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Women’s Initiatives Supported by the Moscow Government

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In Moscow, over 100 non-profit organizations and associations composed of and lead by women are registered today. A number of them operate in close interaction with Moscow Gov-ernment Committee of Public and Inter-regional Relations. Outlined below are some of the proj-ects initiated by Moscow women’s organizations and supported by the Moscow Government.

Moscow Women Aid Children

The project, Moscow Women Aid Children, aims at solving social adaptation and em-ployment problems faced by young people freshly out of orphan asylums/boarding schools. Supervisors (recruited from among lone able retirees and unwed women) will help teenage orphans leaving public institutions to adjust to new social environments. Professional training programs and new jobs for public boarding school graduates are planned within the structure of MosComTextileProm factories.
The first stage of the project financed by the Government Committee of Public and In-ter-regional Relations includes psychological, training, technical and organizational as-sistance to ten orphan asylums which are now in the most grave situation (including those for mentally and physically disabled children).
The project has come out as the joint effort of a number of Moscow women’s organiza-tions. Karmin Association and the Moscow Academy of Craftsmanship implement programs of professional training and creation of new jobs for orphans from asylums and boarding schools. Women’s Initiative Fund together with women’s art and re-search associations run creativity development programs in public institutions for chil-dren. The Slavyanka Center for Women’s Creative Activities and the Fund of Women’s Employment develop the "home design" curriculum for orphan institutions.

Women for Development and Creativity

The major goal of the project is to demonstrate the role of women as builders and keepers of cultural values of the society. The scope of this project covers three kinds of activities. The first is in information and education field which includes discussions, conferences and workshops on women’s role in the society.
The second is to demon-strate actual achievments of women and women’s organizations in new economic envi-ronments through exhibitions, fairs, auctions and other public actions. The third is ac-tivities to develop and support creativity in children.
This project incorporates initiatives proposed by various women’s organizations — from art associations to political movements — representing many regions.

Other Initiatives

The Committee of Public and Inter-regional relations provides a conference room in the Moscow Government building for purposes of the Women’s Leadership School run by the East-West Women’s Innovative Fund and the Geya International Center. One of the recent classes of the School resulted in appointment of the Expert Council. Its function is to perform expert assessment of mass media publications in order to trace down possible violations of women’s rights.
The Committee of Public and Inter-regional relations also supported the second issue of Yaroslavna magazine published by the Union of Women of the Border. Our Com-mittee, together with the Labor and Employment Committee, funds New Employment magazine.
The Academy of Management and Women’s Enterprise has already produced its first graduates. The Academy was instituted by the Labor and Employment Committee of the Moscow Government, the Presidential Academy of State Services of the RF, St. Petersburg Woman and Management Institute. The first group of unemployed women studied economy and management and underwent on-site training in private organizations providing social services. Best graduates of the Academy may obtain Labor and Employment Department loans to open businesses of their own.
JEN-Club was formed seven years ago by prominent Russian women — politicians, scientists, economists, executives of industrial, trade and financial organizations. Cur-rently, members of the Club develop the concept of the first Russian ‘business-incubator’ for women. The club plans to take on functions of coordinator to serve small and medium-scale businesses run by women. Over 50 women’s business organiza-tions will join under club’s umbrella to share advantages of its’ integrated service net-work including legal, accounting, audit, marketing and other functions.
Moscow women’s organization Dostoinstvo (Dignity) Club came out with an initiative of Woman — Prometeus Award to celebrate women who make outstanding profes-sional or personal input into process of reforming Russian society in democratic and civil manner. Dostoinstvo Club has already prepared most of statutory documents re-quired to institute the award.
Moscow Academy of Craftsmanship (chaired by Raisa Ivanovna Yemelyanova), to-gether with their German colleagues, has designed a number of professional training programs for unemployed women. Slavyanka Center of Women’s Art (lead by Lyud-mila Vladimirovna Andriyenko) runs "Women’s Art" by-correspondence school. Women Writer’s League and Atlantida Publishers Association (founded and directed by Larisa Nikolayevna Vasilyeva, well-known Russian author) work on Soul of Moscow project, a book about Moscow and muskovites.
In the context of Moscow 850 anniversary program, Women’s Employment Fund (chaired by Emiliya Chugunova), together with Labor and Employment and Public and Inter-regional Relations committees, prepared and held the conference, Women’s Ini-tiatives for the Native Community, which outlined major trends in women’s enterprise role in small business and social sphere development.
Public and Inter-regional Relations Committee has also supported several other so-cially relevant women’s projects, including:
Our special thanks are to the Social Information Agency (Elena Alexandrovna To-poleva, director) for their immense efforts. In cooperation with the Committee of Public and Inter-regional Relations, the Social Information Agency publishes Obschestven-nost’ i Vlast’ (Public and Authority) bulletin which highlights different aspects of inter-actions between public organizations and the Moscow government agencies.
Altogether, the Moscow Government has provided financial support to seventeen proj-ects initiated by public organizations.
Public and Inter-Regional Relations Committee, Moscow Government
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