22 May 2006

The Collection of Project Submissions for Competition Within the Framework of the Community Pride Scheme Among Lviv and Donetsk Oblast Communities Continues

The mission of the Community Pride scheme is to support community initiatives for socially vulnerable community groups. The Community Pride scheme teaches communities in developing, implementing and managing grant-based programmes and envisages a direct involvement of the coalitions working in the communities within the framework of the Democratising Ukraine Small Project Scheme in the grant management process. Such an approach nurtures in the communities the understanding of how the grant fund distribution mechanism works, and shapes in them skills necessary for future initiatives of local philanthropy implementation inside communities.

To be approved, mini-projects must comply with contest terms and conditions, i.e., be free from political bias; have social focus and be in the form of an action or informal act (e.g., a Subbotnik, a children playground repair or tree-planting action etc.); also be focused on mobilising the community to resolve certain issues; and be submitted by registered non-governmental organisations or informal initiative groups.

The coalitions also developed specific criteria for their own communities based on the performed assessment of needs:

Brody:
-Resolving the most burning specific social and environmental community issues (removal of household wastes, beautification of town areas, etc.)
-Providing active involvement of, and incentives for, local residents to participate in volunteer initiatives to resolve local community social and environmental issues, support of local women, military servicemen, housewives, family abuse victims, unemployed, anonymous alcoholics etc. self-support groups (this may also include establishment of school and parental committees, and other local initiatives)
-Prevention of communicable diseases, alcohol and drug abuse through thematic awareness-raising events, work of awareness-raising teams
-Coordination of leisure and recreational facilities for children and youth

Drohobych:
-Law enforcement
-Beautification of the town
-Arranging for content-rich leisure options for children during summer vacation period
-Coordination of grass-root volunteer work to eliminate unauthorised dump sites
-Restoration of recreation areas in the Park of the Newborns (Volodymyr the Great St.), lake area in the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Park, and lake area at Ivana Franka St.
-Urban greening
-Holding a creative holiday event for orphans and neglected children on the Children Protection Day (1 June)
-Holding a town-wide youth, beauty and love festival on the Ivan Kupala Day involving unemployed young people in its coordination and realisation (7 July)

Sambir:
-Resolving problems of children of labour emigrants
-Social integration of disabled persons
-Psychological adaptation of young families
-Drug abuse prevention among the young people

Sokal:
-Integration of disabled children into community life
-Sport, rehabilitation and culture promotion activities for children
-Leisure facilities for youth
-Promotion of volunteer spirit inside the community
-Protection of maternity and childhood
-Family abuse prevention, protection of the rights of children
-Patriotic education of the young
-Healthy lifestyle promotion among young people and children

Chervonohrad:
-Assistance to the resolving of issues of disabled children and their family members;
-Assistance to change beacons in perceptions of issues of disabled individuals in the community;

Artemivsk:
-Beautification of areas and sites (households, yards, town-wide)
-Environmental protection, nurturing environmental culture
-Creative capacity development in children, disabled children included
-Promotion of culture and sports
-Historical heritage protection
-Safe Vacations and Road Safety measures, also for children (and disabled children)
-Tourism

Vuhledar:
-Cosmetic repairs of household lobbies
-Manufacturing of devices to facilitate movement and communication of people with special physical needs (house entrance banisters, installation of call buttons etc.)
-Area beautification
-Elimination of buffalo weed growth in the town
-Registration of Condominium Associations
-Subbotnik at residential areas

Yenakiyeve:
-Setting up sports grounds
-Urban greening (tree-planting)
-Area cleaning events (Subbotniks)
-Arranging for tourist meetings

Telmanove:
-Expanding and restoration of the children playground network
-Urban forestry on village youth and children recreation areas
-Mass recreation areas beautification actions
-Making children playgrounds

Torez:
-Town beautification
-Support to youth’s creative initiatives
-Support of healthy lifestyle
-Development of fitness and rehabilitation facilities

The total Programme fund for each community makes UAH 4,400.00 (GBP 480.00).
For more details about the contest, please address Project Directors in your local community.




18 May 2006
ARTEMIVSK - VUHLEDAR

Community Voice Project Representatives visited Artemivsk and Vuhledar Communities

20-21 April community association representatives from Makiyivka (Donetsk Oblast) and Alchevsk (Luhansk Oblast) involved in the WB-funded Community Voice Project visited the communities in Artemivsk and Vuhledar.

The exchange between the guests and the implementers of the Learning to Live Together Project (Artemivsk) was quite interesting. Representatives of community associations of various trends from different cities and with diverse work experience shared practical outcomes of their important, though at times challenging, co-operation with the government, presented not only their success stories but also encountered setbacks that could be avoided in other communities and localities. The guests were fascinated to know that the municipal library system gladly joined the work, that the disabled city residents received the possibility of discovering for themselves the world of the Internet, and that the municipal authorities have been attentive to constructive criticism. There was a lot of questions as to the criteria used to identify issues the coalition has set to resolve, how responsibilities have been distributed, and how the coalition will work after the completion of the second level resource project.

On the second day, a visit to Vuhledar community was arranged. The event was a success, too. Both Vuhledar itself and the topicality of certain issues are considerably different from Artemivsk; knowing that, our guests gladly continued listening to responses to their questions about how the work has been arranged in another town and other yet conditions. The topic of importance for all the Ukraine these days – social entrepreneurship – and the available information were discussed. Vuhledar coalition representatives shared their ideas of setting up a local newspaper as a possible way of establishing a social enterprise in their town.


Oleg Gryshyn
DU Programme Co-ordinator in Donetsk Oblast




17 May
KYIV

On 15 May 2006 the round-table discussion on good governance and ethics of the third/non-governmental sector was conducted in Kyiv. The round-table discussion, third in a series of the similar event, was co-organised by the DU Programme and the Centre for Community Philanthropy, project of the Ukrainian Citizens Action Network (UCAN)/Institute of Sustainable Communities (ISC). Over 30 representatives of the donor organisations acting in Ukraine, third sector experts and representatives of the non-governmental organisations got together to share experience and best practices in good governance in the civil/non-governmental sector of Ukraine and to identify opportunities for co-operation between interested parties.

During the event the participants were able to discuss the most pressing issues of governance and ethnics in the Ukrainian context, to learn about work of various donor organisations and to share experience. Besides, the DU Programme and the Ethics Committee (UCAN), other organisations and donor-funded projects including Princes-Benefactors Ostrozkiy Foundation, Civil Society Development Programme which is being implemented by the OSCE with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Denmark, International Research And Exchange Board (IREX) and the Centre of Philanthropy shared their experience and vision in this area.

In general the meeting became an effective tool for co-ordinating governance related efforts of donor organisations and NGOs and for establishing new contacts. At the end of the event the participants expressed their willingness to continue similar round-table discussions in the future. It is planned to organise the next meeting in September 2006 to discuss the sustainability issues in the work of the non-governmental organisations in general including the ensuring of sustainability of the initiatives introduced by other donor organisations. Financial stability and independence of the civil society organisations and effective use of available financial resources including the assistance provided by the international projects and programmes are expected to be studied within the framework of this round-table discussion.

Vitaliy Kuchynsky
Programme manager




11 May
LVIV

Representative of the OSCE Paid a Visit to Lviv Region

On the eve of Easter the Senior Expert on Civil Society from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Mr. Michael Hertfort visited the Lviv region. The goal of the mission of Mr. Hertfort was to introduce the civil society organisation of Lviv region to a new project of the Co-ordinator of the OSCE projects titled Civil Society Development.

In the course of his mission Mr. Hertfort visited the Lviv Regional office of the DU Programme and met with Roman Koshovy, regional Programme co-ordinator in Lviv. Mr. Koshovy presented the work and accomplishments of the DU Programme in Lviv region. After the meeting Mr Hertfort paid visits to the communities of Sambir, Drohobych and Brody towns and met with the implementers and partners of the DU Programme’ pilot communities. Mr Hertfort was extremely satisfied with the outcomes of the Programme in the local communities. In Brody town Mr. Hertfort not only met with a newly-elected town mayor (former local Programme co-ordinator) Mr Bohdan Semchuk, leader of the base organisation Mrs Lesia Oliyevska, participants and members of the coalition but also visited the first handicap ramp in the city and rehabilitation centre for youth with special needs that were created with the financial support of the Programme.




3 May
KYIV

Social Entrepreneurship: Ukrainian Context

On 27 April Olga Sandakova, Deputy Programme Manager of DFID Ukraine conducted a seminar on social enterprises on the premises of the hotel Bratislava. The participants of the event, representatives of the projects carried out within the framework of the DU Programme had an opportunity to learn about advanced development trends of social enterprises in Europe in general and in Ukraine in particular, about types of social enterprises acting in the Ukrainian context: types of registration, access to finance, fields of activities.

The world globalisation trends, changes in the state functions, delegation of powers from the centre to the regions, new economic trends such as innovative networks, use of IT that enabled instant capital transfer and at the same time inability of the state to ensure employment for all population called for the establishment of social enterprises in Europe.

In the opinion of Olga Sandakova, development of the social entrepreneurship is essential in Ukraine in order to ensure sustainable development of the society by mobilising local resources, developing companies, generating new jobs. According to her, development of the social enterprises plays a significant role in the development of cross-sector partnership and contributes to strengthening public activity of the population.

Based on the research conducted by the Eurasia Foundation 50 social enterprises acted in Ukraine in 2004; 60% positioned themselves as civil society organisations, 30% were registered as business and only 10% considered themselves as hybrid of business and a CSO.




25 April
SOKAL

Charitable Campaign Easter Basket – 2006

The charitable campaign Easter basket was conducted for the third time in Sokal region. The goal of the campaign is to help vulnerable and lonely people, needy families with many children, disabled people and orphans. The Sokal local centre focused on rendering services for elderly people, district association of disabled people, district association of the Red Cross and the education department of the Sokal state district administration took part in the event. Charitable foundation Karitas-Sokal and television and radio company Sokal were the organisers of the campaign.

The organisers of the event are very grateful to the businessmen, directors of the companies, heads of departments, divisions and units of the district and simply to all people for their assistance and donations. We all have made the Great Easter Holiday special for the people who need support.

The Easter Basket account received five thousand one hundred seventy hryvnas plus in-kind donations that amounted to the significant sum. Around forty-eight people acted as sponsors of the campaign. The entrepreneur from Vinnitsa who works as the DU Community Development Expert Mykhailo Bardyn made a contribution as well.

Needy families, children that needed support such as orphans, children from financially disadvantaged families under ward ship of Karitas, local center rendering services for elderly people, association of disabled people, Red Cross and the veterans’ board received Easter baskets. The volunteers and senior pupils from the local schools made and distributed around 220 packages. The district education department arranged for the transportation to deliver the packages of the Easter Basket campaign.


Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13


2003© "DEMOCRATISING UKRAINE SMALL PROGECT SCHEME"
Programme Materials may be used provided they are duly attributed to the Programme www.dobrobut.org.ua