Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Tue, 21 Jan 1997 13:12:42 -0800 (PST)
CCSI presents excerpts from the Agency for Social Information (ASI) e-mail
information bulletin. Translated from Russian by CCSI volunteer Tom
Sorenson, J.D., Ph.D., Edmonds, Washington, USA. For more information on
how to receive ASI's bulletin regular ly, contact:
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AGENTSTVO SOTSIALNOI INFORMATSII
Kutuzovskyi pr. 22 pod. 14a,
Moscow, 121151
Tel./fax: (095) 249-3989
E-mail: [email protected]
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N 1 (101)
30 December 1996 - 13 January 1997
In this issue:
I. Parents of Hearing Impaired Children Seek
New Approaches to their Rehabilitation
II. Christmas Orthodox - Philosophical Readings
in Nizhnii Novgorod
III. Barnaul - Creation of a Council of
Social Organizations in Altai Krai
IV. Doctors Without Borders (Holland) and Aids-Infotie
(Spid-Infosviaz Russia) Have Begun a New Health Project
I
Parents of Hearing Impaired Children Seek
New Approaches to their Rehabilitation
The Moscow Association of Parents of Hearing Impaired Children was created
in 1991. It works with over 200 families raising hearing impaired
children between the ages of 5 and 18. The association brings parents
together for the purpose of assisting them in raising their children.
In an interview with an ASI correspondent, the chairman of the Association
Irina Iurevna Ivanova said: "Having taken part in 1995 in the conference
"Deafness and the Law" organized by the World Association of Parents of
Hearing Impaired Children [Vsemirnaia assotsiatsiia roditelei detei s
narusheniem slukha (Fepeda)], we became convinced that we lag behind our
foreign colleagues by many years in the fields of teaching methods and
speech techniques. In the European countries hearing impaired children
study alongside healthy children of the same age in the general schools.
The rehabilitative process is much easier for such children with common
education [mainstreaming], since they do not feel like outcasts from
society. The educational process of the children and the training of
specialists to work with them in the general schools is under the control
of the state."
As opposed to Europe, in Russia hearing impaired children and their
families cannot yet count on significant support from the government.
Therefore they must see to their own education and communication. It is
hard to live in isolation, so families join the Association.
On the initiative of their parents, young people aged 10 to 16 have begun
activities in experimental groups at the Specialized State Institute of
the Arts [Gosudarstvennyi spetsializirovannyi institut iskusstv]. The
kids' favorite teacher is V. A. Sazhin , an actor with the Stanislavskii
Musical Theater. Exercise in stage movement, choreography, and sign
language have produced great results and have convinced even the skeptics.
The children have become more lively, more flexible, and freer. The
exercises at the Institute have been a step on the road to higher
education for some of the children. In the summer of 1996 one of the
groups was invited by the Deaf Center of the Czech Republic to an
international festival of stage arts. Our kids competed in the theater
and representational arts competition with young people from Latvia,
Estonia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Finland.
Working with E. I. Leonard, author of a work on teaching speech to hearing
impaired children and a Candidate [post-graduate student] in psychology
has been a great help to the Association. The children are now able to
communicate through spoken language and not only through sign language.
The future plans of the association include a rehabilitation and
consultation center, which would not only provide medical examinations but
would be a meeting place for the members of the Association and their
friends.
Contact telephone: 445-3718 (Irina Iur'evna)
II
Christmas Orthodox -
Philosophical Readings in Nizhnii Novgorod
On January 10, on the initiative of the dioceses of Nizhnii Novgorod, the
oblast administration, and the Center for Orthodox and Russian Culture, 5
Christmas orthodox-philosophical readings took place on the topic
"Orthodoxy and Social Service." Well-known scholar clerics and
philosophers discussed questions of the relationship between church and
state and the influence of Orthodoxy on politics and the moral condition
of Russian society.
The Father-Superior of the Monastery of the Annunciation Father Cyril
believes that social service combines philanthropy and a consciousness of
Orthodox culture...and the mutual feelings of the church and society. For
this reason it is now especially important for the Orthodox church to
establish ties to society so that it may help people discover their
spirituality. Alexander Zamaleev of St. Petersburg University believes
that Orthodoxy will play an important role in the creation of a new state
order in Russia. But to do this the church must more clearly define its
relationship to the authorities in order to be able to exert influence on
them.
The Christmas Orthodox-philosophical readings are becoming a significant
event in the cultural life of Nizhnii Novgorod and are facilitating a
better mutual understanding between scholars and the clergy.
III
Barnaul - Creation of a Council of
Social Organizations in Altai Krai
A round table took place at the Altai affiliate of the Siberian Center for
the Support of Social Initiatives [Sibirskii tsentr podderzhki
obshchestvennykh initsiativ] (SCSSI) devoted to the cooperation of the
three sectors of the economy (governmental, commercial, and
noncommercial). The directors of social organizations in Altai and
representatives of SCSSI took part.
The participants in the round table exchanged experiences concerning
cooperation with governmental and commercial organizations. While
contacts with commercial organizations have already been established, they
are practically non-existent with governmental entities. It was decided
to create a Council of Social Organizations of Altai Krai in order to
facilitate cooperation between the 3 sectors. An organizing committee is
to develop a proposed charter for the Council of Social Organizations and
prepare a conference of krai social organizations at which the charter
will be adopted.
The address of the Altai affiliate of SCSSI is PO Box 661, 656038 Barnaul.
Contact telephone: (385-2) 22-5397.
E mail: [email protected] (Sergei Kanarev).
>From a report in the bulletin "The Third Sector in Siberia."
IV
Doctors Without Borders (Holland) and Aids-Infotie
(Spid-Infosviaz Russia) Have Begun a New Health Project
One of the emphases of the project will be the publication and
distribution of a resource book that will contain information on
contemporary Russian and foreign organizations working in the health care
field (women's health, drug addiction, prevention and treatment of
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection and AIDS), news of
their activities, and contact information.
The resource book will come out in mid-1997.
All organizations that provide the necessary information or fill out an
application in the next two months will be included in the resource book
and will be the first to receive a copy.
You can order an application form by telephone: 110-2460 [Moscow]
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The work of ASI is supported by the Charles S. Mott Foundation (USA),
USAID through the Eurasia Foundation, and the Program for the Support of
Social Initiatives, the European Free Speech Foundation (France) and a
number of Russian noncommercial organizations.
*Translator's note: The numbering of the issues has started over for
1997. The number in parentheses is the number of the issue counting from
the very first issue of the Bulletin.
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