[CivilSoc] ISAR offers Fall 2001 Give & Take

[John P. Deever]

NGOs and Youth: Building Communities
ISAR Announces the Fall 2001 Issue of
Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia
ISAR: INITIATIVE FOR SOCIAL ACTION AND RENEWAL IN EURASIA, a US-based
NGO, is pleased to announce the Fall issue of its quarterly publication,
Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia.
The profound social and economic problems that followed the collapse of the
Soviet Union have taken a particular toll on the younger generation.
Cash-strapped governments barely maintain the institutions that serve
the young, such as schools, hospitals and orphanages.  Of all state
employees, teachers and doctors are among the poorest paid.  Higher
education and reliable health care, once free to all, are now typically
available only for a fee, just when increasing numbers of parents have lost
their jobs and are unable to care for their children. Refugee families
escaping ethnic conflict in countries like Azerbaijan and Georgia only
exacerbate the situation.
In Eurasia, as in other parts of the world, citizens have stepped forward to
fill the vacuum left by the state. They are banding together in NGOs to
identify, publicize and address everything from homelessness to
psychological distress, from special education to summer camps.  This issue
of Give & Take looks at some of the creative ways they have found
to do so. 
Section one looks at NGOs working to meet the immediate needs of youth, such
as an organization that helps street children in Azerbaijan, a school
for children with disabilities in Georgia, and an NGO in Vladivostok
providing psychological assistance to abused women and children.  The second
section explores the importance of involving youth in NGO work as a
"springboard for the future." Members of the Druzhina movement, a holdover
from the Soviet Union, describe their formative experiences in that
organization and how it led them to become NGO leaders in the post-Soviet
era. Eco-theater in Belarus is spurring parents, teachers and government
officials into action, while ecology and language camps in Central Asia are
providing children with a feeling of responsibility for their
surroundings.  The third section describes how Western assistance is helping
to broaden the horizons of youth through programs such as the Freedom
Support Act Future Leaders Exchange program (FLEX) and the activities of its
alumni on their return home.
Give & Take draws on ISAR's grassroots contacts and 17 years of experience
encouraging citizen initiatives in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
The journal blends stories about local NGO activity with analysis
of the trends affecting civil society development.
TO RECEIVE GIVE & TAKE:
For a copy of the latest issue, or to order back-issues, please contact John
Deever (johnpdeever@yahoo.com) or send $5.00 (checks drawn on a US bank
only) to:
ISAR, 1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite #301, Washington, DC 20009
GIVE & TAKE ON THE WEB:
Give & Take is also available on-line and in .pdf format at
<http://www.isar.org>. The website includes information on ISAR programs, as
well as archived articles from Give & Take, ISAR in Focus (ISAR's
newsletter on field office activities), and from Surviving Together, ISAR's
previous journal. 
BECOME A MEMBER! 
Your tax-deductible membership of $35 ($45 for  organizations/institutions)
supports our programmatic work and public outreach efforts.  Membership
includes a one-year subscription to Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society
in Eurasia and ISAR's newsletter, ISAR in Focus, as well as
invitations to our forums and brown-bag lunches.
Please send your name, mailing address and e-mail, along with your check
made payable to ISAR to: Membership Program, at the address above.