| Markina Square, 3 Nizhny Novgorod 603001 Tel: (8312) 31-35-64 Fax: (8312) 34 28 06 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Web: www.sci-nnov.ru/socio/public/sluzhenie/index.html Contact: Evgenia K. Verba, Executive Director |  Elena Belyaeva, Evgenia Verba, Elena Zharkova, Yuliya Kostyakova and Olga Makhova. (Clockwise from top left) |
Sluzhenie began in 1994 as an informal NGO club under the organization Vozmozhnost and has developed into an NGO information and resource center for the Nizhnii Novgorod region. In 1995, it formally registered as an association of NGOs with 20 members. Its members included NGOs with a focus on art, charitable organizations, children, and the disabled. In May 1996, Sluzhenie sponsored a conference for NGOs from the city of Nizhnii Novgorod which over 60 organizations attended. With a grant from the Eurasia Foundation in 1996, they started publication of the NGO Vestnik (The NGO Bulletin) which currently has a local print circulation, but they do have plans to create an electronic version in the future.Sluzhenie has greatly expanded its activities from its humble beginnings as a informal club of NGOs. Currently, the organization is active in many areas supporting the development of the NGO sector in Nizhnii Novgorod:
- Publication of a monthly newsletter. The monthly newsletter, NGO Vestnik (The NGO Bulletin), is distributed around the region. Articles are written by Sluzhenie staff, contributed by local NGOs, and occasionally taken from other news sources. The newsletter also serves to announce local conferences, third sector law, grants, and organizations' activities in Nizhnii Novgorod and across Russia. NGO Vestnik is now available on-line at www.sci-nnov.ru/socio/public/sluzhenie
- Training seminars and consultation for NGO leaders. Seminars are offered frequently and vary from basics on starting up an NGO to seminars on special topics. One of the recent seminars was presented for young journalists on social themes. It included lectures on the problems of drugs and crime and a round table on the problem in Nizhnii Novgorod. The purpose of the seminar was to educate the young journalists on these topics and improve networking and ties between journalists.
- Promoting NGOs activities. While most of Sluzhenie's work involves promotion of NGO activities, they have particular programs that benefit the local NGO community in direct ways. Currently, Sluzhenie is creating a network of coordinators in Volga-Vyatka region (Cheboksari, Saransk, Ioshkar-Ola) to form and support NGO communities in these cities.
- Library and Resource Center. The Sluzhenie Information and Resource Center, managed by information officer Yuliya Kostyakova, contains over 1,000 books and periodicals for use by the Nizhnii Novgorod NGO community. The information in the center is kept in an annotated, searchable database and items can be checked out and brought home or to other offices.
- Consultation. SSluzhenie monitors and interprets changes in local, regional and federal laws. Regular consultations in law and taxation are available. Eugenia Verba and Elena Belyaeva provide consultation services on NGO management, activities planning and fundraising. In Nizhny Novgorod, many NGOs now have access to Internet. With the help of Internet consultants, these NGOs can get the information they need and receive consultation on effective use of Internet resources. Sluzhenie designers create Web pages for the more advanced NGOs in the region.
- Volunteer Program. The Volunteer Program is successfuly functioning and funded. The highlight of the program was the charitable fundraising event in June 1998 for children with tuberculosis. Over 130 volunteers contributed their time and effort to this event.
- Regional representative for ASI. Sluzhenie operates as the regional representative of the Agency for Social Information, based in Moscow, which distributes a weekly news bulletin on the third sector in Russia. Sluzhenie was chosen as the ASI representative in Nizhnii Novogorod. Elena Belyaeva provides stories to ASI, which are published and distributed in electronic form around the world on a weekly basis. Many of these stories are also reprinted in Sluzhenie's newsletter.
Last updated: December 1998
A print version of much of the information contained in this NIS Third Sector Organizations section can be found in the The Post-Soviet Handbook (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1999).
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