Novgorod is the center of the environmental ["green"] movement in the Volga region. The headquarters of the social program "We Will Help the River [Pomozhem Reke]" is here, the monthly paper for environmentalists "Bereginia" is published here, an annual conference of environmentalists takes place, and many other useful activities are carried out. The Volga Environmental Information Agency is also located here. Every month it distributes its voluminous publications to oblast, city, and regional newspapers of the Volga region. The new agency is already well known by many subscribers to newspapers in the Volga region. "We need to do more work with remote regional newspapers," says Tat'iana Selivanovskaia, the coordinator of the project and the editor of the newspaper "Bereginia." "This does not mean, however, that we will deal only with them. We already work closely with a number of papers in Nizhnii Novgorod. It is understandable that the residents of this city want to know more about the environmental situation in their oblast. We must remember, however, that solution of the environmental problems of only one city or oblast will not save us. In order to preserve the Volga region, it is important not to forget its most remote regions."

Rivers are dying. Fish are "on strike." Industrial wastes are accumulating�. The Volga region is closing environmentally harmful operations and conducts chemical analysis of river water as well as environmental expeditions and monitoring. You can learn more about this from the sixth regular bulletin of the Volga Environmental Information Agency.

You may obtain the bulletin by calling (8312) 33-3490, 34-3280.

III.Ekaterinburg is on the Road Toward Civil Society

The community of nonprofit organizations in Ekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk oblast is developing rapidly. The oblast Directorate of Justice has already registered around 2,000 such organizations. Today nonprofit organizations are active in practically all areas of social and economic life resolving numerous problems, with greater or lesser success. A round table on questions of cooperation between nonprofit organizations and governmental institutions was the next step toward fuller use of the potential of these organizations for socially significant purposes.

The participants, who included deputies from the city and oblast Dumas, representatives of the city administration, scholars, and directors of nonprofit organizations, shared their experience with cooperation between governmental institutions and social organizations, outlined several informational, organizational, psychological, legal, and other problems that hinder any increase in the effectiveness of such cooperation, and defined their abilities and resources for developing greater cooperation.

In the course of the discussion the participants also examined the prospects for participation of society in the adoption of decisions by the authorities and analyzed the possible forms of such participation. They noted the primary importance of creating a legislative basis and of a regulatory mechanism for social partnership, in particular in the form of social order and the social contract.

The organizers of the round table, who were the charitable foundation "Volunteerism [Dobraia Volia]," the American Enterprise Center, and the Democratic Information Center, are determined further to assist the development of mutual understanding and partnership between the representatives of various sectors of society, which they believe will make the creation of civil society possible.

IV.Altai Journalists Discuss the Problem of Interpreting Elections in the CIS

A seminar titled "Elections and the CIS" took place on October 29 at Altai State University. The seminar was organized by the social organization "Young Journalists of Altai" with financial support from the American foundation "For Democracy and Development" and the Siberian Center for the Support of Civil Initiatives. Journalists from the local and regional media attended the seminar.

V. Mansurova, the chair of the journalism department at Altai State University, spoke about the ethical issues involved in interpreting an election campaign in the mass media, to which another speaker, A. Liapunov, objected: "Ethics and politics are nearly incompatible things." Likewise, he reviewed the relationship between the mass media and governmental institutions: "The contradictions within the government give a journalist a great opportunity to display himself."

The presentation of professor A. Ivkin, the prorector for scientific work of the Arts Institute, which was devoted to the creation of the image of a political leader, was received with interest. Numerous examples and illustrations, and especially the concept "image making" ["imidzhmeikerstvo"], which is new to Russian political life, particularly caught the attention of those present.

Participants in a round table that was part of the seminar discussed the role of public political debates and the participation of the mass media in the election campaign for governor of the district.

The seminar developed practical recommendations on activity in the CIS that will be used during the election campaign.

V.A Seminar on Alternative Civil Service in Russia will Take Place in Moscow November 16-17

Experts from Germany as well as Russian civil rights defenders, political activists, and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian social organizations will participate in the seminar.

German volunteers Dominic Fette, Stefan Sprute, and Tobias St�demann, who work on various social projects, especially those related to the care of the aged, will lead the seminar. As people who have refused military service in Germany, they have long been interested in the possibilities of refusing military service in Russia as well in peaceful methods of resolving conflicts such as that in Chechnia.

The seminar participants will work in groups of 15 people. It is proposed to discuss these questions: the lack of a federal law on alternative service, types of alternative service, the advantages and shortcomings of the German law on alternative civil service and its applicability to Russia, the possibility of doing alternative civil service in nongovernmental social organizations involved with charity and social services, as well as many others.

The Heinrich Bell Foundation is financing the seminar.

The seminar will take place at: Izmailovskoe sh., d. 71, turkompleks "Izmailovo," korp. "Delta."

A press conference on the results of the seminar will take place on November 18 at the Russian American Information and Press Center beginning at 11:00.

Contact telephone: 925-8690, 433-9440; fax: 923-9127

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