I. Partnership Between Government and Women's Organizations Develops in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Oblasts

On November 24 at the Russian Federation State House an official meeting of the Commission on the Issue of Improving Conditions for Women took place. Commission members include federal officials, professors, specialists on women's issues, as well as representatives from various women's associations and local governments. The main topic on the day's agenda was cooperation between government agencies and women's organizations in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk oblasts. Deputy chairman A.N. Kosilov from Chelyabinsk and oblast deputy chairman S.I. Spektor from Sverdlovsk oblast presented reports on activities in their regions. Kosilov informed the commission that many women's organizations in the Chelyabinsk area aren't officially registered as such, including: "Special Child," an association for families with disabled children, Soldiers' Mothers, and the "Dushegrei" club, which aids single mothers and unemployed women. Recently, women's organizations began working with the Chelyabinsk government to help train women for employment in the non-industrial sphere. Unemployed women can also be trained for new professions at the Civic Agency for Job Retraining and various professional clubs. Additionally, Kosilov stated that women's councils are active in the larger factories and plants in Chelyabinsk. And, a credit union established by a group of women's organizations finances women-owned businesses.

The deputy chairman from Sverdlovsk reported that twenty women's organizations are currently active in the oblast. In 1996, the Ural Association of Women and the oblast government signed an agreement to forge a "social partnership"--the first such partnership created in the Russian Federation. Following the creation of the partnership, the government and the women's organization began work on a project to help develop small business and a non-profit sector in Sverdlovsk oblast.

II. Library Foundation Completes the First Stage of Project

The current project of the Library Foundation is aimed at supporting libraries in rural areas, prisons and schools in twenty of the Russian Federation's regions. Under the auspices of the "Charitable Support for Russian Libraries" project (connected with the 850th anniversary of Moscow), the Foundation has donated over one billion rubles' worth of books to libraries in need. The Foundation also receives support from the Realists Club and from Terra Publishers, who have donated a significant number of books.

In an interview with an ASI correspondent, the director of the Library Foundation, Galina Zakamskaia, noted:

In the course of the past four years, rural libraries haven't received adequate subsidies to maintain their collections. And without continued replenishment, valued libraries simply cannot keep in operation. Currently there are around 120,000 libraries in Russia. Faced with such a large figure, the aid given by our Foundation may seem insignificant, but it is necessary to take the specific nature of our project into consideration. The list of libraries that have appealed to us for aid continues to grow: one in an isolation ward in a children's hospital in Vladimir, one in a tubuculosis ward in a prison, one in a monastery in Kaluga. And we also continue to provide support for the Russian-language libraries of the Black Sea Fleet.

Volunteers are helping the Foundation carry out its latest project. Many of these volunteers are employees at Moscow libraries who are founding members of the organization. The Library Foundation was established in 1991 by the Moscow Library Association, the Russian State Library, the Historical Library, the Pushkin Library, the Nekrasov Library and the Russian Cultural Fund. According to the Foundation's charter, the group's primary purpose is to "give professional, financial and organizationalsupport to libraries and library employees."

Contact telephone: 280-4190 (Galina Zakamskaia)

III. Sports Festival for Disabled Athletes

The Disabled Sports Federation of Moscow and the Central Sports Club organized a ten day sports festival for disabled athletes, from November 27-December 7. The festival was held in honor of the "International Day of the Disabled" and concluded a series of sports events that were organized in connection with the 850th anniversary of Moscow.

Currently, there are 53 public sports organizations for the handicapped, with a membership of approximately eight thousand--ranging from toddlers to 80 year olds. "But in a huge city like ours, with more than a million handicapped citizens, this is a drop in the bucket," stated Gennadii Tataev, president of the Disabled Sports Federation of Moscow. "Stadiums and swimming pools aren't eager to donate their facilities for free sporting events, and we have little money for equipment. But despite these difficulties, we organize sports events a year for children and forty for adults."

The program of the latest festival included 60 different events and activities and attracted around 3000 participants with differing disabilties--the deaf, the blind, the physically impaired. The participants came from a variety of sports clubs, with a variety of specialties--swimming, badminton, darts, chess, ping pong, tennis, skiing and track and field. A soccer tournament was held, as well as a parachute jump! Additionally, the Russian Foundation for Disabled War Veterans sponsored a riflery event at the festival.

Lev Seleznev, president of the Disabled Sports Federation of Russia, appealed to the media to give disabled sports events more press coverage. "The loss of our World Cup team to the Italians was discussed in the news for a week, but no one knows that the Russian soccer team won a silver medal at the Special Olympics," said Seleznev. "And these positive examples could help encourage more disabled people to participate in sports, most importantly--children."

Contact telephone: 923-3895 (Disabled Sports Federation of Moscow)

IV. Youth Unemployment in Krasnodar

On November 18 a conference on the topic of "Business and Youth Employment" was held in Krasnodar. The conference was the first joint project organized by the "Start" career planning center and the "Our Generation" youth foundation. Participants at the conference included secondary school students, unemployed young people, representatives from the Krasnodar city administration and business people. Organizers of the project considered it to be the first step on the path of cooperation between youth and members of the commercial sector.

According to statistics, more than one-third of Krasnodar's unemployed are under 30 years of age. The lack of summer jobs for high-school age kids, who are striving for independence and work experience, is especially problematic. Thus, "Start" and "Our Generation" decided to organize an event that would introduce young people to the contemporary work world.

Since 1995, the "Start" center, together with governmental employment agencies, has focused on the problems facing young people as they prepare for a career. The center's efforts are aimed mainly at secondary school students. The primary goal of "Our Generation" is to encourage support from the non-governmental, governmental, and commercial sectors for development of youth projects.

V. Agency for Volunteer Help to be Formed in Irkutsk

On November 19 a meeting of the NGO Council in Irkutsk was held in order to discuss the issue of encouraging citizens to volunteer in civic projects. At the meeting, it was announced that an Agency for Volunteer Help will be created. The agency will connect organizations in need of volunteers with people who are interested in helping them. The Irkutsk Charity Center needed more youth volunteers and has already found them--pedagogy students from the state university--thanks to the agency.

Contact telephone: (3952) 34-3707 (Agency for Volunteer Help)

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