About project

At present, the situation in the Northern Caucasus is unstable, while positive changes can be observed. The national projects in the fields of education, medicine and house-building have been launched; the number of kidnappings in the Chechen Republic has been ten times reduced; the rehabilitation of housing and industrial infrastructure is going on. Nevertheless, all the republics belong to the subsidized regions, with the economic potential requiring restoration; the level of unemployment is still very high. The great part of the population has no access to quality education, adequate food, medical care and recreation.

A number of international humanitarian organizations are still actively working in the region. Their activities are mainly aimed at providing humanitarian assistance and eliminating the consequences of the military conflicts. Non-profit organizations representing the civil society in the region do not always have the relevant knowledge and skills, and are not fully supported by the local population. Often people think that the representatives of NGOs are incompetent, unable to help solve local problems or contribute to positive change. At the same time, today it is especially important to support the local initiatives in addressing the social and economic issues and building a civil society, to train the representatives of local NGOs leadership skills, resource mobilization, protection of interests of local people. In this regard, it is important that the international community and organizations working in the region address the issues of both humanitarian aid distribution and organizational development of local non-profit and governmental organizations.

Duration: 2 years

 

Project Budget: $396 000

 

Financing: UNDEF and Caritas, France

 

Purpose of Project: To promote and develop the local communities in Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia by training the leaders of local communities and NGOs the skills of leadership, advocacy and resource mobilization to achieve particular results in addressing the challenges faced by their communities.

Target group:

•  Local non-governmental organizations and social institutions in 4 regions of Russia - Chechnya,    

•  Ingushetia, Dagestan and North Ossetia (North Caucasus);

•  Local authorities in 4 regions;

•  Representatives of local media: journalists, editors, publishers, etc.;

•  Population of 4 republics in general.  

Project activities:

In the course of the project implementation, we plan to carry out a needs assessment in the 4 project regions, the outcome of which will be a development of a multi-training program for the target groups and beneficiaries - representatives of local non-governmental organizations and social agencies, experts of governmental organizations and media. During the training sessions on leadership, resource mobilization and fundraising, the participants will develop at least 20 projects aimed at developing the civil society, the best of which will receive financial and organizational support. In addition, they will have the opportunity to work as interns in major Russian non-profit organizations in the South Federal District and organize to events on raising funds for their activities. At the end of the project 10 of the developed projects will be partially or fully implemented.

As part of the project, a photo competition for local journalists, amateur photographers and members of NGOs will be organized; it will be aimed at promoting the activities of non-profit organizations in the republics. The best works will be presented at the photo exhibition in the capitals of all 4 republics. Also, a conference "North-Caucasian Citizens' Forum" is to be held for national and international NGOs, local authorities, media and other interested parties.

Expected results:

The project will result in a clear picture of the needs and interests of the target groups; due to their participation in the training seminars, NGOs members will expand their capacity to perform high-quality projects and represent the interests and meet the needs of the target audience. In the course of the project implementation, local NGOs will develop new projects and get support from local administrations; the cooperation between the local communities will be strengthened. The awareness of NGOs’ activities will be raised and the attitude of the population to them will be improved.

Additional information:

Eleonora Ivanova, FOCUS-MEDIA Foundation

+ 7 495 221 60 26\27\28

 ella_ivanova@focus-media.ru
 www.focus-media.ru