Digest for 97-08-06: Special Issue on Civic Networking
Dear friends,
This is the first of two special digests you will receive from F&P today -
this one deals with the new Russian Civic Networking Program; the second
with MirNET - an effort to establish a high speed telecommunications link
between Russian and US educational/scientific communities.
We will return tomorrow to the standard digests. We hope you will pardon
this intrusion into the regular postings but we believe that many of the
readers here will share interest in these two new projects.
Please let us know of your questions, comments and suggestions.
----- ANNOUNCING CIVNET-RUSSIA ---------------------------------------------
We are pleased to announce the new Russian Civic Networking Program in
this special issue of the digest.
You may recall our announcement in April of this year about the 5 month
planning grant we had received from the Ford Foundation to research the
topic of civic networks in Russian communities - in preparation for a
larger, implementation project. Well, the planning grant is now nearly
finished and we are turning attention to identifying 3-4 communities in Russia
who are interested in working with us on building civic networks in their
communities. The continued, generous support of the Ford Foundation is making
this project possible - as is the participation of many of our friends here.
You can learn about this project on the new Russian Civic Networking WWW
site which we open today at the following URLs:
http://www.friends-partners.org/civnet/
http://alice.ibpm.serpukhov.su/civnet/
The site is available in both English and Russian languages.
The primary goal of the Russian Civic Networking Program (RCNP) is to
cooperatively develop three to four (3-4) model civic network sites within
Russia and to broadly disseminate the results and the findings of these
initiatives. The RCNP represents a partnership between community
networking activists in Russia and the U.S. It is hoped that success of
these projects and a good information base describing the progress of their
development will result in momentum for a broader civic networking movement
within Russia and improved civic networks for participants in U.S.
communities.
As with all of our efforts on Friends and Partners, we want to help encourage
a true partnership between Russian and American individuals, organizations,
and communities. Thus, we are sending this announcement and invitation to
many communities and organizations in Russia, as well as to many community
networking activists and potentially interested organizations in the US.
We
hope that many of you will find the project interesting and be interested
in working with us as we continue.
The support of the Ford Foundation is making possible a competitive
application in which three to four (3-4) Russian communities will be chosen
and provided with equipment, travel funding for an initial planning /
strategy conference in the US, and funding for basic operating and salary
expenses. Please see the "Invitation for Partnership" below for more
information on this program.
(Note: the deadline for submission of proposals for Russian communities
is Monday, September 15, 1997)
In addition to visiting the new Web site listed above, we invite you to
join the CIVNET-Russia e-mail listserver by sending a one line e-mail
message to: listproc@solar.cini.utk.edu
The message should consist of a single line--
subscribe civnet-russia firstname lastname
(just substitute your name for "firstname lastname")
We hope you will forward this announcement to any individuals and
organizations with potential interest. We will greatly appreciate all
comments, suggestions and offers of help!
Natasha Bulashova Greg Cole
Pushchino, Russia Knoxville, TN USA
natasha@friends-partners.org gcole@friends-partners.org
---- Invitation for Partnership -----------------------------------------
This is the official invitation for partnership (IFP) and serves as the
program solicitation for the Russian Civic Networking Program.
Please note that the deadline for submission of proposals for this program
is Monday, September 15, 1997
AGENCY
Friends and Partners, Russia
ACTION
Invitation for Partnership
SUMMARY
Friends and Partners, with support of the Ford Foundation and other
interested organizations, announces a program to help develop civic
networking in Russia. Three to four (3-4) communities will be chosen on the
basis of competitive application and will be provided with equipment, travel
funding for an initial planning/strategy conference in the US, and funding
for basic operating and salary expenses. This is a cooperative Russia-U.S.
planning and demonstration project to promote development and wide-spread
availability of advanced telecommunications technologies and civic
networking to enhance the delivery of social services and generally serve
public interests; to promote access to government information and increase
civic participation; and to support the advancement of an advanced
nation-wide telecommunications and information infrastructure in Russia.
DATES
Anyone interested in submitting an application should contact the program
officers as soon as possible in order to receive proposal and budget
guidelines. You can reach us at the addresses listed below or, more easily,
via email at:
rcnp@alice.ibpm.serpukhov.su
Applications for the RCNP must be mailed, hand-carried or electronically
delivered to the address listed below and received by the Friends and
Partners, Russia on or before 11:59 p.m., September 15, 1997. Proposals must
be submitted in both English and Russian languages. F&P anticipates that it
will take two weeks to process all applications and make funding
determinations.
ADDRESSES
Friends and Partners, Russia, IBPhM
Prospekt Nauku 5 Pushchino, Moscow Region
Russia 142292
Phone: (0967) 73-06-11
Fax: (095) 923-36-02
email: rcnp@friends-partners.org
For further information, please contact:
Natasha Bulashova, President
Friends and Partners, Russia
telephone: (0967) 73-0611
fax: (095) 923-3602
email: natasha@friends-partners.org
Greg Cole, Director
Center for International Networking Initiatives
The University of Tennessee
Phone: (423) 974-7277
Fax: (423) 974-8022
email: gcole@friends-partners.org
FURTHER INFORMATION
Information on this program may be retrieved from the Russian Civic
Networking WWW site at:
http://www.friends-partners.org/civnet/
http://alice.ibpm.serpukhov.su/civnet/
Additional information on the Friends and Partners project is available at:
http://www.friends-partners.org/friends/
http://alice.ibpm.serpukhov.su/friends/
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The primary goal of the RCNP is to cooperatively develop three to four (3-4)
model civic network sites within Russia and to broadly disseminate the
results and the findings of these initiatives. The RCNP represents a close
partnership between community networking activists in Russia and the U.S.
It is expected that success of these projects and a good information base
describing the progress of their development will result in momentum for a
broader civic networking movement within Russia and improved civic networks
for participants in U.S. communities.
Because the focus of the program is specifically on civic networking, a
thorough review of the accompanying materials about civic networking as well
as other literature and research into civic networks elsewhere in the world
should prove instrumental in developing a successful project. It is highly
recommended that potential applicants utilize information resources on the
WWW site indicated above.
The RCNP will provide necessary equipment, travel, support and additional
salary/operating funds for the first year of operation. A second year of
funding is dependent upon a mid-term performance appraisal within the first
year.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND
Successful civic networks are driven by a broad set of social ideals and
goals - foremost being how modern information communications technology can
be used for community development purposes. Just as with modern public
libraries, civic networks are worth supporting because of the greater public
good resulting from their availability and use.
This program aims to help communities develop civic networks which provide
services of genuine local relevance and benefit for the local community. An
additional aim of this project is to demonstrate how these technologies can
be used for fostering communications and information sharing between Russian
communities. Thus, each civic network in this project will be integrated
into the Friends and Partners "intranet," a larger network in which each
community networks' content will be shared on each of the other community
network servers. The goal is to have each community continually sharing its
own development with each community participating in the project.
These same technologies are beneficial on a global scale as well. For this
reason, each civic network will carry the full content of the larger Friends
and Partners project locally and its content will be mirrored at the various
Friends and Partners locations in other parts of the world. In addition to
the local content developed for local purposes (and, of course, published in
the Russian language) each participating site will also publish some
material in the English language which will be of interest to the global
community. The goal is to help demonstrate how technologies can be used to
effect partnerships with individuals and organizations in other parts of the
world.
One of the primary objectives in establishing civic network is to extend
access and use of local, regional, national, and international information
and communication services to the local public who might not otherwise have
the possibility of such access. Of equal importance is the ability of civic
networks to offer this same public the ability to publish information. This
can prove to be of vital importance giving ÒvoiceÓ to such groups as
non-governmental organizations, educators, government agencies, religious
organizations, senior citizens, etc. But the most important objective of
civic networking is to establish broad consortium of participants from
various sectors of local community life who agree to work together to
develop a shared information and communications resource of genuine benefit
to the local community.
Through this project we wish to help communities develop their own
information services and supplement this software for constructing
interactive bulletin board systems, email listservers, interactive chat
sessions, etc. The community networks will provide software which will allow
access to basic Internet service such as email, World Wide Web, telnet, ftp,
etc., but will also make possible the easy construction of a WWW accessible
version of the local information and communications network. The software
must support local language content (initially handling Russian and English
languages) and must provide facility for handling the different Russian
character set encodings.
To facilitate the goal of sharing information and communications across the
"intranet" of 3-4 civic networking sites, Friends and Partners will provide
the following:
1) software to make it easy to build and maintain community networks in
different locations and to mirror specified parts of the community networks
in other locations.
2) software for users who would use civic networks for email as well as for
Internet browsing.
3) basic server and telecommunications hardware for establishment of the
community network to make some level of public dial-in access available to
local citizens and organizations.
4) assistance with continuing programs of training and support for system
administrators, for community development activists and for end users.
5) development and support of an active communications network among local
community network developers, system administrators, and users for
facilitating indigenous development of civic networking throughout Russia.
One of the reasons we are proposing an initial project involving three or
four civic network sites (instead of investing more resources of a single
civic network) is to lay the foundation for a community of individuals and
initiatives involved in Russian community networking. By helping develop
several civic networks simultaneously, we can take advantage of a wider body
of experience which should prove useful to initial and subsequent efforts.
Of course, this creates additional challenges for project management. To
help make it manageable, we will encourage use of identical hardware and
software platforms, will provide common software tools for web authoring and
management, other tools for listserver management (and other communication
services such as chat rooms and bulletin board systems) and will provide a
web site and communications services to support the network of community
networks - with specific services for system administrators and others for
community network activists. By taking care of many of the technical
problems on the front end, we will ensure that technical issues do not
dominate community network deployment; we can instead together focus on what
is required to make community network successful as far as broad based
community interest, support and participation.
By mirroring each community network at each other's site, making local
access quick and easy, each community network can stay well informed about
what the other is doing - taking advantage of good ideas and building upon
them. To further collaboration among the various participants, the program
requires that each site develop at least one resource that is of genuine
interest and all benefits to other community networks. We are suggesting
that each create and maintain a "topical" community network focused on a
discipline or interest area in which local participants have interest and
possibilities of contribution. By doing so, we hope to encourage
collaboration across the entire network of civic networks. Additionally,
each civic network will be required to develop dual-language content that
will be "mirrored" on the international network of Friends of Partners
servers. The focus of such services should be of broad interest to
individuals in other parts of the world to draw attention to the local
community and hopefully help establish partnerships with individuals and
organizations globally.
FUNDING AVAILABILITY
Each of the three to four proposals selected for initial participation will
be provided with the following.
1) Two UNIX servers which will provide for user accounts, web servers,
email, dial in access, etc. This will also include necessary back up
equipment, power conditioners and basic telecommunications equipment to
handle 8-16 incoming telephone connections.
2) Two computers to be used as public access machines (with the
understanding that the community will cost share additional equipment)
3) One work station with appropriate peripheral equipment (scanner, etc.) to
function as a public publishing station.
4) Funding to cover travel expenses for 2-3 individuals per site for a two
week planning/strategy conference in the U.S. working with Russian and
American community networking activists.
5) An additional funding installment, not to exceed ,000, to cover local
salary, operating and travel expenditures associated with the first year of
the grant.
A mid-grant performance appraisal will be used to determine eligibility for
a second year of funding. Emphasis of the second year of the grant will be
establishing a local funding mechanism for long term sustainability of the
civic network.
MATCHING REQUIREMENTS
Grant recipients under this program will be required to provide matching
funds for the total project costs. The RCNP will provide up to fifty percent
(50%) of the total project costs unless extraordinary circumstances warrant
a grant of up to seventy-five percent (75%). A project will not be
considered grantable unless the applicant can document a capacity both to
supply matching funds and to sustain a project beyond a period of the award.
Cash matching and in-kind matching are equally desirable. Suggested areas of
matching include telecommunications access, partial salary support, supply
of additional public access computers, etc. It is strongly recommended that
at least two individuals be devoted full-time to the project. Salaries for
these positions can be funded from the grant.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Each application must represent the joint submission of a broad consortia of
organizations in the local community and including representation of and
close partnership between government organizations, non-government
organizations, educational institutions, health care providers, religious
organizations, commercial organizations, telecommunications providers,
social service agencies, public safety offices, etc. The application must be
submitted by a representative, responsible organization which may be a local
or regional government, a non-profit organization, educational institution,
or other non-profit entity. This organization assumes legal and fiduciary
responsibility for all received funds and equipment. Since funding for this
program is being provided by other sponsor organizations, recipients will be
subject to additional terms and conditions which will be provided at the
time of award.
AWARD PERIOD
The grant period for each successful applicant will begin with the two week
organizing planning/strategy conference in the US. This is tentatively
scheduled for November, 1997. The end of the initial grant will be exactly
one year after the beginning of this conference, with a second year of
funding dependent upon a mid-program evaluation. During the award period the
Friends and Partners Russia organization has a duty to monitor and evaluate
the funded projects.
INDIRECT COSTS
Limited funds available for the RCNP program do not permit payment of
indirect costs. But well documented institutional costs can be applied
towards the matching required under this program.
PROJECT FUNDING PRIORITIES
Funding under this program will be awarded to support projects which
demonstrate the highest probability of success of developing locally
significant civic networks which can also serve as models for others. An
important element of this is a plan for disseminating the knowledge gained
as a result of carrying out the project.
The program will support projects that empower citizens, promote equal
opportunity, protect individuals' rights, and strengthen civic institutions.
Principal consideration will be given to applications that promote effective
provision of education, health care, public safety, libraries, community
information services, and other approaches that foster public participation
in civic life.
The number of proposals funded will depend upon availability of funding and
the total number of applications received. It is anticipated that 3 or 4
applications will be funded initially. This project is only the first phase
of a much broader effort to develop civic networking in Russia. The RCNP is
very committed to working with those individuals and organizations
submitting meritorious applications and will, where possible, provide
assistance and additional resources to help those community networking
efforts not chosen on this initial round of funding.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The success of any grant program depends upon its ability to fund only those
projects that are well thought out and comprehensively planned. Therefore,
no funds will be expended under this program unless the project demonstrates
the most economic and efficient use of scarce resources. Other general
criteria that all applicants should address are:
1. Commitment to Civic Networking
An understanding of and commitment to civic networking is the key criterion
on which proposals will be evaluated.
For the purposes of this program, civic networking is defined as:
". . . a process, facilitated by the tools of electronic
communications and information, that improves and magnifies human
communication and interaction in a [local] community by:
* Bringing together people within local communities and focusing
their attention on key issues within the community for debate,
deliberation and resolution
* Organizing human communication and information relevant to the
communities' needs and problems on a timely basis
* Requiring, engaging, and involving - on an ongoing basis - the
participation of a broad base of citizens, including community
activists, leaders, sponsors, and service providers
* [Striving to include people from all sectors and levels of the
community - including different socio-economic levels]
* Making basic services available at a fair and reasonable cost -
or, as many espouse, at no cost - for broad-based access within
the community
* Most importantly, doing what commercial [Internet service]
providers find difficult to do well: represent local culture,
local relevance, local pride, and a strong sense of community
ownership
[from "Assessment and Evolution of Community Networking", The
Morino Institute]
Proposal must clearly address the following issues:
* Proposed governance structure for the civic network - including a board
of directors, a committee structure, and plans to develop and manage a
corps of volunteers
* Technical competencies required to maintain the civic network server
* Telecommunications access - including access from the local server to
the larger Internet and from local community computers to the local
server. Please see Item #2 (Technical Considerations) for additional
information on this very important item.
* Provision of public access sites.
* Provision of regular programs of training and support.
* Plans for encouragement and support of electronic publishing by local
organizations and individuals. The strongest proposals will suggest a
decentralized model of information publishing in which organizations
have direct responsibility for and control of their published material.
* Development of locally relevant useful information and communications
services. For example, directories of local government offices,
officials, and services; community event calendars, etc.
2. Technical Considerations
A major goal of this program is the integration of networks. F&P will not
foster stand-alone, "dedicated networks," that are incapable, for either
technical or practical reasons, of interconnecting with other networks and
systems. In part, applicants will be judged on the extent to which they plan
to coordinate information infrastructure activities in their community and
region.
Each civic network must provide for basic Internet connectivity.
Each application must describe in detail all arrangements for Internat
connectivity including letters from Internet service providers or other
partners providing for Internet connectivity. The information must clearly
indicate all layers of telecommunications connectivity - including provision
of at least 8 telephone lines (for public access workstations) to the
central civic networking server; including connectivity from the server to
the local Internet service provider; and including the local Internet
service provider's arrangements for connection to the Internet. Diagrams may
be helpful in describing all levels of connectivity. All costs for Internet
service (including Internet traffic costs (if applicable)) must be clearly
indicated and arrangements for payment indicated.
Applicants must consider the concept of "interoperability," the view that
every system, no matter its level of sophistication or geographic extent, is
part, ultimately, of a global communication system that allows one end-user
to communicate "transparently" with another end-user, irrespective of
distance or time.
3. Partnerships
The RCNP requires applications to be jointly developed and submitted by
consortia representing many different sectors of local community life.
Proposals should include representation from such organizations as: local
government, non-government organizations, educational institutions, health
care organizations, commercial organizations, religious institutions, social
service agencies, environmental organizations, public safety offices, etc.
Applicants should be aware of other relevant information infrastructure
projects in the community or region. To the extent possible, applicants
should plan to coordinate their projects with other relevant projects.
There are many individuals and sectors of society with a stake in the
information infrastructure. How an applicant intends to incorporate their
opinions and concerns into the civic networking effort is crucial to
success. The breadth and depth of representation, including a balanced
representation of rural and urban, professional, socioeconomic, ethnic,
cultural and other relevant interests, is important. Some questions for an
applicant to address include:
* To what extent will the applicant work to promote public/private
partnerships?
* What procedures will ensure that individuals and entities can provide
input?
* What public and private sector entities will be involved, and at what
levels?
If possible, partnership with commercial Internet service providers is
recommended. Civic networking efforts have proven the value of collaborative
efforts between public and private sectors - with public efforts helping to
"grow" markets for higher end needs which can be serviced by the commercial
sector. Civic networks must not unfairly compete with organizations whose
livelihood depends upon providing Internet service.
4. Privacy
F&P expects applicants to carefully consider safeguards for the privacy of
the information flowing through the information infrastructure funded
through this grant program. While not mandating specifics, it is expected
that applicants will demonstrate a high level of respect for the privacy of
users' information and data.
5. Eliminating Disparity of Access
One of the key motivations for civic networking is to promote equity of
access, so that the information age does not create information "haves" and
"have nots." Applicants should address how they intend to support the goal
of promoting widespread access, and eliminating or reducing disparities in
access, to the information infrastructure, consistent with the scope of the
project. F&P will look favorably on proposals that enable common Russian
citizens to learn how to use, and benefit from, information infrastructure,
without unreasonable burden or expense. For example, each interested citizen
in a local community should be able to obtain and utilize an email account
and to browse both local and global information resources.
Applicants should also consider how to train end-users in the use of
information technologies. This section should address questions such as:
* How will the applicant's proposal help ensure end-user ease of access
to the telecommunications infrastructure?
* How will the planning or implementation process encourage community
development?
* How will the planning or implementation process address the issue of
access to the information infrastructure by minorities, disadvantaged,
or otherwise under-served populations?
* Who is best qualified to provide the training?
* Can end-users use the system to produce and disseminate information, as
well as gain access to information?
* Is the system or network user friendly, so that it does not discourage
new users, or those who are not "computer literate?"
* How will the widespread availability of telecommunications and
information infrastructure capabilities be promoted within the
proposal?
* How should the costs of ensuring adequate access be allocated?
* Will the plan stimulate demand for new telecommunications services?
6. Role of Existing Information Infrastructure
Applicants are strongly encouraged to partner with existing organizations
who can supply telecommunications capacity. If an applicant requests support
to construct new transmission capacity, there should be a clear discussion
of why utilization of existing networks and systems cannot be relied upon
efficiently and economically to meet the project's needs. A proposal should
address whether incorporation of existing information infrastructure into
the overall plan is feasible. Under this section, applicants should address
issues such as:
* What information infrastructure is currently available to the
applicant?
* How can commercial and non-commercial providers of telecommunications
and information services help the applicant meet its information needs?
7. Accommodation of Future Technology and Flexibility
As communications and information technologies rapidly evolve and improve,
existing technology can quickly become obsolete. For this reason, all
applicants should consider how they intend to address this issue. The
capacity for upgrades and improvements, as well as the flexibility to
accommodate changes in the volume or types of uses, should be considered
from the beginning of any planning or development process.
8. Contribution to the Formation of a National Information Infrastructure in
Russia
Applicants should explain how their proposed projects can make a
contribution to the development of the National Information Infrastructure.
Some questions that an applicant could consider are:
* What applications and services are being provided through the existing
information infrastructure?
* How will the project ensure connectivity to and integration with other
systems outside the immediate community or region?
9. Monitoring and Evaluation
Each application should clearly state its goals and a plan for monitoring
and evaluating realization of those goals. The plan should indicate
objective and subjective measurements which can be used to evaluate
successful implementation, usage and management of the civic network.
SELECTION PROCEDURES
All applications will be subject to a thorough peer review process. A panel
composed of individuals fully conversant in the technical, organizational
and managerial aspects of civic networking will review the proposals and
make non-binding recommendations to Friends and Partners, Russia. The final
decision on successful applications will be made by officers of Friends and
Partners, Russia who administer this program. All applicants should address
the general criteria described above.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Our gratitude is extended to a lot of thoughtful people at the
U.S. National Telecommunications & Information Administration
(NTIA - housed within the U.S. Department of Commerce). Their 1994
TIIAP program solicitation served as model (and provided much
content) for this Invitation for Partnership. It is one of the
best designed and written program solicitations that we have seen.
More information on the NTIA is available at:
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From gcole@solar.cini.utk.edu Wed Aug 6 22:25:47 1997
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Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 22:30:12 -0400
To: friends@solar.rtd.utk.edu
From: Greg Cole (gcole@solar.cini.utk.edu)
Subject: Digest for 97-08-06 (#2)
-- special note about MirNET - proposed effort to establish high speed --
-- Internet link between Russia and the U.S. --
Dear friends,
As mentioned in today's earlier digest (on civic networking), we are
sending another issue to announce a very intense and hurried effort to put
together a proposal for a very high speed "Internet II" link between US and
Russian scientific/educational/medical communities. Over the course of
five years, the proposed project would put into place a 155 Mb/s
transatlantic link enabling a wide variety of high speed networking
applications between our
research communities.
This is a *fast* and high capacity connection - offering many, many times
the total bandwidth between our countries currently. It will enable such
key applications as remote experimentation and instrumentation control;
data visualization; many simultaneous full-motion remote 'classrooms' for
distance learning and for scientific dialog/exchange; and, of course, the
high speed transmission of massive amounts of scientific, educational, and
medical data. In short, the existence of this link will enable new ways in
which our research communities can collaborate.
This is being submitted under the U.S. National Science Foundation's High
Performance International Internet Services Program.
We have put together a WWW site describing the effort we have named
"MirNET" (we are open to naming suggestions) at URLs:
http://www.friends-partners.org/mirnet/ (US site)
http://alice.ibpm.serpukhov.su/mirnet/ (Russian site)
The consortium drafting the proposal includes several units of The
University of Tennessee, the Russian Institute for Public Networks (RIPN),
the multi-national Global One telecommunications firm, Friends and
Partners, Russia, and several offices and programs associated with the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory. The base of institutions and individuals
who will be able to utilize the link will span both countries.
Specifically, the proposal will establish a transatlantic, high bandwidth
link between network infrastructure in Moscow (and, from there, throughout
Russia) and the US vBNS. The vBNS is a national Asynchronous Transfer Mode
(ATM) network supporting bandwidths of at least 155Mb/s. Because it is
ATM-based, the vBNS backbone can support Quality of Service (QoS)
guarantees on network performance. These guarantees allow the vBNS to
support research applications which require precise control over network
delays. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville was recently awarded a
two year $350,000 NSF grant to support connection of the on-campus network
to the vBNS. The proposed link to Moscow would be at speeds of up to
155Mb/s, lower at first and increasing over the contract period.
The proposal will be judged by several criteria, especially the strength of
the consortium of Russian and U.S. institutions participating in research
which uses the link; technical and engineering plans; and other elements
relating to implementation. Another element in the proposal is a
description of "meritorious applications" involving vBNS-connected
institutions and research institutions in the US and in Russia which
require the advanced services offered by high speed networking.
In this note, we are extending an invitation to join this consortium to
anyone involved in US-Russian scientific, educational, medical
collaboration who might benefit from access to the high speed
infrastructure.
We apologize for the second time today for this intrusion onto the F&P
list. But because so many readers of this service are associated with
academic, research and medical institutions and involved in active
collaborations, we wanted to inform you about the proposal (which is being
hand delivered to the NSF on August 15) and ask if you are interested in
participating or learning more, to please write us (quickly!) at:
frnds@solar.cini.utk.edu
Alternatively, please feel free to call Greg at (423) 974-7277 (in US) or
Natasha at (0967) 73-06-11 (in Russia).
We are excited about the possibilities of this project which will
unquestionably benefit both U.S. and Russian research communities.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Table of Contents
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03-07 August 97 Sender: Paula Welch (phalaris@indirect.com)
Subject: Historical question
04-07 August 97 Sender: "Zach Thompson" (thompzs@worldnet.att.net)
Subject: looking for employment
05-07 August 97 Sender: claire.allen@bbc.co.uk
Subject: comment about friends/comments/index.html
06-07 August 97 Sender: nwbriggs@cix.compulink.co.uk (N Briggs,
P & C Intelligence)
Subject: Contacts in Tver, Nizhniy Novgorod and
Voronezh Oblasts
07-07 August 97 Sender: "James C. & Stacy C. Brown" (katwalk@borg.com)
Subject: Driving while intoxicated
08-07 August 97 Sender: mwright@Traveller.COM (Mike Wright)
Subject: Thank you F&P
09-07 August 97 Sender: "m.stul" (m.stul@csu-e.csuohio.edu)
Subject: I looc for person from Chelyabinsk.
10-07 August 97 Sender: "Zenon M. Feszczak" (feszczak@SAS.UPENN.EDU)
Subject: MacOS 8 + Cyrillic Language Kit (fwd)
11-07 August 97 Sender: Mitch Baker (mitchbaker@voyager.net)
Subject: Question
12-07 August 97 Sender: Marianne Ruane (mruane@glas.apc.org)
Subject: English-speaking Physicians
13-07 August 97 Sender: Raffi Aftandelian (fetacheese@igc.apc.org)
Subject: health insurance in the NIS
14-07 August 97 Sender: David Stickney (david@wvb.gomel.by)
Subject: Help For a Church in Belarus.
15-07 August 97 Sender: GlenOVinc@aol.com
Subject: Long-lost relative from Perm, Russia
16-07 August 97 Sender: Sara Elizabeth Van Gunst (svanguns@indiana.edu)
Subject: Request for Assistance (fwd)
17-07 August 97 Sender: "SturmC" (sturmc@rferl.org)
Subject: Links to OMRI & Radio Free Europe
18-07 August 97 Sender: David (david@wvb.gomel.by)
Subject: Lullaby in any languages
19-07 August 97 Sender: "Jason C. Jarrell" (jjarrell@students.uiuc.edu)
Subject: Internships in St. Petersburg, Russia
20-07 August 97 Sender: H-Net Russian History list (H-RUSSIA@MSU.EDU)
Subject: NET: RUSSIAN RADIO ON THE WEB (X-Post)
21-07 August 97 Sender: Bohdan Peter Rekshynskyj (Bohdan@TRYZUB.com)
Subject: TryzubSite: New email list: MacBanda - now online!
APPENDIX: LISTSERV address & basic procedures
----------------------------------------------------------------------
RECENT GUESTBOOK ENTRIES . . .
** 01 **********************************************************************
Sender: tlm@visprop.com
Subject: from Traci Martinez
I'm passionate about Russian history and culture and would like to
correspond with anyone who is also. I prefer a Russian, but care most that
the correspondence is lively and interesting. I'm a 33 year old woman from
Chicago and also like a wide spectrum of music, film, art and literature.
Will respond to all e-mails.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-MAIL POSTINGS . . .
Please continue to send your e-mail to friends@solar.rtd.utk.edu.
** 01 **********************************************************************
Sender: LOIS AVERY (iavery@win.bright.net)
Subject: Army
Can you tell me who re[placed Kvashnin as commander of the North Caucasus
Military District?
** 02 **********************************************************************
Sender: Raffi Aftandelian (fetacheese@igc.apc.org)
Subject: getting a year-long multiple entry visa
Hi friends! I was wondering if anyone can recommend or knows of any firms
that issue (sell) year-long multiple entry visas for Russia. I am
particularly interested in US-based firms.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
For a dynamically harmonious present,
Raffi Aftandelian
_
"Bygones are here to stay."
-- my father's newest aphorism
** 03 **********************************************************************
Sender: Paula Welch (phalaris@indirect.com)
Subject: Historical question
Does anyone out there know who I. Kudrya was? All I know is what I
remember from an AP blurb in 1990 noting that someone by this name was
going to be on a stamp and was, as I recall, a WWII-era figure.
Thanks,
Paula Welch
phalaris@indirect.com
** 04 **********************************************************************
Sender: "Zach Thompson" (thompzs@worldnet.att.net)
Subject: looking for employment
Hi!
My name is Zach. I live in Seattle Washington USA. I'm 19 and I love
cultures and languages. I know some Russian and continually learning more.
I am looking for a job dealing with people from other cultures...be it
anything. I know lots about computers and the internet although I have no
degrees. I'm a quick learner and really want to work with the people.
Please help me find a job that I love with people. Btw, I have excellent
Human Relations skills. I can send my resume upon request. Thankyou.
Sincerely, Zach Thompson
** 05 **********************************************************************
Sender: claire.allen@bbc.co.uk
Subject: comment about friends/comments/index.html
Please tell me in simple terms how to read the Cyrillic text on my screen.
It's driving me mad! None of the advice given helps. Please tell me in
1.2.3. steps. Many thanks.
** 06 **********************************************************************
Sender: nwbriggs@cix.compulink.co.uk (N Briggs, P & C Intelligence)
Subject: Contacts in Tver, Nizhniy Novgorod and Voronezh Oblasts
I am undertaking research for my MA Dissertation at the Centre for
Post-Soviet Studies, University of Reading, England. I want to obtain
information about the economic changes which have taken place in the Tver,
Nizhniy Novgorod and Voronezh oblasts over the last ten years. I would
like to make contact with anyone who has access to documentary information
of the changes in ownership, structure, products, markets of companies in
these areas or has anecdotal information about changes in their personal
circumstances over this period. I hope to visit Tver and Voronezh in late
August/early September or October.
Norman Briggs
nwbriggs@cix.compulink.co.uk
** 07 **********************************************************************
Sender: "James C. & Stacy C. Brown" (katwalk@borg.com)
Subject: Driving while intoxicated
We were wondering, does Russia have comprable laws for Driving while
intoxicated. It is a big thing here, we were wondering about other
countries laws and Rusia was our first stop
Thank You, for what ever information you can share with us.
Stacy
** 08 **********************************************************************
Sender: mwright@Traveller.COM (Mike Wright)
Subject: Thank you F&P
Friends,
I would again like to extend my thanks to Greg and Natasha
and Friends for their constant efforts in keeping open communication between
countries. Keep up the good work! I'm meeting new friends all the time.
Jon Wright
** 09 **********************************************************************
Sender: "m.stul" (m.stul@csu-e.csuohio.edu)
Subject: I looc for person from Chelyabinsk.
Hi
I live currently in USA but I am from Chelyabinsk. Please, person that also
from Chelyabinsk, write me Email.(IN ENGLISH OR RUSSIAN)
THANK YOU
Yakov Stul
** 10 **********************************************************************
Sender: "Zenon M. Feszczak" (feszczak@SAS.UPENN.EDU)
Subject: MacOS 8 + Cyrillic Language Kit (fwd)
Pryvit -
Mac Cyrillic users may be interested to know that the luscious new MacOS 8
works fine with the Cyrillic Language Kit.
Installing the standard Kit from CD-ROM over MacOS 8 led to immediate
Cyrillic gratification for at least this author. Your kilometrage may vary.
Nevertheless, Apple has also just today released an update to the Language
Kits which supposedly improves compatibility with OS 8.
So users may wish to install this update just in case.
Install in this order:
OS 8
Cyrillic Language Kit
Language Kit Update
The Language Kit Update may be found here:
ftp://ftp.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/US/Macintosh/Syste
m/Language_Kits/
The files of interest are those named LKU.
You'll need a disk image mounting utility, like Disk Copy version 6 or later:
ftp://ftp.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple.Software.Updates/US/Macintosh/Utili
ties/Disk_Copy_6.1.3.sea.hqx
Na vse dobre,
Zenon M. Feszczak
Ukrainophile
** 11 **********************************************************************
Sender: Mitch Baker (mitchbaker@voyager.net)
Subject: Question
Tuesday, July 29, 1997
Dear Friend,
I wish to know all the countries that a Russian citizen with a passport can
visit without needing a visa. I thank you very much for any help!
Very Best Regards,
Mitch Baker
** 12 **********************************************************************
Sender: Marianne Ruane (mruane@glas.apc.org)
Subject: English-speaking Physicians
This message was sent to me from a colleague at the
University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. I can't help her, but
if anyone reading this can, please respond to her directly.
Thank you for your time.
--
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 09:31:32 -0500
To: mruane@glas.apc.org
From: JENNITH FROYD (froydjj@uwec.edu)
Subject: English-speaking Physicians
Good Morning, Your name was given to me by Cheryl Lochner-Wright, our Study
Abroad Coordinator, as someone who could supply us with names of
English-speaking physicians in the following locations: Vilnius, Lithuania,
Tallin, Estonia, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. Any help in this matter will
be greatly appreciated. Jenny Froyd)
** 13 **********************************************************************
Sender: Raffi Aftandelian (fetacheese@igc.apc.org)
Subject: health insurance in the NIS
Hello friends!
I am wondering if anyone can recommend any health insurance plans. I will be
in the NIS -- Russia and the Caucasus and maybe Central Asia-- for the next
two years. I am seeking a plan that would cover most of the cost of my
prescription drugs, medical evacuation, and dental, and occasional doctor
visits.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Raffi Aftandelian
___________
"Bygones are here to stay."
-- my father's newest aphorism
** 14 **********************************************************************
Sender: David Stickney (david@wvb.gomel.by)
Subject: Help For a Church in Belarus
Dear Friends,
I have a good Friend who is a Paster of the local Baptist Church. He was
recently lucky enough to get a nice building to turn into his church.
Nice in what sense, it's big enough to hold the growing number of people
coming. Where it's lacking is in the repair needed to weatherproof the building
for winter, and to make a modest remodeling of the interior. If you could help,
please contact:
The Efaniena Baptist Church
Fax: 375 232 54-8581
Tel: 375 232 54-8589
Email C/O Vika@wvb.gomel.by
Mosckovskaya 60
Gomel
Belarus
246010
** 15 **********************************************************************
Sender: GlenOVinc@aol.com
Subject: Long-lost relative from Perm, Russia
I have come to Friends and Partners many times in the past to request help
for one thing or another and have always gotten good responses. This one may
be a little more difficult. I have some Russian friends who live in Perm,
Russia, who have some friends who have a relative who immigrated to the US
years ago. They would like very much to contact him. His name is Mihail
Mikolayevik Shilov (I'm not sure if my English spelling of his name is
correct). He was born May 11, 1949, in Perm. He may be going by a nick name
of Mamoo Thakoordas (again, not sure of spelling). They also think that he
may be associated with the Hare Krishnas. His family would greatly
appreciate any help. Just e-mail me if you have any information at all.
Thanks!
** 16 **********************************************************************
Sender: Sara Elizabeth Van Gunst (svanguns@indiana.edu)
Subject: Request for Assistance
Hello,
I just completed my master's degree in Russian Studies at Indiana
University. Recently I received a job offer from a company called Amdour,
Inc. to work in Nizhnii Novgorod for a year. Before taking this position
I would like to find out more about the reputation of this organization- it
is Russian owned but has significant foreign investment. I would be
working at one of Amdour's subsidiaries in Nizhnii, EKOIL. Could you offer
any information about Amdour or EKOIL? Do you have any suggestions as to
whom I could contact to find out about them? Thank you in advance for any
assitance that you can provide.
Regards,
Sara Van Gunst
** 17 **********************************************************************
Sender: "SturmC" (sturmc@rferl.org)
Subject: Links to OMRI & Radio Free Europe
Greetings:
Your site's link to OMRI and the OMRI Daily Digest indicates a continuing
interest in developments in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Russia
and Central Asia.
To provide your users with more information about the region, I invite you to
link to the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Web site for analyses and news
updated twice a day, as well as RealAudio content of selected broadcasts
(e.g., Russian news each weekday). Your users will also find the content and
archives of RFE/RL Newsline, a free email report prepared by regional
specialists five days a week. RFE/RL Newsline continues and builds upon the
distinguished tradition of the original RFE/RL Daily Report and the OMRI Daily
Digest.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
http://www.rferl.org
RFE/RL Newsline
http://www.rferl.org/newsline/index.html
Regards,
Chris Noonan Sturm
RFE/RL Web Editor
sturmc@rferl.org
http://www.rferl.org
** 18 **********************************************************************
Sender: David (david@wvb.gomel.by)
Subject: Lullaby in any languages
Dear Friends,
Alla Strugovets is a Childbirth counselor at the New Beginnings prenatal
trainings center in Gomel Belarus. Going beyond the traditional prenatal
care courses, the New Beginnings program continues on with the new family
after thier new child has arrived.
There are hosts of activities, resources, and information for the use of
the new parents who attend the classes and programs provided by New
Beginnings. More than 600 new families have taken part in the program.
Alla would like to find a resource of lullibies in as many languages as
possible. Since I only know "Hush Little Baby, Don't Say a Word" I can't
be of too much help, and a recording of me singing this song might have
adverse effects on these children at this impressionable young age ;) .
Alla Makes a Wonderful Borch, And She Loves to Get REAL mail, so if you
would like a real pen pal who'll send you a great recipie, Please Think about
Sending a cassette with childrens music in your native language.
This is a real opportunity to share a culture, off the internet (Imagine
That). If you can't send a cassette, perhaps sheet music or the lyrics.
Your kindness will become part of the New beginnings library, a family
resource for the entire community.
The Address is:
Alla Strugovets
14 Pushkina
P.O. Box 346
Gomel 246050
Belarus
http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/oldfriends/wvision/
Alla@wvb.gomel.by
** 19 **********************************************************************
Sender: "Jason C. Jarrell" (jjarrell@students.uiuc.edu)
Subject: Internships in St. Petersburg, Russia
RE: Internships in St. Petersburg
Dear List Members:
We are looking for organizations in St. Petersburg, Russia that would be
interested in offering unpaid internship positions to American college
students who will be studying at St. Petersburg State University on
semester academic programs taking place the Fall and Spring of 1997-98.
Ideal internship positions would be 5-10 hours a week (mostly in the
afternoon) and would involve the students in the activities and projects
related to the organization's focus.
Organizations may be local or foreign, large or small, and can be either
schools, institutes, businesses, NGO's, non-profit organizations or
charities, etc. The program will have approximately 15 students each
semester. Russian language skills range from intermediate to advanced,
and there is often a wide range of majors from the humanities, business,
or technical fields. Example internship positions might include areas in
teaching, research support, translating, public relations, marketing,
technical assistance, etc.
By virtue of their participation on the program all students have excellent
academic backgrounds and are highly motivated. We believe this presents
an excellent opportunity to both the participating organizations and the
students in that the organizations may benefit from the student's
expertise while the students may gain first-hand professional experience
in Russia.
Please respond off the list to: jjarrell@uiuc.edu before August 15,
1997. In the US you may call (217) 333-6322 and speak with Jason or Kim; in
St. Petersburg you may call 352-4292 ext. 403 after August 28, 1997.
Thank you!
-------------------------------------------
Illinois Programs Abroad
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
phone: 217-333-6322
fax:217-244-0249
For information about International Programs and Studies at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign see the home
page at http://www.uiuc.edu/providers/ips/sao
** 20 **********************************************************************
Sender: H-Net Russian History list (H-RUSSIA@MSU.EDU)
Subject: NET: RUSSIAN RADIO ON THE WEB
---------------------------
Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 15:46:59 -0400
From: Martin Ryle (mryle@richmond.edu)
Subject: NET: RUSSIAN RADIO ON THE WEB
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 1997 23:39:47 -0700
From: Benjamin Sher (sher07@bellsouth.net)
Dear colleagues:
My wife Anna and I recently bought a new Pentium computer. It cost us an
arm and a leg but it was time to upgrade from an old 386.
One of the major reasons for buying it was to allow us to listen to Russian
broadcasts.
The best general list of radio and TV stations I know of is the MIT list of
3,000 stations on the Internet to be found at:
http://wmbr.mit.edu/stations/euro.html
Unfortunately, only a few of the stations listed actually broadcast (live
or otherwise) on the Internet.
The best Russian station I have found so far is the government station
Golos Rossii at
http://www.wrn.org/stations/vor.html
You can hear a one-hour program of news and commentary, repeated 24 hours
throughout the day. There is a new program each day.
The other Russian stations listed in the MIT list are generally music
stations playing American rock and roll and their Russian counterparts.
I hope to find other Russian-language programs, but it's not easy to find
them. There is the Voice of America but all they seem to have are 10-minute
news clips.
Radio France International broadcasts also in Russian, but I won't know any
details till we sign up.
(In case you or your friends are interested, the best source for French
broadcasts is FRANCELINK at:
http://www.francelink.com/
You get France-Culture, Radio Sorbonne, RFI, etc. etc. The broadcasts are
NOT free but the software (RealAudio or StreamWorks) IS. Both are available
free from their respective web sites.
Can any of you suggest any other Russian broadcasts from anywhere in the
world? Please include the appropriate URL's.
Thank you so much.
Yours,
Benjamin
Benjamin and Anna Sher
SHER PUBLISHERS
802-C Fern St.
New Orleans, LA 70118
Email: sher07@bellsouth.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/1212
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 16:04:14 -0400
From: Martin Ryle (mryle@richmond.edu)
Subject: Re: RUSSIAN RADIO ON THE WEB
Date: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 01:53:38 -0700
From: Benjamin Sher (sher07@bellsouth.net)
Dear Colleagues:
If you are curious about Russian-language broadcasts, feel free to visit my
web site at:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/1212
You'll find not only an expanded, comprehensive list of Russian links (well
over 50 sites, each of which is a link to dozens and even hundreds more)
but a new section in two parts devoted to Russian Radio broadcasts
worldwide. As I locate more stations, I'll add them to the list.
Yesterday I asked for help in locating Russian-language broadcasts. Thanks
to several people (especially Professors Drozd and Rifkin), I found some
good sites. In addition, after several hours of searching, I managed to
find several more, some of which are real gems.
My list is divided into two groups: Russian Radio-Video Active and Russian
Radio-Video Others.
This may seem quite obvious, and, of course, it is. However, anyone who has
tried to pick up Russian radio stations will quickly discover the profound
frustration with actual reception. Many of the stations are simply not
accessible or are off the air (temporarily or what not). It is quite
exasperating.
I therefore decided to separate the wheat from the chaff. The 9 entries in
the Active list are all solid, reliable sites (or constellatin of sites),
and most of them broadcast full programs lasting from 30 minutes to a full
hour (except for Radio Liberty and Voice of America). In one case (of all
places, a Chicago station called New Horizons), the programs are 3 hours or
more in length. At other times, the servers relaying the broadcasts seemed
to be especially reliable, and many stations that I could never get before
came in clearly and beautifully on RealAudio.
In addition to RealAudio, I recommend Streamworks for some stations and the
new Microsoft NetShowPlayer. All of these are free.
The authority for radio stations on the Internet in general is, to the best
of my knowledge, the MIT List of 3,000 Radio and Television Stations on the
Internet. You'll find it on my site (Radio-Video Others). Not all of them
are actually available, and the Russian list is very misleading (see above).
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Yours,
Benjamin
Benjamin and Anna Sher
SHER PUBLISHERS
802-C Fern St.
New Orleans, LA 70118
Email: sher07@bellsouth.net
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/1212
** 21 **********************************************************************
Sender: Bohdan Peter Rekshynskyj (Bohdan@TRYZUB.com)
Subject: TryzubSite: New email list: MacBanda - now online!
Pryvit!
MacBanda is a moderated email list dedicated to the number one
Ukrainian computer - the Macintosh! Yes, for many years now,
the Macintosh has completely been available in the Ukrainian
language. This means in complete Ukrainian Cyrillic - not a word
to be found in English, be it on the desktop, in the help dialogue,
or in the major applications.
The list is dedicated to topics revolving around the Mac and Ukrainian
items.
To tender ;-) a subscription request, please send this text in the BODY
of your email:
"Subscribe MacBanda"
to
Majordomo@TRYZUB.com
Spasybi!
Bohdan Petro Rekshyns'kyi
http://www.tryzub.com
----------------------- END FRIENDS August 07, 1997 -------------------------
APPENDIX
FRIENDS is a free service started by friends in Russia and the United
States. This Listserv is one element of that service.
To subscribe to FRIENDS (if someone has passed you a copy of this
announcement), just send an email message to:
listproc@solar.rtd.utk.edu
consisting of *one line* of the following format:
SUBSCRIBE FRIENDS firstname lastname
and substitute your first and last names for 'firstname lastname'
To unsubscribe from FRIENDS, send the message UNSUBSCRIBE FRIENDS to:
listproc@solar.rtd.utk.edu
To post a message to FRIENDS, send it to: friends@solar.rtd.utk.edu.
To visit the FRIENDS WWW server, use the following URLs if you have
a World Wide Web browser: http://www.friends-partners.org/friends/
http://alice.ibpm.serpukhov.su/friends/
If you don't have a WWW browser, just telnet to solar.rtd.utk.edu
and enter 'friends' (in lower case and without the quotes) at the
login prompt.
or those who need it, the IP address of our computers are 198.78.213.165
193.124.128.211
Please address any comments, questions, or suggestions to your
moderators:
Natasha Bulashova, natasha@alice.ibpm.serpukhov.su
Greg Cole, gcole@solar.rtd.utk.edu