 |
UNDP United Nations Development Programme |
| Cooperation between UNDP and UNESCO praised by UNESCO Director-General | |
| UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor during his May visit to Moscow met with the UNDP Resident Representative in the Russian Federation Philippe Elghouayel. Mr. Elghouayel informed Mr. Mayor about the co-operation between UNDP and the UNESCO Moscow Office since 1998, and its successes. Current projects include "A Better Future for Youth" and "Restoration and Development of Culture of the Northern Indigenous Peoples of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)". |
|
| "A Better Future for
Youth" was initiated in 1998 in the ongoing effort to assist homeless and abandoned
children in Russia. The first phase of the project has been completed with the production
of the "Report on UNESCO Project ‘Urban Youth’", which provides statistics,
information and analyses of five cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kranoyarsk, Nizhniy
Novgorod and Tver – about factors relevant to the plight of homeless and abandoned urban
youth. Russian and international experts are currently formulating the official project
documents, which will include plans for the publication of a brochure to encourage
sponsorship of the project. UNDP and UNESCO are currently financing "A Better Future
for Youth" from extra-budgetary sources.
The aim of the project "Restoration and Development of Culture of the Northern Indigenous Peoples of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)", also initiated in 1998, is to help support the culture of the indigenous peoples of Sakha, including the preservation of national traditions and customs, which is part of a large-scale programme in the field of sustainable development of the indigenous peoples of the Republic of Sakha. The project consists of three components: the publication of an art book of Yukaguir artist Nicholai Kurilov’s work, production of a video of indigenous dances of Sakha performed by the dance troupe Gulun, and the production of a manual on "The Organisation and Economy of Reindeer Breeding and Products". In addition, in coming days a framework project on Democracy, Good Governance and Participation (DGP) will be made official and is set to begin in August. New areas of cooperation envisaged between UNDP and UNESCO include a project to restore and develop the historic centre of St. Petersburg and a project on environmentaly sustainable economic development in Kamchatka. In this context, the Director of the UNESCO Moscow Office Wolfgang Reuther was invited to join UNDP on a mission to Kamchatka early June. The Director-General of UNESCO praised the cooperation between the two offices and offered his personal support for the projects. |
|
|
UNAR United Nations Association of Russia |
UNAR addresses the Council of Federation |
|
The United Nations Association of Russia addressed the Council of Federation of Russia to assist in opening UNAR regional branches in the members of the Federation. This is the only Russian NGO which has general consultative status in the UN Economic and Social Council. It gives UNAR the right to participate officially in its sessions and to distribute the documents in UN structures, including the General Assembly and the Security Council. UNAR is a member of the Federation of UN Associations which unites more than 80 members. The objective of UNAR is to promote the ideas of the United Nations and involve the public in attaining tasks of the UN. |
The document adds that the UNAR is very interested in expanding its activity in the Russian Federation and sees it as one of the most important directions of its work. Moreover, establishing of new regional branches may help the regions to expand their international contacts and to take their opinion into the consideration in the decision making at the UN level. The document was signed by the Chairman of UNAR Anatoly Torkunov, the Member of the UNAR Presidium, vice-president of CF Vladimir Platonov and the Member of the UNAR Presidium, the Ambassador of Russia to the European Union Vasily Likhachev. |
|
|
UNDP United Nations Development Programme |
| Anniversary of the Social Partnership Centre | |
The Social Partnership Experimental Centre for interaction between governmental and nongovernmental organizations has acclaimed lots of achievements since it was established in May last year jointly with the UNDP Country Office and Moscow Government. Leaders of NGOs, officials of state institutions, and representatives of the city authorities all met for a house party in the Russian capital on May 24. "A year ago, in this very hall, we opened the Social Partnership Centre," Philippe Elghouayel, the UNDP Resident Representative in the Russian Federation, said at the ceremony. "The project existed on paper only, and we wondered if it could all be realized in practice. After all, much of what we had conceived was being done in Russia for the first time. Today, the Centre has many partners. Some have received training here, others the support they needed, and others still have combined their useful efforts. And this, in my opinion, is the main achievement of our project." Having learnt of the Moscow experience, the authorities of some other Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, approached UNDP with proposals on joint efforts to establish similar centres.  |
The anniversary was a businesslike yet informal occasion. One of the Centre’s functions, after all, is to serve as a business club for NGOs and state structures, filled with an atmosphere of free socializing which helps with mutual understanding, the establishment of working contacts. The Manager of the Centre Irina Leonova, and the Centre’s employees spoke of their achievements. They included setting up a system for joint training of govenrnmental and NGO officials, seminars, internships abroad, analysis of growth trends and problems of the third sector in Moscow. Furthermore, NGOs work in profile groups, develop regulatory and legislative documents, organize Thank You Evenings in aid of enthusiasts from the third sector and create new projects and programmes. As regards plans for the future, these include intensifying the work with NGOs in the districts and regions of Moscow, improving the performance of the profile groups, opening a business club for personnel, starting new publications and creating experimental cites. The Centre’s first year has demonstrated that it is possible to implement in Moscow a viable project for mobilizing human resources to resolve vital issues. |
| UN
Tribute to Pushkin in Nizhny Novgorod All Middle and High Schools of Nizhny Novgorod City became participants of the Contest within the framework of the celebration of the Pushkin Anniversary which took place thanks to the efforts of the UNDP Project Support Office. Nizhny Novgorod painters and men of letters, representatives of national and international institutions and organizations, UNDP, UNESCO, Austrian Cooperation Agency, Moscow Office of FRG Schools formed an international jury. A painting contest was organized for pupils from grades 1-8. They
painted pictures inspired by Pushkin fairy tales according to their imagination.
16 pictures were shown and noted during the final event in the City Admini-stration Hall
and 6 selected works were displayed at the city exhibition, organized by the City
administration and UNDP. The poetry contest was the most difficult one. Pupils from grades
9-11 composed new poems about Nizhny Novgorod. The best one named Overflow was written by
Liuba Khoreva. She described modern life and this year’s spring flood in Nizhny Novgorod
inspired by Pushkin`s The Copper Rider. Three best writers were selected by the jury and
awarded at the end. The three best poems were published in a local weekly newspaper School
in June. Two local TV companies showed the final event. Winners, their teachers and organizers looked really happy. The high artistic level of pictures and poems made this contest really successful. ehildren were delighted to receive UNDP prizes. High quality paints were presented to 16 young painters. 8 young poets were presented with albums containing Nizhny Novgorod sites of the 19th century created by eminent Russian photopainter Karelin. Top prizewinners recei-ved as a reward perfectly illustrated albums and books on art. First prizewinners and their schools were presented with a Complete Course of Painting and Drawing and a Complete Edition of Pushkin Works in 19 volumes. |
|
