Mr. Liberato Bautista (L) and UNIC Director Mr. Alexandre Gorelik (R)

On 13 November 2009, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Moscow organized a roundtable meeting for Mr. Liberato Bautista, President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CoNGO), and representatives of several Russian NGOs. 
   
In his remarks, Mr. Bautista stressed that CoNGO advocated for strong, engaged and empowered civil society communities in different countries. Mr. Liberato stated that the conference's core mission is to guarantee NGOs access to the UN – not only physical, but also in terms of participating in decision-making.  A remarkable part of his comments was a review of civil society actors' effort in order to find a proper place in international governance.
 
Speaking next was Ms. Elena Topoleva, Director of the Agency of Social Information, where she presented a study highlighting major facts about the NGOs in Russia, which was compiled by the Higher School of Economics. According to the study, some 429,000 non-commercial organizations are officially registered in Russia. She also stated that their ever increasing role in the public life can be defined as a positive factor, whereas their major problem appears to be a lack of funds and resources.   
 
Mr. Viktor Kamyshanov, Chairman of the Federation of Peace and Reconciliation, focused on disarmament as an issue of top priority for the international community today, which had been underscored by the UN Secretary General recently in Mexico City. As the head of an organization concentrating on peace-making, he expressed his readiness to cooperate with the CoNGO in this and related matters. 
 
Mr. Gennady Zhizhin from the International Roerichs Centre, pointed out that his organization attended the NGO forums organized by the UN DPI over the last four years. His strong wish was that one of the next Department of Public Information/NGO conferences be devoted to preserving the world’s cultural heritage and to promoting intercultural dialogue.    
 
The discussion assisted Mr. Bautista, in obtaining firsthand information about how the Russian civil society actors are doing. It has, by all means, contributed to widening his horizon on matters related to engaging Russian NGOs in the CoNGO’s work.

BEZGRANIZ.RU

On 9 November 2009, the pilot version of "Bezgraniz.ru" ("Life without borders") was launched in Moscow to an impressive audience of civil society activists, business executives, information technology experts and philanthropists.

The portal (http://www.bezgraniz.ru/), was already accessible for the visually impaired, and is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks and will be undergoing further upgrading according to quite ambitious plans of its creators brought together by the Marketkompas company.

According to them, the Bezgraniz project is intended for people with special needs and focuses on improving the environment they live and work in. Not only it presents new opportunities for communication in cyberspace, but it also "offers a large variety of interactive approaches to like-minded people".

Opening the ceremony, Alexandre Gorelik, Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Moscow, welcomed this highly positive development on behalf of the UN Country Team in Russia. He placed the event into the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stressing that 14 out of 32 substantive articles of the treaty mention obligations with implications for Information and Communications Technology (ICT). In continuing on that matter, according to the Convention, states are to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures promoting human rights of persons with disabilities, he said that e-accessibility is among the most pressing tasks internationally. Finally, he noted that the Bezgraniz project is a considerable step forward towards a disabled-friendlier society in Russia.

Introducing the portal itself, Tobias Reisner of Marketkompas stated that Bezgraniz would help many people with special needs break out of isolation, start networking and step with more assurance into the social life. In his words, “the ‘Life without borders’ will assist them in organizing seminars, concerts, sport competitions, exhibits, but also will offer goods and services.”

Participants of a book presentation at the UNIC premises

On 22 October, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Moscow, jointly with the VES MIR Publishing House, held a special presentation of a new book on the UN communications strategy by Tatiana Schors from the Moscow State University.
 
The event brought together over 40 participants, such as scholars, NGO activists, university students, acting and retired diplomats, librarians and the media.
 
UNIC Director opened the discussion by emphasizing on the main aspects of the study entitled “UN Public Information in the Face of Globalization”. He also stressed the challenge of assessing the effectiveness of the UN public information activities which has been examined in the study.

Later, Tatiana Schors, the book's author, described in more detail, singling out the culture of communications and transparency that permeate all levels of the United Nations. In her words: “communication increasingly articulates with governance since it has to do with content and substance of UN agenda”. She also dwelled on global vs. local levels of the UN information activities and the way those address different target audiences.

Oleg Zimarin, Director of the VES MIR Publishing House, observed that serious publications about the UN were, unfortunately, scarce in Russia. He also shared his impressions after his recent participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair and commented on sometimes difficult path in which major UN reports move to Universities and libraries in Russia.
 
Echoing his remarks, Grigory Kovrizhenko, vice-president of the UNA in Russian Federation, expressed a concern that the gap in access to information and ICT penetration between different regions of the country sometimes impacted adversely on the effectiveness of UN communications effort. That said, the new book is a good contribution to the UNA in Russia work and will be widely used by the Association, he stressed.
 
The discussion brought together more than two dozen media and public information professionals, and several students of the Moscow Lomonosov State University.

Balloons released as a symbolic farewell to poverty at the "Stand Up" campaign event held at the Sholokhov Moscow State University of Humanities

On 16 October, the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Moscow, jointly with the UN Resident Coordinator Office in Russian Federation and the Sholokhov Moscow State University of Humanities, organized a “Stand Up” campaign event at the University’s premises. Mr. Karl Kulessa, UNFPA Representative in Russian Federation, focused his opening remarks on the MDGs and the situation of women, in particular.

After Mr. Kulessa’s address, the “Stand Up”  video was projected on a large screen for the audience. Then the university students, active members of the Center of the Youth Programmes, introduced the attendance to projects implemented by volunteers, such as distance education for persons with disabilities and assistance to the families with disabled children.

The culmination of the event was the Bob Marley’s song “Get Up, Stand Up” performed by students, and the “Stand Up” action itself. At the end, students signed the pledge which they were going to send to Russian Parliamentarians.
 
On 17 October, another “Stand Up” event was organized at the Vykhino Campus of the Sholokhov Moscow State University of Humanities University. UNIC Director opened the event with remarks outlining the essence of the poverty issues.
 
According to the preliminary count and the “Stand Up” campaign coordinator in Europe, the registered number of participants in Russia was more than 4,500 persons in various parts of the country, including cities such as Moscow, Barnaul, Severodvinsk, Tumen, Novosibirks, Michurinsk, Togliatti.