New Eurasia Foundation newsletter for 2012

IN THIS ISSUE:

• NEW EURASIA FOUNDATION PROGRAM NEWS

• ANNOUNCEMENTS

• CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR 2013

NEW EURASIA FOUNDATION

NEWSLETTER

S P E C I A L I S S U E

NEW EURASIA FOUNDATION (FNE) is a Russian nonprofit organization established in Moscow in 2004. The New Eurasia Foundation improves the lives of Russian citizens by consolidating the efforts and resources of the public, private, and nongovernmental sectors and implementing social and economic development programs at the regional and local levels that are based on the most advanced domestic and international expertise and innovative technologies.

3/9, 3-rd Syromyatnichesky Lane, bldg.1, 5th floor, Moscow, 105120, RussiaPhone: 7 (495) 970-1567  Fax: 7 (495) 970-1568 [email protected]://www.neweurasia.ru/en

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OUTCOMES

2012

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EDUCATION

In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation continued implementing various projects and programs within the framework of its “Education” activity area, both in Russia and abroad. These projects and programs are focused on the following principal issues: development of technology transfer systems at institutions of higher learning, assessment of research and education projects by international experts, development of international activities of Russian institutions of higher learning and their associations, modernization of primary and secondary vocational education with participation of employers, development of community education practices at the level of regional education systems, engagement of Russian institutions of higher learning in socio-economic development of local communities, and collaboration between tertiary education, private businesses, and regional governments.

At present the New Eurasia Foundation implements the following education projects:• Enhancing university research and

entrepreneurial capacity – “EURECA” • Organizing scientific and education

projects’ international expertize• Study-tours, trainings and retraining

programs • Community universities: Phase 3• Community schools in Russia:

an outlook

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ENHANCING UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CAPACITY – “EURECA”: INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES

EDUCATIONЭВРИКАEURECAЭE

• Development of  institutional innovation ecosystems required for  entrepreneurial universities to emerge.

• Development of  the  mechanisms and  po-tential required for  institutions of  higher learning to  integrate themselves into re-gional economic development processes.

• Development of  the  mechanisms of  inte-grating Russian universities to the national and international innovative community.

• Development of  new US-Russia relation-ship formats through long-term mutu-ally beneficial cooperation between institu¬tions of  higher learning and  busi-nesses and governments.

• Development of  a  new format for  a  large-scale and  systemic international program implemented in  compliance with  the  key national priorities and global economy de-velopment trends.

«EURECA» was initiated by the US-Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law (USRF) in partnership with the RF Ministry of Education and Science. It is implemented in compliance with the priorities of the National «Education» Project and the pilot project designed to create national research universities. The «EURECA» program has been included in the project portfolios of the Working Group for Education and the Working Group for Innovations of the US-Russian Presidential Commission. The pilot phase of the program (2010-2012) has been completed.

Over the course of the pilot phase of the program (2010-2012) its participants took part in a great number of networking events; the participating US and Russian universities implemented a series of collaborative pilot projects; there was created a system designed to provide information and advisory support to Russian institutions of higher learning pursuing innovation development goals; and a number of Russian universities significantly enhanced their entrepreneurial potential and capacity for commercialization of research and technology transfer.

During that period representatives of more than 40 leading Russian universities at tended more than 20 networking training sessions, seminars, and workshops on the most rel-evant development issues of innovative and entrepreneurial institutions of higher learn-ing, methods of strengthening the role of institutions of higher learning in the regional and national innovation economies, and the prospects of integration of Russian institu-tions of higher learning in  the global innovation community. Some of  those network-ing training sessions were hosted by the pilot universities of the program, i.e. Nizhniy Novgorod State University (NNSU) and  St. Petersburg University of  Informa tion Tech-nologies, Mechanics, and Optics (ITMO), and attended by the leading Russian and in-ternational experts and «EURECA» program participants. They presented the outcomes of  their university research commercialization activities, experimental design and de-velopment activities, as well as technological audit activities, including approaches, methods, and the place and role of institutions of higher learning in com mercialization of research.

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GENERAL OUTCOMES OF THE PILOT PHASE OF THE PROGRAM

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• The conference-seminar “Developing the innovation infrastructure of the leading institutions of higher learning”, organized and held by the New Eurasia Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Educa-tion and Science of the Russian Federation (December 2010, Moscow);

• A visit paid by the top executives of 17 Russian leading universities to the United States of America, in partnership with the Associations of the leading Russian and US universities, RF Ministry of Education and Science, and American Councils for International Education – the US operators of the “EURECA” program (April 2011, USA);

• International conference “Global experiences in collaboration between universities, private businesses, and regional governments in the field of technology transfer”, hosted by MISiS (September 2011, Moscow);

• International conference “Economy of leadership and innovations: youth engagement formats ” (November 2011, Kazan);

• Annual conference on the implementation of outputs of the first year of the pilot phase of the program, “Developing the research and entrepre-neurship potential of Russian universities: EURECA”, focused, among other things, on developing relationships between universities, au-thorities, businesses, and industrial enterprises (January 2012, Los Angeles).

• Working meeting “Education. Innovations. Social capital. University and the innovation ecosystem of the Russian Far East and the Asian-Pacific countries” (January 2012, Vladivostok);

• Networking conference “Innovation ecosystem of universities and their role in regional innovation development – lessons and solutions for successful commercialization”, held as part of the VI International Forum “From science to business” (May 2012, St. Pe tersburg);

• International conference “We are building our future today: universi-ty – region – business” (November 2012, Moscow);

• International forum hosted by the Nizhniy Novgorod State University “Entrepreneurial university – innovative region” (November 2012, Nizhniy Novgorod); etc.

In addition to the numerous networking events, the program’s suc-cessful experience has been made freely accessible to those inter-ested in developing the entrepreneurial potential of Russian institu-tions of higher learning public and disseminated via the designated “EURECA” program website, http://www.eureca-usrf.org/en/, the “EURECA” Program” group created by a group of Russian universi-ties on Facebook, websites of the pilot universities - http://eureca.ifmo.ru/?lang=en and http://www.eureca.unn.ru/eng/, publication of various materials generated by the pilot projects, success sto-ries, analytical and methodological materials, as well as resource manuals, such as:• EURECA Resource Book “EURECA” Program: a complex university

research development system: the case of the St. Petersburg University of Information Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics (ITMO) – a pilot university of the program”.

• EURECA Resource Book “EURECA” Program: entrepreneurial university and regional development opportunities: international experience and Russian context - experience of the Nizhniy Novgorod State University – a pilot university of the program”.

• EURECA Resource Book “University – region – business: working together towards integration”.

EXAMPLES OF NETWORKING CONFERENCES, FORUMS, WORKING MEETINGS, AND INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIPS CONDUCTED IN THE COURSE OF THE PILOT PHASE OF THE PROGRAM:

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The international conference “We are building our future today: Univer-sity – Region – Business” took place on November 27, 2012 in Moscow. The conference was attended by E. V. Ugrinovich, the Director of the Department for International Affairs of the RF Ministry of Education and Science, John Beyrle, the US Ambassador to Russia (2008 – 2011), top executives of the USRF, New Eurasia Foundation, American Councils for International Education, and representatives of some of the leading Rus-sian universities. Representatives of the pilot universities – St. Peters burg National Re-search University for Information Technologies, Mechan ics, and Optics and Nizhniy Novgorod State University named after N. I. Lobachevsky – presented the mechanisms and structures they had used to design effec-tive models of international cooperation, workforce train ing, innovative entrepreneurship, including youth entrepreneurship, and development of universities’ sustainable innovation ecosystems for the benefit of inno-vation development of the regions and the country upon the whole. They also identified their most promis ing development avenues.The Moscow events were followed by the international forum “Entrepre-neurial university – innovative region” that was held on November 28 – 29, 2012 at the Nizhniy Novgorod State University. The forum enabled its participants to identify and discuss entrepreneurial university develop-ment methods, organization of international technology transfer activi-ties, and the role of university in the development of an innovative region. The forum was attended by more than 200 participants, including rep-resentatives of some of the leading Russian and American universities, regional governments, businesses, investors, business angels, profes-sional business associations, innovative Russian and US regions, as well as leading experts and researchers.The forum proceedings were organized in the form of panel discus-sions where the outcomes of the pilot projects implemented within the frame work of the “EURECA” program were presented, e.g.: experiences in co operation between NNSU and Purdue University (USA) in promot-ing in novative entrepreneurship among youth, NNSU and Maryland Uni-versity (USA) in promoting in novative partnerships with local and global business,as well as experiences in coop eration between ITMO (St. Pe-tersburg) and University of California in Los Angeles (USA) in designing a business accelerator model. The program of the forum also included an open workshop for students and graduate student, “Entrepreneurship for students and young scientists”, conduct ed by a group of instructors from Purdue University (USA).

“…Over the course of its next phase the program will retain its systemic nature and scale to ensure sustainability of results for the development of education and the sphere of innovations in Russia”

E. V. UGRINOVICHthe Director of the Department for International Affairs of the RF Ministry of Education and Science

“...“EURECA” is unique in that it helps create new and mutually beneficial forms and mechanisms of cooperation between Rus-sian and American institutions of higher learning and engage regional governments and representatives of the sphere of in-novations in this cooperation”.

JOHN BEYRLEUS Ambassador, a member of the Board of Directors of the US-Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law

V. V. Nefyodov noted that the Nizhniy Novgorod region was one of Russia’s largest innovation centers with a powerful techno-logical potential: “The cooperation with US universities helps us grow this potential. The primary objective of our international collaboration is to bring together Russian experiences and Amer-ican potential to create products that are able to serve for the benefit of mankind”.

V. V. NEFYODOVthe Minister of industry and innovations of the Nizhniy Novgorod region

THE EVENTS THAT CONCLUDED THE PILOT PHASE OF THE US-RUSSIAN “EURECA” PROGRAM DESIGNED TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESEARCH AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP POTENTIAL OF RUSSIAN UNIVERSITIES, WERE HELD ON NOVEMBER 27 – 29, 2012 IN MOSCOW AND NIZHNIY NOVGOROD.

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In the course of the pilot phase of the “EURECA” program (2010 - 2012) two pilot Russian research universities – NNSU and ITMO – built effective partnerships with some of the leading US universities that enabled them to enhance their capacity in commercialization of research and technology trans-fer, develop and improve their innovation infrastructure in compliance with modern technological requirements, and acquire new opportunities for accessing national and global innovation markets.

As a result of its partnership with Purdue University the Nizhniy Novgorod State University has be-come a center of innovative entrepreneurship having created the “Education and Entrepreneurship Engagement” system comprised of methodological materials and new training programs for instruc-tors and researchers, the Center of Innovative Student Entrepreneurship, a model of competition of innovative youth projects, “InnoBusiness”, an interfaculty business incubator of innovative student projects, and the “InnoForum” web-portal (www.innoforum.ННГУ.ru) for the innovative NNSU student community.

As a result of its partnership with University of Maryland the Nizhniy Novgorod State University has created a Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship and initiated an International Innovation Corridor with the view to expand cooperation between the USA and Russia in the field of innovations and com-mercialization of biomedical research. Russian companies are now able to access the international market via the University of Maryland Business Incubator. By creating a similar facility the Nizhniy Novgorod State University will help Russian companies access the national market using the best international experiences in the field.

The St. Petersburg State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics, and Optics (ITMO, RF) and University of California in Los Angeles (USA) have engaged in their cooperation the Association of University Technology Managers (АUTM, USA), Massachusetts Export Center (USA), Russia Innova-tion Collaborative (Cambridge, USA), National Business Incubation Association (NBIA, USA), National Council of Entrepreneurial Tech Transfer (NCET2, USA), thereby forming a comprehensive university research support system, including, for example, the iDealMachine start-up accelerator complete with $6 million worth of funding available to small innovative businesses in partnership with RSV Venture Partners LP, the university marketing department, a center for development of youth innova-tions and technological entrepreneurship, a science and technology foresight center, and a business incubator. This university research commercialization technology, including the development of R&D management skills, business models and virtual prototypes of innovative products, and experimen-tal specimens of innovative products within the framework of the iDealMachine start-up accelerator has been tested for further integration into the Russian system of tertiary education. New internation-al and interregional partnerships in research, innovation, and entrepreneurship have emerged and a network-based partnership of 60 subjects of the Russian Federation was put together to provide information and advisory services in the field of R&D development.

• Changes in the status of the pilot institu-tions of higher learning – the “EURECA” program helped enhance the status of the Russian pilot universities and their respec-tive projects.

• “EURECA” stimulates internal mobilization of university personnel thereby forming the core of new culture carriers who pro mote and engage in innovation activities. The program has helped create an interest-ing, skilled, interdisciplinary, creative, and construc tively spirited teams consisting of young and more elderly people. All of them became more capable to set ambi-tious goals and achieve exemplary results in many ac tivity areas, thanks in no small part to the “EURECA” program.

• Changes in attitudes towards innovations within the pilot institutions of higher learn-ing — proliferation of the spirit and taste for innovations.

• Changes in motivation for involvement in innovation activities thanks to the emer-gence of an active young “core”: most par-ticipants of the project teams are young, enthusiastic, and creative specialists.

• Changes in the nature of collaboration with other institutions of higher learning – networking and operation as hubs, i.e. resource centers for other institutions of higher learning and their partners.

• “EURECA” stimulates the development of the innovative entrepreneurship culture and environment and enables university students to select their future professions and develop entrepreneurial skills. It is an-other opportunity for active and enterpris-ing individuals to find themselves within the walls of their alma-mater.

• “EURECA” stimulates internal mobilization of university personnel thereby forming the core of new culture carriers who pro-mote and engage in innovation activities. Over the course of one year the program has helped create an interesting, skilled, interdisciplinary, creative, and construc-tively spirited collective largely consisting of young people. They set ambitious goals and achieve exemplary results in many ac-tivity areas, thanks in no small part to the “EURECA” program.

The Program is sponsored by the US-Russia Foundation for Economic Advancement and the Rule of Law and implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The program is operated by a consortium of non-commercial organizations represented by the New Eurasia Foundation in Russia and the American Councils for International Education– in the USA.

CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS

SOCIAL EFFECTS BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE РROGRAM

OUTCOMES OF THE PILOT PROJECTS

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ORGANIZING SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATION PROJECTS’ INTERNATIONAL EXPERTIZE

EDUCATION

The New Eurasia Foundation has experience in and disposes of resources required to organize assessment of research and education process of any degree of complexity by international experts. A diversified expert base and a proven method that meets the procedural requirements of the leading international organizations enable the Foundation to organize project assessment in compliance with relevant international standards. Assessment results are made available in the form of rankings assigned to project proposals and / or grant applications, as well as assessment statements prepared by independent experts from different countries and organizations. Ongoing interactions with international experts and a proven method enable the Foundation to organize assessment on a tight schedule without compromising the quality.

In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation used its methods and expert access resources to or-ganize assessment of 37 project proposals submitted to the open grant competition of the RF Government. The project proposals were assessed by a pool consisting of 71 interna-tional experts from among prominent and distinguished scholars.

In 2012 the Foundation worked hard to expand the base of international experts. At pre-sent the New Eurasia Foundation has it’s own data base that includes 7,000 international experts. A wide scope of experts is required to ensure an utmost diversity of candidates from among foreign experts and avoid unnecessary skews in favor of any particular country when organizing assessment of project proposals. The Foundation’s international expert network is made up of specialists representing more than 40 countries: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Israel, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Chin a, Latvia, Macedonia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Po-land, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, USA, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, etc.

The New Eurasia Foundation is an op-erator of international expertise in the framework of the Open Grant Competition of the Government of the Russian Federa-tion for governmental support of scientific research projects implemented by the world’s leading scientists at Russian in-stitutions of higher learning, research in-stitutions of the governmental academies of sciences, and governmental research centers of the Russian Federation.

The New Eurasia Foundation has al-ready used its methods to organize international expertise for the assess-ment of the project proposals submit-ted to the open grant competi tions that were held by the Government of the Russian Federation in 2010 and 2011 in compliance with Resolution No.220, “On measures designed to attract lead-ing scientists to Russian institutions of higher learning”, by international ex-perts. For additional information about the initiative of the RF Government, the grant competition documentation, and the outcomes of the previous open grant competitions please refer to the website of the RF Ministry of education and science as well as the designated website of the governmental initiative http://www.p220.ru/en/.

By expanding the scope of international experts the New Eurasia Foundation has managed to put together an in-ternational expert network consisting of leading scholars that represent 36 scientific disciplines: mathematics, computer science and information technologies, phys-ics, chemistry, Earth sciences and adjacent ecologi-cal disciplines, biology, construction and architecture, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanics and engineering, chemical technologies, material technolo-gies, medical technologies, energy and rational use of natural resources, ecological biotechnologies, industrial biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, medical and health sciences, fundamental medicine, clinical medicine, med-ical biotechnologies, agriculture, forestry, fishery, animal husbandry and dairy science, veterinary, agricultural biotechnologies, psychology, economics and business, pedagogics, sociology, law, political science, social and economic geography, mass media and mass communica-tions, history and archeology, languages and literature, philosophy, ethics, religion, and history of art.

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STUDY-TOURS, TRAININGS AND RETRAINING PROGRAMS

EDUCATION

The New Eurasia Foundation pays a great deal of attention to supporting international activities of institutions of learning of different types. The New Eurasia Foundation helps develop effective international cooperation formats, as well as learn about the best foreign practices and methods of their adaptation in Russian conditions. The Foundation has access to resources required to organize a wide and diverse scope of seminars and conferences, study tours, as well as training and qualifications improvement programs. In 2012 the Foundation organized more than ten study tours to European countries, Israel, and the USA, more than seven international conferences on the most relevant education development issues («We are building our future today: university — region — business», «Innovation ecosystem of institutions of higher learning and their role in regional innovation development — lessons and solutions for successful commercialization», German-Russian symposium «Knowledge transfer — a new key objective of institutions of higher learning: supporting innovation development at the regional and international levels», etc.).

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• International study tour «Entrepreneurial strategies of leading American universities: practices and partnerships for territorial development», December 2012, Boston, USA. The study tour was organized for representatives of the Southern Federal University and Penza Technological Academy and covered the third function of universities, development of socially-entrepreneurial universities, and collaboration between institutions of higher learning and local stakeholders for the benefit of university and territorial development. For additional information please refer to the website of «Talloires Network», one of the study tour organizers.

• Study tour «Management of innovation technologies: Israeli experiences», December 2012, Israel. The study tour participants included representatives of three Russian universities: Tomsk State University, Higher School of Economics, and State University of Chechnya. In the course of the study tour their Israeli colleagues demonstrated a full spectrum of methods that are used to enable researcher (inventor) - manager partnerships to bring innovative technologies to the market.

• Meeting of top executives of Russian and Dutch institutions of higher learning, «Russian - Dutch interuniversity partnership: new academic and research priorities», November 2012, Moscow (Russia). The meeting was hosted by the Higher School of Economics in partnership with the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) and the New Eurasia Foundation. The purpose of the meeting was to organize cooperation between the leading Russian and Dutch universities and explore possibilities for implementation of collaborative research and education programs.

• Study tour “Collaboration between Dutch universities and private businesses; technology transfer. Dutch experiences in commercializing university research”, October 2012, Maastricht, Sittard-Geleen, Eindhoven (Netherlands), and Leuven (Belgium) – hosted by the Maastricht University. The study tour participants included representatives of the Ural Federal University named after the first RF President B. N. Yeltsin, Southern Federal University, St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Far-Eastern Federal University, State University of Chechnya, and St. Petersburg Academic University – a research and education center in the field of nanotechnologies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Academic University). The study tour participants learned about the best practices in collaboration between universities and businesses, commercialization of research, and technology transfer. They also designed their own university marketing plans, university management action plans, tools of planning and control over the strategic university management cycle, as well as forms of collaboration with businesses.

• Conference “Innovations after 2013”, July 2012, Amsterdam (Netherlands). This international event was organized by the Association of Universities in the Netherlands in partnership with the New Eurasia Foundation and Association of the Leading Russian Universities. The purpose of this conference was to identify promising areas for cooperation between Russian and Dutch universities and put together collaborative action plans for the year of bilateral relations between the Russian Federation and the Netherlands scheduled for 2013.

EXAMPLES OF INTERNATIONAL STUDY TOURS, TRAINING AND QUALIFICATIONS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS IMPLEMENTED IN 2012

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• Qualifications improvement program «Education quality management and innovative instruction technologies: experiences of French universities», May 2012, France. The qualifications improvement program participants included top executives, administrators, and instructors from the North-Eastern Federal University named after M. K. Ammosov, Mordovian State University named after N. P. Ogaryov, and Belgorod National Research University. The training program consisted of three thematic blocks: global experiences and the two-tier structure of the French tertiary education system; university management and education quality management at the national and institutional levels; innovative instruction technologies: experiences of French universities and colleges.

• German-Russian symposium “Knowledge transfer – a new key objective of institutions of higher learning: supporting innovation development at the regional and international levels”, April 2012, Kassel (Germany). The symposium was organized by the “East – West” research center and University of Kassel in cooperation with the New Eurasia Foundation and Tomsk Polytechnic University with participation of the German Society for Research on Eastern Europe (DGO) and financial support from the Federal Ministry of Education and Scientific Research of Germany within the framework of the Russian – German year of science. The symposium was attended by rectors and vice-rectors of institutions of higher learning, leaders of technology transfer departments, representatives of governmental ministries, university and trade associations, foundations, as well as the leaders of collaborative German – Russian research and education projects. The symposium participants discussed a variety of issues falling within the following two problematic areas: 1) Knowledge transfer as an innovative method used to support the development of science and regional practices and 2) International transfer of knowledge and technologies between Germany and Russia.

“We came here full of hopes and expectations and we count on having a productive dialogue with our Russian colleagues. Global cooperation is sometimes taken for granted as we sign hundreds of various kinds of agreements. But it is not until sci-ence and researchers standing behind them agree to collaborate in specific areas that these agreements become truly useful and effective. I am glad that over the past two days we have focused on specific scientific disciplines and research areas where we can achieve collaborative results”.

KARL DITTRICHformer Rector of the Maastricht University and designer of the independent system of accreditation of Dutch and Flemish institutions of higher learning

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COMMUNITY UNIVERSITIES

EDUCATION

In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation continued implementing its “Community universities: phase 3” project designed to promote the social function of tertiary education in Russia, collect and disseminate best practices in implementation of the social function of universities, and organize networking between Russian and foreign institutions of higher learning.

Establishment of information and resource cent-ers designed to promote the social function of uni-versities at six Russian institutions of higher learn-ing, including the Ural Federal University, Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Tomsk State University, ITMO, Kostroma State Agricultural Academy, and the Novokuznetsk Branch of the Kemerovo State University, is viewed as the principal out come of the project. In addition, the participating universi-ties put together a portfolio of the best “universi-ty – local community” collaboration prac tices. So far they have collected 30 such practices and they plan to collect 60 more by the summer of 2013. The participating universities are dissemi nating information about these practices among other in-stitutions of higher learning in the course of panel discussions, seminars, and conferences.

PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2012

• Leading Russian institutions of higher learning have joined the discussion of the place and role of the social function of universities – these issues were discussed in the course of the conferences hosted by the Higher School of Economics and Tomsk State University;

• The Perm State University was the first of the leading Russian uni-versities to incorporate the social function of university in its overall strategic development program.

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KEY PROJECT ACTIVITIES IN 2012

The first methodological seminar for the participating universities was held on March 15 – 16, 2012. Assisted by a group of experts, the seminar participants agreed upon a certain best “university – lo-cal community” practice presentation format, discussed the principal approaches to organizing an information and resource center, and explored opportunities for networking.

The second methodological seminar, “Entrepreneurial university: the Finland case”, took place on August 12 – 19, 2012 in Tampere and Helsinki. The seminar’s intense program was not limited to the examination of the University of Tampere’s experience in entrepreneurship. The seminar participants also visited the Innovative Entrepreneurship Academy of the Tampere University of Applied Sciences, the Tampere Innovation Experience at Demola, the Aalto University School of Economics Small Busi-ness Center, and the Continuous Education School of the Institute of Marketing (Helsinki). The semi-nar participants learned about the Finland’s experience in organizing academic, institutional, and student entrepreneurship. The methodological seminar enabled its participants to borrow from their Finnish colleagues a number of proven instruments and technologies used to develop the entrepre-neurial capacity of institutions of higher learning.

A discussion on the social function of univer-sities was held at the RF Public Chamber on October 5, 2012.The key issues included the following:• Social responsibility of institutions of higher

learning. • Best practices in collaboration between insti-

tutions of higher learning and local communi-ties: a new education quality.

• Education process development principles that take into account the new requirements.

• Methodology of public assessment of univer-sity education quality.

The discussion participants concluded that the situation called for designing a method that could be used by Russian institutions of higher learning to put together reports on their socially meaningful activities.

DISCUSSION ON THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AT THE RF PUBLIC CHAMBER

A SERIES OF METHODOLOGICAL SEMINARS FOR UNIVERSITIES ON THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF TERTIARY EDUCATION

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“Birth and rebirth of universities” was the name of the conference that was held on October 19 – 20, 2012 in Moscow at the Higher School of Econom-ics. One of the key topics discussed by the conference participants was the third mission of institutions of higher learning: models and successful prac-tices of social entrepreneurship and social responsibility. A representative of one of the project participants, Ural Federal University, delivered a report in which he presented the university’s experience in collaboration with the local community.

The Russian national forum of vice-rectors for education from agricultural universities “Collaboration between agricultural institutions of higher learning and local communities as a development mechanism of rural ter-ritories” was held on November 26 – 27, 2012. The forum was hosted by the Kostroma State Agricultural Academy. The forum participants were greeted by the Governor of the Kostroma region, S. N. Sitnikov. The forum partici-pants designed and adopted Recommendations of the Russian national forum of vice-rectors for education from agricultural universities “Collabo-ration between agricultural institutions of higher learning and local com-munities as a development mechanism of rural territories”. Among other things, these Recommendations include the following. Projects designed to facilitate collaboration between agricultural institutions of higher learn-ing and their respective local communities, youth, businesses, regional and municipal governments must become one of the most important education activity areas of each agricultural institution of tertiary education. This kind of collaboration will help to not only create new opportunities for profes-sional and cultural development of students via their engagement in activi-ties designed to improve the standard of living in rural territories, but it also will help improve the social image of agricultural institutions of higher learn-ing among the population and governments and create opportunities for implementation of socially meaningful collaborative projects.

LEADING RUSSIAN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING JOIN THE DISCUSSION OF THE PLACE AND ROLE OF THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF UNIVERSITIES

TThe project is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

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COMMUNITY SCHOOLS IN RUSSIA

EDUCATIONДВИЖЕНИЕ

ОБЩЕСТВЕННО-АКТИВНЫХ ШКОЛ

ДВИЖЕНИЕОБЩЕСТВЕННО-

АКТИВНЫХ ШКОЛ

In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation launched the fourth phase of the «Community schools in Russia: an outlook» project designed to create conditions required to train community school teachers and administrators at qualifications improvement institutes for education specialists.

The primary objectives of this phase include the following: to form sustainable links be-tween teachers training institutes and qualifications improvement institutes for education specialists involved in training of community school teachers and administrators; to sup-port the networking among Russian community schools via community school resource centers; to introduce and promote the community school model in Northern Caucasus. The project participants included the qualifications improvement institutes for education specialists from three pilot regions: the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and Irkutsk and Tambov regions. The results achieved by these institutions in promoting the community school model are already quite visible. In Irkutsk and Tambov, despite the lack of financial support, the work performed by the qualifications improvement institutes for education specialists was closely intertwined with the project activities which enabled the project teams to successfully put together a primary network of community schools in the pilot regions and adjacent territories in Central Russia, Siberia, and Northern Caucasus.The team of the Irkutsk qualifications improvement institute successfully introduced a tu-torship and advisory monitoring technology for community school teams. The activities implemented by the qualifications improvement institute for education spe-cialists of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria with the view to facilitate the development of a network of community schools in the region helped engage the qualifications improve-ment institutes for education specialists from the neighbouring North-Caucasian republics and in some cases to even overcome certain socio-cultural barriers impeding cooperation.By combining its activities associated with school management boards and community school model the Tambov regional qualifications improvement institute for education spe-cialists managed to reach the national level and it now trains community school specialists from all over the country.

PROJECT RESOURCES• Methodological materials

required to train community school teachers and administrators;

• Training programs for community schools teachers and administrators based on the federal state education standards;

• Various technologies: – Tutorship of the school teams, including advisory monitoring (Irkutsk);

– Facilitation and support of community school promotion approaches in Northern Caucasus;

– Competition of social projects designed by community schools “People’s project” (Tambov);

• Development of partnerships and implementation of collaborative projects (with ombudsmen, juvenile delinquency prevention centers, heads of municipalities).

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The project is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

In autumn 2012 the “Democratic Educa-tion Library” series welcomed a new addi-tion – “Introducing a new generation of the governmental education standards: the capacity of community schools”, a book written by community school expert Dr. Grigory Kornetov. The book demonstrates how the second generation of the federal state general education standards can be most successfully introduced in community schools that are committed to democrati-zation of secondary education and active collaboration with local communities. The book is designated for general education institutions, education administration bodies, methodologists, professors of teachers training universities, and everyone interested in the community school model.

“Community schools and pedagogical creativity” was the name of the co-ordination session that was held on November 8 – 9, 2012 in Nalchik, Re-public of Kabardino-Balkaria. The session was attended by instructors of the qualifications improvement institutes for education specialists from Nalchik, Irkutsk, Samara, Tambov, Moscow, as well as members of com-munity school teams from the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and five school teams from the city of Grozny, Chechen Republic. The session participants discussed methods that could be used to devel-op secondary schools as socio-cultural centers and centers of pedagogic creativity. The teams representing the FNE project pilot regions presented their achievements in promoting qualifications improvement programs for education specialists based on the community school model. School principals from different districts of Kabardino-Balkaria spoke about their school development programs and shared their initial experiences in innovative social project management. The session concluded with the panel discussion “Implementation prospects of the community school model in Northern Caucasus”.

In 2011 – 2012 the community school promotion activities in the Tam-bov region were supported by the regional government in the amount of 29.5 million roubles.

COMMUNITY SCHOOLS AND PEDAGOGICAL CREATIVITY NEW BOOK PUBLISHED

IN THE “DEMOCRATIC EDUCATION LIBRARY” SERIES

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TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT

In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation continued implementing social programs in operation territories of coal mining companies in Siberia and Far East within its «Territorial development» program area. The strategic goal of these programs is to create effective social partnerships including local self-government bodies, businesses, and civil society institutions with the view to mobilize and diversify the regional development resources. The public-private partnerships successfully operating within the social sphere will help coordinate the budgeting priorities, modernization of industrial enterprises, and strategic territorial development goals.

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“Local community school” is the name of the network-based project implemented in 2012 with the view to involve as many operation territories of coal mining companies in socially meaningful activi-ties as possible using the territorial development models tested in 2008 – 2010, to expand said activities, and to improve the qualifi-cations of the resource centers’ employees. The network-based pro-ject format helped optimize the budget for continued implementa-tion of social projects within the key thematic areas of 2008 – 2010 and support the “growth points” created back then, as well as to raise funds from the federal and regional budgets for the purpose of ongoing development of the operation territories (more than six million roubles was raised in 2011).

In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation continued disseminating successful experiences and creating social infrastructure “growth points” using the territorial development models successfully test-ed in 2008 – 2011:• A popular science museum was opened in the Mukhorshibir

district of the Republic of Buryatia in August 2012. Popular science museums are also scheduled to be opened in the settlement of Chegdomyn, Khabarovsk region, and Mikhailovsk district of the Primorye region in 2013.

• A small business support agency was launched in the city of Sharypovo, Krasnoyarsk region (registration was scheduled for November 2012);

• The first Fair of entrepreneurial projects of the Mukhorshibir district was held on December 7, 2012.

The local NGO activists that underwent training in fundraising technolo-gies managed to raise funds for implementation of social projects.For example, in 2012 the public organization of the Verkhnebureinsk dis-trict “Initiative” raised 1,348,155 roubles to support the development of the Chegdomyn settlement, including the 478,900 rouble grant from the National Charity Foundation for the development of the district library, as well as 869,255 roubles raised from the government to support the social projects presented at the Fair of Social Projects of the Verkhnebureinsk district.

The FNE experts, assisted by the RF Ministry of regional development, designed the development concepts of the Abakan-Chernogorsk and Kuzbass agglomerations, as well as the complex investment plans of the city of Chernogorsk, Republic of Khakassia, and the settlement of Cheg-domyn, Khabarovsk region.

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In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation helped organize the second interregional competition of gentrification projects “Comfortable living environment” in which more than 60 projects from six operating regions of Siberian Coal Energy Company OJSC competed against each other. The competition winners in-cluded the following:• Republic of Buryatia:

– 1st prize – Supplementary Education Center for Children, “Beware of traffic” project (Mukhorshibir); – 2nd prize – Sagan-Nur Secondary School, “We are tourists and it means” project (Sagan-Nur);

• Primorye region: – 1st prize – “Beryozka” Kindergarten, “Sensory room as the eighth wonder of the world” project; – 2nd prize – “Balaganchik” Book Theater, “Wonder Forest” Summer Reading Room” project;

• Khabarovsk region: – 1st prize – Central Children’s Library, “Once upon a time on our porch” project; – 2nd prize – Public organization “Kyokushinkai Karate Chegdomyn”, “We stand for health and sports” project;

• Kemerovo region: – 1st prize – Social Youth Center, “Outdoor Sports Championship” project (Leninsk-Kuznetsky); – 2nd prize – Children’s Sports School, “Do it with us, do it like us, do it better than us” (Polysayevo);

• Republic of Khakassia: – 1st prize – “Ecological and Patriotic Education of Preschool Children” (Chernogorsk); – 2nd prize – Secondary education school No.20, “Healthy children – healthy nation” project (Chernogorsk); – 2nd prize – Charkov secondary education boarding school, “Winter garden at school” project (Ust-Abakan district); – 3rd prize – Ust-Byur secondary education school, “Children’s Playground “Buratino” (Ust-Abakan district); – 3rd prize – “Fairy Town” (Beysk district);

• Krasnoyarsk region: – 1st prize – House of Pioneers and Schoolchildren, “Lilac Alley” project (Nazarovo); – 2nd prize – “Exercise in the morning, exercise in the evening, if you want to be healthy” project (Sharypovo); – 3rd prize – Youth Information Agency, “Digenesis” project (Sharypovo).

Given the great amount of interest demonstrated by the SCEC OJSC operation regions in joining the social programs implemented by the New Eurasia Foundation and the Siberian Coal Energy Company Regional Development Foundation (applications had been received from municipalities to implement some of the most relevant socially meaningful projects), in 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation suggested implementing two network-based projects: a small business support project and a project associated with professional identity of youth, as well as projects designed to promote innovative thinking among youth. The “School of social entrepreneurship” project was proposed as a new territorial development tool that helps address social issues using business approaches.

The following projects were launched in 2012 as new territorial development mechanisms: • “School of social entrepreneurship” – launched in the Khabarovsk and Kemerovo regions and Re-

public of Khakassia (in collaboration with the Omsk Center for Social Innovations, a resource center of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives);

• “Creating a regional-municipal system for promotion of innovative thinking among youth” (Krasno-yarsk and Kemerovo regions). The first science festival was held as part of this project in Leninsk-Kuznetsky in August 2012. It was organized in partnership with the Kuzbass State Technical Univer-sity and Siberian Federal University and hosted by the municipal Center for Professional identity.

Taking advantage of its multiyear territorial development experience, in late 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation joined forces with “Metalloinvest” to implement the “Competition of small business pro-jects” in the city of Novotroitsk, Orenburg region. The competition organizers received 31 project proposals. This collaboration is anticipated to expand thematically and geographically in 2013.

COMFORTABLE LIVING ENVIRONMENT

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• 43 small business and social entrepreneurship projects were launched in the SCEC OJSC operating territories.

• The Chernogorsk and Chegdomyn comprehensive investment pro-grams were designed and endorsed by the RF Ministry of regional de-velopment.

• 32 training seminars were held.• About 800 people took part in the seminars.• Two international and two interregional internship programs were im-

plemented.• Three regional and two interregional competitions of social and small

business projects were held.• Two regional competitions of children’s innovation projects “Break-

through into the XXI century” were held.• A science festival was held for senior secondary school students.

The interregional conference “New social technologies: experiences in the development of single-industry territories” took place on December 20, 2012 in Moscow. The conference was attended by more than 50 representatives of region-al and municipal governments from across Russia, experts, civil society institutions, regional and municipal institutions of learning and culture organizations, small and medium-sized businesses, and public associa-tions. The conference enabled its participants to discuss the outcomes of the social programs implemented by the Siberian Coal Energy Company Regional Development Foundation in partnership with the New Eurasia Foundation in 2011 – 2012. The conference was comprised of two ple-nary sessions and a sequence of panel discussions in the course of which the event participants analyzed the practices developed to date and put together recommendations for further collaboration between regional and municipal governments, businesses, experts, initiative groups, mass media, and the public when designing and implementing programs aim-ing to support “company towns” and “company settlements” by intro-ducing advanced social development technologies.

SUMMARIZED RESULTS OF THE SOCIAL PROGRAMS IMPLEMENTED IN 2012

NEW SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES: EXPERIENCES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SINGLE-INDUSTRY TERRITORIES

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EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED IN 2012

TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT

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The project is designed to introduce a small business de-velopment model at the municipal level in the Mukhor-shibir district of the Republic of Buryatia, Ust-Abakan, Beysk, and Altaisk district and the city of Chernogorsk of the Republic of Khakassia, Novoshakhtinsk settlement of the Primorye region, and the city of Sharypovo of the Krasnoyarsk region.

Key project results:• A small business support agency was registered

in Sharypovo;• The first municipal fair of small businesses

of the Mukhorshibir district of the Republic of Buryatia was held;

• Training seminars were held for over 150 existing and aspiring entrepreneurs from the pilot regions.

This is not the first time that the head of the Novoshakhtinsk (Mikhailovsk district, Primorye region) municipal government, Sergey Ivanchenko, is tak-ing part in the projects implemented by the New Eurasia Foundation and the SCEC Regional Development Foundation and he says that the knowl-edge he acquires as a result of his involvement helps him a lot in his eve-ryday work. “We came here, - said Sergey Nikolayevich, - to see how the Krasnoyarsk region, Kemerovo region, Khakassia, Altay, and Buryatia oper-ate. Our representatives observed the fair in Borodino”. Sergey Ivanchenko wants to launch a pilot small business support program in his district that currently boasts about 35 entrepreneurs that would be able to consolidate the fragmented businesses of the Novoshakhtinsk settlement, populated by some 8,500 people, primarily represented by commerce and service en-terprises...

FROM THE “KRASNOYARSKIY RABOCHIY” NEWSPAPER, MARCH 28, 2012:

“LOCAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL: SMALL BUSINESS”

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“LOCAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL: PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY”

The project is designed to organize a professional identity system in consideration of the modern employee requirements. Mobile, com-petent, and competitive graduates capable of promptly acquiring the professions for which there is a market demand are required today. At the same time, they must have social competencies and be independent and mature enough: they must be able to assume responsibility for their own lives and know how to make the right choice. This is why the notion of professional identity in this project differs from the traditional notion of professional orientation: it also has to do with one’s personal identity, one’s attempt to develop certain qualities that make one an independent adult.

Key project results: • Three municipal popular science museums were launched

(Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Kemerovo region, Borodino, Krasnoyarsk region, and Mukhorshibir district, Republic of Buryatia).

• A popular science museum is scheduled for opening in the Chegdomyn settlement, Khabarovsk region, in March 2013 and in the Novoshaktinsk settlement, Primorye region, in September 2013.

• Four regional competitions of children’s innovation projects “Breakthrough into the XXI century” were hosted by the Leninsk-Kuznetsky popular science museum in 2011 – 2012. The competitions received a total of 221 research projects.

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The New Eurasia Foundation marked its third year of operation in our city not only with the traditional competitions “Breakthrough into the XXI Century”, but also with a special seminar “develop-ing innovative thinking among youth” organized especially for the Leninsk-Kuznetsk school teachers. The city pedagogues were glad to become students again. Dancing, singing, and laughter – a good teacher will use them all in their work. Knowing the students’ various thinking types and their individual activation methods are what is important. Methodological materials based on the seminars will be put together to be used by all city peda-gogues.

FROM RIA “LENINSK” MATERIALS, APRIL 17, 2012:

“From what I have learned at the seminar I will use the “Profes-sion and career” program in my everyday work. I will also create an electronic navigator of professions”.

OKSANA IVANOVNA ODARICHENKODeputy Principal of Secondary School No.4, Chegdomyn settlement, Verkhnebureinsk district, Khabarovsk region

“As an education curator I will use the knowledge I acquired at the seminar to create a professional incubator”.

IRINA IVANOVNA MIROSHNIKOVADeputy Head of the Mikhailovsk district municipality

“From what I have learned at the seminar I am going to use the innovative thinking techniques when conducting practical Eng-lish lessons”.

OLGA ALEXEYEVNA ALMABEKOVAInstitute for Management of Business Processes and Economy, “International Language Communication” laboratory

“… We extend our gratitude to our colleagues from the New Eura-sia Foundation and Siberian Coal Energy Company for working with us. No doubt, our relationships have positively impacted the operations of our district institutions of learning in 2010-2011. … Our meetings mean not only improved pedagogical skills but also an impulse of sorts for new accomplishments”.

LYUDMILA VLADIMIROVNA POPOVAhead of the education administration department of the Mukhorshibir district municipality

FEEDBACK FROM PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

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“School of social entrepreneurship” is a social technology designed to develop and diversify the labour market, as well as local community ini-tiatives. This technology helps address social problems, including that of employment, more effectively by ensuring financial sustainability of so-cial entrepreneurship projects.

SOCIAL EFFECTS FOR THE TERRITORIESChernogorsk, Altaysk, Beysk, and Ust-Abakan district of the Republic of Khakassia• Additional funds were raised and territorial resources were mobilized

to implement social entrepreneurship projects and address social de-velopment problems;

• Children with disabilities demonstrated positive health dynamics;• Registered juvenile delinquents found employment by becoming in-

volved with the paintball club;• Senior citizens from rural areas were given the opportunity to become

computer literate.

Leninsk-Kuznetsky, Kemerovo region• Expanded innovation capacity of municipal social agencies and addi-

tional funds raised to support their development;• Additional investments acquired by the city to address social prob-

lems;• Registered juvenile delinquents found employment by becoming in-

volved with the newly created event organization agency established on the basis of the MBUK “UDK”;

• Improved health dynamics of the local population (hydro-massage – a new rehabilitation service for children with disabilities and children with weakened immunity; new individually designed fitness programs for postnatal women;

• Diversified health care services in the city afforded by the private sec-tor (a new obstetric care clinic complete with innovative obstetric and gynecological care methods; a new polyclinic capable of daytime and temporary accommodation is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2013);

• A new recreation venue for children (an indoor skating rink).

Chegdomyn settlement, Khabarovsk region• Opportunities for additional investments in the settlement’s develop-

ment;• Funds raised from nongovernmental sources to support the develop-

ment of municipal organizations.

Project goal: To introduce the “School of social entrepreneurship” technology in the SCEC OJSC operation regions with the view to ad-dress social development problems by implementing social entre-preneurship projects. Key project results:• 18 social entrepreneurship projects were designed.• 10 social entrepreneurship projects were launched in 2012.• Two projects (“Obstetric Services” by N. N. Goncharova and

“Medical Center “Alternativa” by N. M. Tricheva, Leninsk-Kuznetsky) received honorary diplomas of the Second National Forum of Social Investors and Entrepreneurs (raised investment capital).

• The initiated projects have benefited 2,786 individuals.• The initiated projects have provided employment to 56

individuals.• The total amount of funds invested in the projects is 16,116,800

roubles, including 12,499,800 roubles worth of private contributions and 3,617,000 roubles worth of governmental support.

NETWORK-BASED PROJECT “SCHOOL OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP”

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SOCIAL SPHERE DEVELOPMENT

Using various forms of training and productive communication among participants (training sessions, semi-nars, panel discussions, conferences, camps, competitions, study tours, and forums) the New Eurasia Founda-tion transferred and helped introduce new effective technologies and best practices in socialization of citizens and protection of their legal interests, implementation of local community de-velopment initiatives, strengthening of civil society structures, and prevention of conflicts.

In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation launched and/or implemented the4 following social development projects:• “Social integration of young people with

disabilities via professional training and employment in the Krasnodar region”, ef-fective May 2012 a.k.a. “Comprehensive social integration of young people with dis-abilities of the Krasnodar region: training, employment, communication”.

• “Social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates in Moscow”.

• “Disseminating the best peacemaking and conflict-preventing practices in North-ern Caucasus”, effective April 2012 a.k.a. “Mitigating ethnic conflicts by supporting collaboration between the governments and civil society institutions in Northern Caucasus”

• “Preventing a conflict in Transnistria by building bridges between governments, NGOs, and businesses”.In 2012 the “Social sphere development” program area was comprised of projects

designed to provide comprehensive assistance to people requiring support or finding themselves in difficult life situations, ensure successful adaptation of these people within society, mutual understanding between them and other members of society, and to help them find opportunities for self-realization. The target audiences of these projects included people with disabilities, orphans and children deprived of parental care, youth representing various risk groups, and parents. When designing and strengthening mechanisms of collaboration between society and bodies of power the New Eurasia Foundation paid a great deal of attention to collaboration with federal and regional governments, local self-government bodies, and members of the pedagogic community, as well as to enhancing the potential of its regional partners.

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COMPREHENSIVE SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES OF THE KRASNODAR REGION: TRAINING, EMPLOYMENT, COMMUNICATION

SOCIAL SPHERE DEVELOPMENT

The project «Social integration of young people with disabilities via professional training and employment in the Krasnodar region», sponsored by «Chevron Neftegaz Inc» and implemented from December 2010 until April 2012 in partnership with the Krasnodar Information and Training Center has been recognized and highly appreciated in the region. The project provided more than 70 young people with disabilities to acquire training in eight professions: more than 50 of them underwent training that was hosted by the partner organization in Krasnodar, while the others were trained individually at home. Methodological materials were published for each of the training courses.

In May 2012 the project on social integration of young people with disabilities expanded its boundaries as it started promoting inclusive education. To that end a conference was held in October 2012 to present the experiences of the Novorossiysk Gymnasium No.1 where joint education of healthy children and children with disabilities had become a norm and a rule that applies to all.

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Promotion of inclusive education has become the raison d’etre for the members of the pedagogic community of the Novorossiysk Gymnasium No.1 led by its principal T. A. Merkulova. This is why everything in this school, from the garden to the sports complex to the cafeteria, is con-venient, modern, pretty, and cozy. The local education approaches are designed carefully to the minutest detail: the school has created all con-ditions to make sure that any child feels comfortable and independent. An atmosphere of mutual understanding and team spirit enables children with disabilities to not only take part in, but to also win regional contests and tournaments. The participants of the round-table meeting hosted by the Novorossiysk Gymnasium No.1 had a serious discussion about expanding the frame-work of inclusive education and arranging interdepartmental collabora-tion and partnership. They identified cooperation prospects, including the panel discussion “Problems and prospects of inclusive education” to be held in Krasnodar and attended by parents and representatives of the public, as well as a regional training session in the settlement of Pol-tavskaya.

Approximately 40 participants of the final conference of the project “Pro-fessional training and employment of young people with disabilities in the Krasnodar region” that was held in Anapa recognized the importance for the Krasnodar region of the project on social integration of young people with disabilities that involved civil society institutions and dem-onstrated a new strategy based on coordination of efforts of different ac-tors, active education of young people with disabilities, and individual support provided thereto in the solution of their problems. The project “Professional training and employment of young people with disabilities in the Krasnodar region” was designed to demonstrate the capacity of civil society institutions and businesses to successfully address the so-cial problem associated with professional training and employment of people with disabilities and adjust relevant governmental practices.

• A group of young people with disabilities underwent professional training, acquired professions, and found employment.

• The programs of training courses for eight professions were designed, tested, and prepared for dissemination among social integration as-sociations.

• The settlement of Poltavskaya designed and adopted a local govern-mental program, “Favourable environment for people with disabili-ties”.

• Accessibility maps were put together and the public was charged with the responsibility of exercising control over their replenishment and expansion.

• The project activities were supported by the heads of municipal gov-ernments whose members also expressed their readiness for collabo-ration with initiative groups of citizens in designing local projects and programs.

“I thank God, my destiny, and the people who were willing and able to share their knowledge with me! From now one my life will only change for the better. I am happy and I want the people around me to be happy and I want them to believe that a lot depends on them. I thank our trainers from the bottom of my heart!”

“I thank “Chevron”, the New Eurasia Foundation, and our trainers for or-ganizing and holding this event. I learned a lot from these courses. Work-ing with our trainers has been an interesting and enjoyable experience. I attended each class with a great deal of enthusiasm and at the end of each class I was full of new impressions. I wish this kind of activities were held more often. Thank you, everyone!”

“I am grateful to every one of those people who brought me here (there is no such thing as happenstance!). I am grateful to my mother for supporting all my endeavours, and I am grateful to all the good and kind people! From the bottom of my heart I thank the organizers and trainers for the useful time they spend with me and the knowledge they shared”.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS

THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE PANEL DISCUSSION AND TRAINING COURSES RECOGNIZED THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE OF THE PROJECT ACTIVITIES IN THE FEEDBACK THAT THEY PROVIDED:

A panel discussion on the problems of social integration of young peo-ple with disabilities was held in December 2012. The discussion was facilitated by the Deputy Chairman of the Public Board under the Head of the Krasnodar regional government for support of civil society institu-tions and human rights, M. V. Savva. The panel discussion was attended by the head of the government of the settlement of Poltavskaya, V. A. Pobozhiy, the head of the district employment center, D. A. Shishatskiy, representatives of the social security department, activists from a num-ber of public organizations, such as the Russian Federation of Women, “Independence”, “Sodeystviye”, “Educating Youth and Strengthening Families”, “Hand of Charity”, etc. Young people with disabilities residing in the settlement of Poltavskaya and the neighbouring settlements were the principal participants of the panel discussion.

“I am certain that the work being done here by the New Eurasia Foundation with support from “Chevron” will serve as an exam-ple to follow for other public organizations and heads of govern-ments. The project activities that have been held in our settle-ment have opened my eyes to a great number of problems but most importantly the initiative shown by the local residents has been quite instrumental. We are prepared for cooperation and we are willing to serve as an experimental testing ground for such socially meaningful projects”.

V. A. POBOZHIY Head of the Poltavskaya settlement government

The project is supported by “Chevron Neftegaz Inc” .

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SOCIAL ADAPTATION OF ORPHANAGE AND BOARDING SCHOOL GRADUATES IN MOSCOW

SOCIAL SPHERE DEVELOPMENT

In 2012 the project «Social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates in Moscow», sponsored by JPMorgan Chase & Co and implemented by the New Eurasia Foundation, expanded its target group by including heads of municipalities, guardianship authorities, centers for support of children and families, as well as orphans» mentors in colleges and vocational training schools.

Two out-of-town training sessions (“Collab-oration mechanisms used in post-institu-tional support processes” and “Developing a post-institutional support system”) and a panel discussion on issues impeding suc-cessful social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates were held for municipal employees.

The process of transition to colleges and vocational training schools by orphanage and boarding school graduates has been for years affected by a number of problems. Two seminars were organized for orphans’ mentors in colleges and vocational train-ing schools, “Collaboration between au-thorized officials and orphans’ mentors in colleges” and “Ensuring collaboration be-tween post-institutional support services for emancipated orphans and vocational training institutions during the period of ini-tial social adaptation”.

The project paid special attention to the post-institutional support services for eman-cipated orphans established on the basis of specially selected organizations whose leaders were given the opportunity to take part in a series of seminars, training ses-sions, and panel discussions that brought together more than 120 individuals.

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The New Eurasia Foundation committed itself to assisting the post-insti-tutional support centers for emancipated orphans established under the project. This assistance was provided in the form of consultations and expert advice, summarization of experiences, and publication of best practices. For example, the following collections of materials were pub-lished: “Post-institutional support system (experiences of the Moscow or-phanage No.2)”, “Preparing orphans for emancipation and independent adult living (experiences of the Moscow orphanages No.17 and No.23)”, the brochure “Post-institutional support of emancipated orphans during the initial period of their social adaptation” (based on operating expe-riences of the Moscow orphanage No.48), and “From successful social adaptation to pro-active living” (based on the operating experiences of the Moscow boarding school No.15).

“The Department of family and youth policy of the city of Moscow extends its sincere gratitude to the New Eurasia Foundation for the invaluable assistance and support it provides to orphans in the course of the project designed to prepare them for emanci-pation and independent adult living... The Department of family and youth policy of the city of Moscow looks forward to continu-ing our fruitful cooperation within this field”

From the thank-you letter

T. A. NEVEROVADeputy Head of the Department of family and youth policy of the Moscow City Government

POST-INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT CENTERS FOR EMANCIPATED ORPHANS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED

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The final round of the competition of project proposals, “My home de-sign”, was held on April 11, 2012. The contest encouraged up and com-ing orphanage and boarding school graduates to design project propos-als reflecting their future homes. All contest participants had undergone a training course consisting of several phases: the “School of design” training program, practical training in putting together collages, “Colour solution and stylistic compliance”, and a training session on designing “My home design” project proposals. A total of 35 project proposals were submitted to the competition.

The contest winners included:First prize – A. Trushin, boarding school No.24, project title: “My dream home”,Second prize – E. Guskov, orphanage No.48, project title: “Window to the world”, Third prize – A. Malanicheva, boarding school No.55, project title: “My home”.

Additional prizes were awarded in the following nominations:• “Viewer appreciation” – A. Busareva, boarding school No.62, project

title: “Golden kitchen”;• “Originality” – V. Mikusheva, orphanage No.5, project title: “Exquisite

bedroom”;• “Artistic execution” – A. Kazakova, boarding school No.24, project ti-

tle: “Bedroom/living-room”;• “Stylistic achievement” – M. Zolina, boarding school No.15.• Special prizes were awarded to Yu. Lapteva (orphanage No.51),

K. Stashkov (orphanage No.48), A. Demicheva, O. Ageyeva, E. Kozlova, and S. Kurzakov (all from boarding school No.15).

The training program for orphanage and boarding school students was also updated in 2012. The following interactive training ses-sions for orphans were held during the project: “Your bad behaviour and how you can change it”, “Learn to understand people by learn-ing about yourself”, “Social security”, “A step into profession of choice”, “Freedom of choice”, and a training session in promoting civic responsibility among orphanage and boarding school gradu-ates.

“MY HOME DESIGN” – A CONTEST OF PROJECT PROPOSALS

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“Thank you very much! You helped me find my life purpose. I learned how important it is to understand others, how to be compassionate, and how to achieve my life goals”. Yevgeniy, 16 years old

“You are the best. I wish all of you good luck. I have come to realize there is a lot I can do myself”. Vlad, 15 years old

“I started to think seriously about what I want to do in my life, what I need to learn in order to become a successful human bring”. Zhenya, 16 years old

“Now I know how to act when interviewing for a job. And although I still have quite a bit to go until then, I already have a clear idea of how I will go about it”. Mira, 15 years old

“I am very grateful to everyone who has ended up here. All of you, children and adults, are kind and nice people. If I were Stanislavsky I would have said “I believe!” I believe in your sincerity, in your kindness, in your advice and your wishes. You all are creative and interesting people and it is with a heavy heart that I am saying good-bye to you”. Sergey, 17 years old

In December 2012 a total of 98 orphanage and boarding school stu-dents took part in the “Social intellect” competition that enabled them to demonstrate their knowledge within six thematic blocks: “Security and safety”, “Law”, “Family”, “Health”, “Everyday living”, and “Communications”. The competition test results are still being analyzed by the project experts but something is clear already: the outcomes of the competition will help the pedagogical teams to ad-just their programs of preparation of orphans for emancipation and independent adult living thereby ensuring their successful adapta-tion within society.

• The resources and efforts of the project partners working for the benefit of orphans have been consolidated;

• A methodological portfolio was put together to include relevant laws and regulations, project presentation materials, cross-sectoral collab-oration schemes, and structures of post-institutional support services;

• The resource potential of the project has grown significantly: four collection of materials on experiences in social adaptation of eman-cipated orphans have been published; programs of post-institutional support for emancipated orphans have been designed and success-fully tested;

• The New Eurasia Foundation took part in the Russian national exhibi-tion of socially meaningful projects and won the “Best social project” medal and “Public recognition award”.

• The project helped improve the conditions for social adaptation of or-phanage and boarding school graduates immediately following their emancipation: the rooms inhabited by graduates have been subjected to certain material and technical upgrades; the participating social in-stitutions for orphans adjusted their internal residency requirements with the view to assist upcoming graduates to acquire independent adult living skills, the founding documents of certain participating or-ganizations were modified to ensure the requisite legal conditions for post-institutional support available to emancipated orphans.

• The pedagogues and psychologists from the participating organiza-tions have improved their professional qualifications.

• New regulations designed to protect the rights of orphans and children deprived of parental care have been introduced (education and protec-tion of the property rights of the underage).

• The participating orphans were motivated to pursue cognitive activi-ties and acquire independent adult living skills.

• The level of juvenile delinquency accounted for by orphanage and boarding school graduates has dropped.

• The risk of “secondary orphanhood” has been mitigated.

The project is supported by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS

SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE PROJECT

FEEDBACK PROVIDED BY ORPHANAGE AND BOARDING SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO TOOK PART IN THE “LEADERSHIP” OUT-OF-TOWN TRAINING CAMPS (MAY –SEPTEMBER 2012):

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MITIGATING ETHNIC CONFLICTS BY SUPPORTING COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY INSTITUTIONS IN NORTHERN CAUCASUS

SOCIAL SPHERE DEVELOPMENT

The New Eurasia Foundation has been actively implementing social development projects in Northern Caucasus since the early 2007. Since then the Foundation has completed the following projects: «Organizing a public awareness campaign on immigration issues in the post-conflict regions of Northern Caucasus», «Stabilizing the situation in Northern Caucasus by designing and introducing institutional conflict-prevention mechanisms», and «Disseminating the best peacemaking and conflict-preventing practices in Northern Caucasus».

The New Eurasia Foundation’s five-year continuous operating experience in Northern Caucasus has proven the need in designing and introducing a mechanism of collaboration between the civil society institutions, governments, and businesses to address various social development problems in Northern Caucasus.

The project “Mitigating ethnic conflicts by supporting collaboration between the governments and civil society institutions in Northern Caucasus” that has been implemented by the New Eurasia Foundation since 2012 is designed to alleviate conflict situations by collaborating with governments, non-commercial organizations, student communities, youth associations, and the Public Boards and Public Chambers of Northern Caucasus.

The project entails successful open forums hosted by the regional universities from the North-Caucasian Federal District, thematic discussions hosted by the regional Public Boards and Public Chambers, as well as training sessions and seminars for representatives of the public.

The key project events and activities are im-plemented in close cooperation with and with direct participation of representatives of the administration of the RF President’s Envoy in the North-Caucasian Federal District.

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On July 9 – 15, 2012 the project experts took place in the pan-Caucasian youth forum “Mashuk-2012”. About fifteen hundred young people representing all seven regions of Northern Caucasus took part in the common training program accounted for by this event. These young people had come to the forum looking to consult some of the leading Russian experts in territorial development, as well as to design and present their own projects. The youth forum “Mashuk-2012” was attended by the fol-lowing experts and trainers: N. V. Alenina, FNE project manager, R. S. Sovdagarov, an advisor to the New Eurasia Foundation, N. L. Khananashvili, a project expert, and Yu. G. Yefimov, a regional partner of the New Eurasia Foundation from Stavropol. In the course of the forum our experts presented the following models:• “Civic education of youth in the conditions of modern society and multicultural environment”. • “Socially meaningful project: from initial idea to effective implementation”.• “Social project team building and management”. • “Socialization and civic activity of youth”. • “NGOs: creating, registering, and reporting”. • “Designing projects in pursuit of civic initiatives”. • “Advocating public interests”.• “Teamwork in implementation of social projects”.

“The role and place of volunteerism in sup-porting peacemaking initiatives in Northern Caucasus” was the key topic of the panel dis-cussion held on May 24, 2012 in Pyatigorsk. The event was organized by the New Eurasia Foundation in partnership with the Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University as part of the pro-ject “Mitigating ethnic conflicts by support-ing collaboration between the governments and civil society institutions in Northern Cau-casus”. The panel discussion participants learned about new conflict prevention meth-ods and the capacity of the young volunteers’ movement to contribute to the peacemaking process in Northern Caucasus in view of the upcoming Olympic Games in London and Sochi. The panel discussion provided an opportunity for the regional partners of the New Eurasia Foundation’s project “Mitigating ethnic conflicts by supporting collaboration between the governments and civil society institutions in Northern Caucasus” to hold a meeting in the course of which they managed to adjust their project implementation plans for the nearest future.

PANEL DISCUSSION “VOLUNTEERISM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PEACEMAKING INITIATIVES IN NORTHERN CAUCASUS”

PAN-CAUCASIAN YOUTH FORUM “MASHUK-2012”

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In October 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation launched a series of events designed specifically for representatives of the journalistic community of Northern Caucasus. The key purpose of these events is to restore the operating efficiency of the North-Caucasian mass media outlets by im-proving the journalists’ capacity to write about “complex” and socially controversial subjects in consideration of the recently adopted federal laws, as well as to facilitate the development of collaboration and mu-tually beneficial dialogue between mass media, governments, and civil society institutions.The seminars covered the following key issues:• “Mitigating conflicts by organizing an effective dialogue between non-

commercial organizations, governments, and citizens in the subjects of Northern Caucasus: social project management”,

• “Using modern IT-technologies to support effective collaboration be-tween NGOs, local governments, and the public”,

• “Online media school for NGOs”.

Since the time the New Eurasia Foundation has started working in North-ern Caucasus it has helped organize five open forums for peace and re-gional development that have been hosted by the regional universities in the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Republic of Chechnya, Republic of Ingushetia, and the Stavropol region.

The fifth open forum “Public initiatives for peace and regional devel-opment” was held on December 12, 2012 in the city of Nazran. It was organized in partnership with the Polytechnic College of the Republic of Ingushetia.At the plenary session the open forum participants were offered a public lecture on “Russian Caucasus: history and the present day”. Representa-tives of the Karelian State Teachers Training Academy presented their methods of sociocultural modernization of the system of education, as well as collaboration between institutions of learning and local commu-nities. The participants of the workshop “The history of interethnic rela-tions and ethnic policy issues in Northern Caucasus” learned about the models of perception and assessment of modern information sources and resources. The following workshops proved very popular among the forum participants: “Technologies of collaboration with local communi-ties” and “Foundations of social project management”. Holding liberal club sessions “Is conflict-free living possible?” has become a traditional component of the FNE open forums.

The project is supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

In 2012 the New Eurasia Foundation helped publish the compilation of project materi-als “School-based reconciliation services: methods, research, procedures”. This col-lection includes a number of materials writ-ten by experts specializing in the promotion of the social technology “school-based rec-onciliation service” in Russia. The authors include the following: N. L. Khananashvili, R. R. Maksudov, A. Yu. Konovalov, and L. M. Karnozova.

“SCHOOL-BASED RECONCILIATION SERVICES: METHODS, RESEARCH, PROCEDURES”: A COMPILATION OF PROJECT MATERIALS

A SERIES OF SEMINARS FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JOURNALISTIC COMMUNITY OF NORTHERN CAUCASUS

PUBLIC INITIATIVES FOR PEACE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

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PREVENTING A CONFLICT IN TRANSNISTRIA BY BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS, NGOS, AND BUSINESSES

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The New Eurasia Foundation is pleased to present its new project launched in December 2012: «Preventing a conflict in Transnistria by building bridges between governments, NGOs, and businesses».The project intends to improve conflict-prevention skills of NGO representatives and analyze the best conflict-prevention practices in Russia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The project also includes a number of activities designed to improve the skills of journalists in finding the «language of peace, not war» and to enhance the role of mass media in peacemaking processes.

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DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL MASS-MEDIA

The New Eurasia Foundation»s local mass media support program has been in operation for the past eight years enabling the Foundation to work successfully with regional mass media outlets throughout the entire Russia. The program primarily focuses on supporting local publications that are not owned or controlled by regional or municipal governments, political parties, or large businesses, i.e. financially and politically independent mass media outlets. The role of independent journalism has never been more important. Independent newspapers, websites, and radio stations provide forums for free discussions, the places that local residents contact seeking support and assistance in the solution of specific problems.

PRIMARY ACTIVITY AREAS

• Training sessions and seminars for the owners and employees of publications.

• Individual consultations on solution of specific problems.

• Conduct of annual competitions “Best regional newspaper” and “Best newspaper design”.

• Organization of internships with Russian and foreign companies, exchange of experiences among partner publications.

• Implementation of sociological research projects in concert with leading research centers.

• Publication activities.

The New Eurasia Foundation has summarized the outcomes of the Russian national competition “Best regional newspaper – 2011”. The competition results were determined within the framework of the Sixth Annual International Confer-ence “Local Newspaper Au Courant” held on May 26 – 27, 2012 in Moscow.The golden medal within the principal nomination was not awarded, but the silver medal was awarded to the “Sloboda” newspaper from Tula.The bronze medal was shared by the “Mine!” news-paper (Voronezh) and “Amurskaya Pravda” newspa-per (Blagoveschensk. A special recognition award was given to the “Zhukovskiye Vesti” (Zhukovskiy).The competition panel members decided that Ilya Grinberg’s article “No shame for the living” (“Novaya Prichulymka”, Achinsk) represented the year’s best journalistic investigation – it received a bronze med-al. The golden and silver medals were not awarded within this nomination.

The annual international conference “Media Design” was held on Number 24 – 25, 2012 in Moscow. It was host-ed by the “Digital October”.The conference was attended by Rus-sian and foreign specialists in news-paper and magazine design, multime-dia design, other kinds of design and technologies. The conference also in-cluded the “Newspaper design 2012” award ceremony.The conference materials and cata-logue of the competition winners will be made available shortly on the fol-lowing website: http://www.newspa-perdesign.ru.

NEW EURASIA FOUNDATION NAMES THE BEST RUSSIAN REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS IN 2011

“MEDIA DESIGN 2012” CONFERENCE

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SPECIAL INITIATIVES

“CSPP: Moving Forward Together” was the name of the conference that was held on Novem-ber 15 – 16, 2012 in Washington, DC, as part of the US-Russia Civil Society Partnership Pro-gram. The conference was organized by the Eurasia Foundation (USA) and the New Eurasia Foundation (Russia). The conference was attended by more than 90 civil society experts from the USA and Rus-sia with the view to design specific collaboration plans within 11 thematic areas, such as protection of children and childhood, local community development, promotion of public health, etc.

US-RUSSIA CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

ABOUT CSPPThe US-Russia Civil Society Partnership Pro-gram (CSPP) promotes collaboration between Russian and US NGOs, leading to meaningful improvement in the lives of citizens of both countries. Program participants design in-novative recommendations through CSPP’s Working Groups, accelerating progress in 11 thematic areas including anti-corruption, child protection, community development, education and youth, environmental protec-tion, gender equity, higher education, human rights and rule of law, media and access to information, migration, and public health.

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This year’s conference was attended by Vladimir Pozner and Phil Do-nahue, the anchors of the Soviet-American TV-bridges aired during the Perestroika. This time, Mr. Pozner and Mr. Donahue anchored a live talk-show with civil society experts with whom they discussed the US-Russia relations and reminisced about their cooperation back in the 1980s.The core of the conference, just like the core of the US-Russia Civil Society Partnership Program itself, was based on the activities of 11 working groups each co-chaired by two civil society representa-tives, one Russian and one American. These groups constantly hold virtual meetings and discussions and meet each other in person at the annual program conferences with the view to design collabora-tive project proposals. In addition, some of the US-Russian part-nerships have received CSPP grants that supported their efforts in both countries. For example, the project “Sustainable development of rural communities” enables Russian and American rural commu-nity managers and experts to exchange strategies that they use to strengthen local economies. In August 2012 eight representatives of Russia took part in the conference “Small towns – big future” held in the city of Columbus, Ohio, in the course of which they dis-cussed various methods used to address similar problems with their American colleagues. Details

“Our people don't regard international relations as an exclusive sphere of diplomats any more. They actively buil[d] relations and partnerships with their counterparts in other countries, no mat-ter what is the official line – whether the governments are trying to reset the relations or are taking a pause. I believe this is very important”.

OLEG BURMISTROVDeputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the Russian Federation to the US

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ANNOUNCEMENTS• The New Eurasia Foundation is pleased to present a series

of Resource Books prepared within the framework of the “EURECA” Program designed to enhance the research and entrepreneurship potential of Russian institutions of higher learning. The Resource Books are available on the “EURECA” program website.

• The New Eurasia Foundation and the Leuven Catholic University College (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium) are pleased to offer thematic training and qualifications improvement programs for administrators and faculty members of Russian institutions of higher learning. The training programs can be viewed here.

• The New Eurasia Foundation has launched a new project within its social development program area entitled “Preventing a conflict in Transnistria by building bridges between governments, NGOs, and businesses”.

• The New Eurasia Foundation is proud to present a new compilation of project materials, “School-based reconciliation services: methods, research, procedures”, published as part of the project “Disseminating the best peacemaking and conflict-preventing practices in Northern Caucasus”. The compilation can be viewed here.

• The New Eurasia Foundation mass media support program and Association of Independent Publishers are requesting submissions to the VII Russian National Competition “Best regional newspaper – 2012”. Details

• The New Eurasia Foundation is pleased to invite representatives of Russian institutions of higher learning to participate in the following study tours:

– Internal audit and managing the university’s operating quality – Estonia, Tartu University;

– Entrepreneurial university – Finland, University of Tampere, Tampere Uni-versity of Applied Sciences, and Aalto University;

– Managing innovation technologies – Israel, Haifa Technological Green-house, Haifa University;

– University as a key player in the development of a national innovation ecosystem – China, Tsinghua University, 12-18 May 2013.

YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEB RESOURCES

Facebook Twitter

FNE IN SOCIAL NETWORKS

The official designated website of the project “Disseminating the best peacemaking and conflict-preventing practices in Northern Caucasus” http://www.conflictu.net/

ЭВРИКАEURECAЭE

“EURECA” program website – “Enhancing the research and entrepreneurship potential of Russian universities” http://www.eureca-usrf.org/

New Eurasia Foundation’s official website http://www.neweurasia.ru/en/

http://www.usrussiacivilsociety.org

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Date and location Event

January 2013, Moscow Training sessions on designing socially meaningful projects to be hosted by orphanages and boarding schools within the framework of the project “Social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates in Moscow”

January 23-24, 2013, Moscow region

Out-of-town practical training seminar for the curators of authorized organizations and orphans’ mentors in colleges “Post-institutional support of emancipated orphans: interdepartmental collaboration between orphanages and primary and secondary vocational training schools” to be held within the framework of the project “Social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates in Moscow”

February 1-3, 2013, Moscow region

Out-of-town “Leadership” training session for activists from among orphans to be held within the framework of the project “Social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates in Moscow”

February 6-8, 2013, Yaroslavl Interregional practical research conference “Social security of orphaned children”, to be attended by the leaders of Moscow orphanages and principals of Moscow boarding schools, to be held within the framework of the project “Social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates in Moscow”

February 2013, Gelendzhik, Krasnodar region

First training session in social entrepreneurship for participants of the project “Comprehensive social integration of young people with disabilities in the Krasnodar region: training, employment, communications”

February 2013, Vladikavkaz, Republic of North Ossetia

Open forum “Public initiatives for peace and development” to be held as part of the project “Mitigating ethnic conflicts by supporting collaboration between the governments and civil society institutions in Northern Caucasus”

February 2013, Arkhangelsk Forum “The role of universities in the socio-economic development of the regions” to be held as part of the “Community universities” project and hosted by the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M. V. Lomonosov

March 2013, Moscow Final panel discussion to be held as part of the project “Mitigating ethnic conflicts by supporting collaboration between the governments and civil society institutions in Northern Caucasus”

March 2013, Moscow Final conference to be held as part of the project “Social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates in Moscow”

Late March 2013, Moscow Interregional conference “Best practices in social adaptation of orphans” to be held as part of the project “Social adaptation of orphanage and boarding school graduates in Moscow”

March – April 2013 Discussions of the social function of institutions of higher learning to be hosted by the universities involved in the “Community universities” project

April 2013, Estonia International study tour for representatives of Russian institutions of higher learning “Internal audit and managing the university’s operating quality”, Tartu University, Estonia

May 2013, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

International study tour for representatives of Russian universities “University as a key player in the development of the national innovation ecosystem”, Tsinghua University, China

April 2013, Sochi First training session to be held as part of the project “Social entrepreneurship as a method of successful social integration of young people with disabilities in the Krasnodar region”

April 2013, Novorossiysk, Krasnodar region

Second training session to be held as part of the project “Social entrepreneurship as a method of successful social integration of young people with disabilities in the Krasnodar region”

June 2013, Sochi, Krasnodar region

Third training session to be held as part of the project “Social entrepreneurship as a method of successful social integration of young people with disabilities in the Krasnodar region”

August 2013, Krasnodar Interregional panel discussion “First steps made by social entrepreneurship: problems and prospects”

September – November, 2013 Training sessions to be held in the pilot territories of the project “Comprehensive social integration of young people with disabilities in the Krasnodar region: training, employment, communications”

November 2013, Krasnodar region Conference summarizing the outcomes of the first year of implementation of the project “Comprehensive social integration of young people with disabilities in the Krasnodar region: training, employment, communications”

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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