Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Tue, 8 Apr 1997 11:29:06 -0700 (PDT)
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 regularly, 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 12 (121)
21-27 March, 1997
In this issue:
I. Russian Men Join the Women's Liberation Movement
II. New Wheels Help People With Disabilities Have Full and Active Lifestyles
III. An International Practical Conference Titled "The Regional Press:
Contemporary Technology As a Factor in Independence"
Will Take Place April 16-19 in Volgograd
I
Russian Men Join the Women's Liberation Movement
"Anna," a crisis center for women, has begun a new project named "Male
Solidarity." One of the chief aims of the project is to unite men who
support the ideas of the women's liberation movement. Another no less
important issue is the liberation of men themselves, helping them to
overcome the behavioral stereotypes of using violence to resolve
conflicts.
The goal of the project is to demonstrate that there is an alternative
type of man different from the usual; that it is possible to be a man
while refraining from violence and discrimination in relationships with
women. Everyone today faces a choice, the creators of the new project
believe: whether to consider aggressive behavior and discriminatory
practices permissible or categorically to reject them. The participants
in "Male Solidarity" are convinced that society as a whole and every
person individually should take a firm position on this question and
demand that brutal actions toward women and the use of violent methods to
resolve conflicts be condemned both by public opinion and the law.
The project includes two programs: "Men Stop Violence" and a research
program. The project will also include educational seminars for youth
with the goal of forming habits of nonviolent interaction and overcoming
discrimination in relationships with women. There will also be seminars
for men who use violence.... The creation of a social club for men who
share the ideas of the women's liberation movement and wish to participate
in the project is also planned. The project will also undertake gender
research on male themes.
Telephone: 384-5415 (Andrei Sinel'nikov)
II
New Wheels Help People With Disabilities Have Full and Active Lifestyles
>From March 10 to 12, gatherings for people with disabilities who use wheel
chairs took place at the crisis center "Chaika" [Sea Gull] under the aegis
of the Moscow oblast Department of Public Social Security. It was
organized by the Egor'evsk Social Security Administration and the firm
Katarzhina, which has been producing wheel chairs for the past two years.
Twenty-nine people aged 16 to 50 participated in the gatherings. They
were residents of the cities of the area around Moscow who lost their
mobility after severe trauma to the spine or injury to the spinal chord.
Alexander Evdakimov and Natalia Vanina, instructors from Katarzhina who
have studied the system of active rehabilitation developed by the Swedish
social organization "Rekruterings Gruppen" [Swedish spelling uncertain],
provided instruction and showed how to use a wheelchair. They
demonstrated the most difficult maneuvers of going up and down steps
(including those without hand rails), overcoming obstacles such as curbs
and pot holes in sidewalks, and how to use crosswalks.
"The rehabilitation we offer is not only physical. It is also social and
psychological," says Natalia Vanina. "After all, our clients are
immobile. They lead lives of seclusion. We try to show them that they
can live like other people. Wheelchairs help them do that."
Andrei Keller, the head of the Evor'evsk Social Security Administration,
undertook all aspects of organizing the gatherings. He organized repairs
to the premises [used for the gatherings], found housing for the
participants, and even found a bus with a lift to take people to a
swimming pool where they could learn to swim. There was a disco every
evening. Apparently you can even dance in a wheelchair! And at the end
of the gatherings each participant received free of charge a light,
maneuverable wheelchair made by the skilled craftsmen at Katarzhina.
This wheel chair costs around two million rubles, and the oblast
Department of Social Security paid for this costly gift.
The telephone number of Katarzhina is 482-1936.
III
An International Practical Conference Titled "The Regional Press:
Contemporary Technology As a Factor in Independence"
Will Take Place April 16-19 in Volgograd
The conference is being organized by the Volgograd printing concern "City
News," which is a participant in the international Russian-American
"Program for the Development of the Mass Media." The program will include
round tables with the titles "International Foundations: Results and
Prospects for Work With the Regional Mass Media," and "Problems of
Investment in the Development of Newspapers." Seventy regional
publications in Russia, representatives of the government of the Russian
Federation, large international foundations that provide support to the
Russian mass media, and representatives of Russian and foreign banking
concerns will take part.
In addition the program will include the opening of Russia's first private
newspaper press belonging to the private information and publishing
concern "City News." It was acquired through a grant from the Program for
the Development of the Mass Media.
[The deadline for registration was April 4.] Telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses given for contacting the organizers are: (095) 232-3481,
249-8637, 249-0522. Fax: 232-3633. E-mail: [email protected] (Alexei
Pankin) or [email protected] (Robert Coalson): or (8442) 33-7413,
36-1387, 33-7333, 36-1083. E mail: 36-1387, 33-7333, 36-1083. E mail: [email protected].
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| CCSI presents excerpts from the ASI Bulletin. The |
| ASI Bulletin is a publication of the Agency for Social |
| Information (ASI) in Moscow. Originally published in |
| Russian, selected stories are translated and posted to |
| the CCSI listserv "CivilSoc." English and Russian |
| archives are available on the CCSI Web site at: |
| |
| http://www.friends-partners.org/~ccsi/ |
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