Subject: [CivilSoc] ISAR-Fall Issue of Give & Take
From: Tamara Kowalski (tamara@isar.org)
Date: Thu Sep 28 2000 - 19:44:45 EDT
ISAR Announces the Fall 2000 Issue of Give & Take:
A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia
“NGOs and Government: Looking for Ways to Work Together”
ISAR: Initiative for Social Action and Renewal in Eurasia, a US-based nongovernmental organization (NGO), is pleased to announce the fall issue of its quarterly publication, Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia.
Drawing on ISAR's grassroots contacts and seventeen years of experience encouraging citizen initiatives in the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU), Give & Take integrates reportage of local NGO activity with analysis of the trends affecting civil society development.
As the trend of FSU governments in the past few years appears to be a return to more repressive forms, this issue of Give & Take focuses on how NGOs are surviving and adapting as their governments enact laws that neither protect nor promote their activities. While there have been serious hurdles to overcome, NGOs have built relations with local and national governments and created joint projects that benefit both the NGOs, their governments, and the citizens they both serve.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I. Cooperation against the Odds
• "Putin Regime Pressures Russian Environmental Activists" by DJ Peterson, RAND Corporation
An analysis of Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions toward environmentalists in Russia.
• "'Let's Help the River': Volga NGO Builds Links with Local Government"
an interview with Lena Kolpakova, Public Movement to Protect the Volga, Nizhni Novgorod
This outspoken activist tells us about her group's accomplishments, so successful they have been replicated across Russia, and how she found allies in the State Committee on Ecology.
• "Working with the Authorities in Moldova”
by Tatiana Siniaeva, Biotica Ecological Society
The public relations officer of this NGO espouses the benefits of close NGO/government relations and explains her group's own good relations with Moldova's Ministry of the Environment.
• "Steps toward Cooperation: NGO Brings Civic Education to Belarusian Schools"
an interview with Yelena Levchenko, Gomel Regional Department of "Children of Chernobyl"
A longtime NGO representative and advocate shares her belief that despite conventional wisdom about the state of NGO repression in Belarus, the potential for successful NGO-government cooperation is promising.
II. Relating to Government
• "Rhetoric and Reality: Government Attitudes toward NGOs in Azerbaijan" by Paul Lawrence, ISAR
Give & Take's previous editor interviews several members of the Azerbaijani government at a June NGO Fair in Baku, gathering their opinions on relations with NGOs.
• “Civil Society without Political Influence” by Svetlana Kupryashkina, Ukrainian Center for Women's Studies
A critical look at how Ukrainian law disenfranchises local NGOs, leaving them by the political wayside.
• "Makhallah Neighborhood Committees: Overlooked Opportunities for Cooperation" by Scott Urbom, Harvard University
The author explores the idea that Uzbek makhallahs, often seen as tools of the state, are actually natural conduits for international NGO cooperation.
III. Facilitating Joint Efforts
• "Kazakhstan NGOs Meet Government Officials, Overcome Mutual Distrust" by Gulmira Izimbergenova, ISAR-Atyrau, Kazakhstan
From far western Kazakhstan, on the Caspian shore, a report on how NGOs and the government have begun a dialogue - a small but productive step in response to the area's burgeoning petroleum industry.
• "Ukrainian Communities LEAP toward Cooperation" by Larisa Stelmakh, Ednannia
A seminar pairs up Ukrainian NGOs with government representatives to iron out their differences.
• "Sokiryani Youth Gain Government's Trust While Making Strides in Activism" by Larisa Blagodir, Ednannia and Schelene Smith, ISAR-WestNIS
This rural environmental group successfully overcame the skepticism of local government officials and now enjoys government support in joint projects such as cleaning up the Dniester River and addressing issues like air and water pollution.
TO ORDER THE FALL ISSUE:
Please send a $5.00 check drawn on a US bank to:
ISAR
1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite #301
Washington, DC 20009
For back issues of Give & Take, write to <membership@isar.org>.
Give & Take is also available in electronic form at <http://www.isar.org>. Visit the site for more information on ISAR programs and an archive of dozens of stories from Give & Take and ISAR's previous journal, Surviving Together.
BECOME A MEMBER!
Your tax-deductible membership of $35 ($45 for organizations/schools) supports our programmatic work and public outreach efforts. Membership includes a one-year subscription to Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia and ISAR's newsletter, ISAR in Focus. Please send your name, mailing address and e-mail, along with your check made payable to ISAR to: Membership Program, at the address above.
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