[CivilSoc] ISAR journal: Give & Take - "Civil Society in Central Asia"

[John P. Deever]

ISAR Announces the Summer/Fall 2002 Give & Take:
A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia
(available free at http://www.isar.org, voluntary donations requested.)
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Urban gardens and tree planting. Battered women's shelters and abuse
hotlines. Workshops on responsible corporate citizenship. Sound like
nonprofits in Manhattan or northern California?
Try again. Each of these activities is currently happening in Central Asia,
with funding from Western donors.
This issue of Give & Take: A Journal on Civil Society in Eurasia offers
grassroots stories from post 9-11 Central Asia, contrasted with the
staggering amounts of money being spent by US military operations in a
region that still suffers from economic collapse and repressive regimes.
Civil society programs, rule of law projects, and environmental protection
efforts have been a crucial step in the formation of a democratically minded
populace. For, while national governments remain firmly authoritarian, a
grassroots civil society has been emerging throughout Central Asia. This
quiet revolution is, in fact, the strongest buffer against surges in
religious and ethnic hostility in the region, which would threaten
stability, tolerance and any potential democratic reform.
We include interviews with Iqbal Noor Ali, CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation
USA, and with Kent Hill, Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia at
USAID. Both funders underline the importance of working from the bottom up
and making long-term commitments.
The investment needed to encourage people to improve their own lands and
their own lives is far smaller than the huge outlays required to exert
military power, yet it is far more effective over the long term. The
ostensible goals of both investments are the same -- a more stable and
peaceful world. The events of September 11 remind us that the strongest
force is a population that has the skills, confidence, and resources to look
after itself.
Give & Take draws on ISAR's grassroots contacts and nearly 20 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.
SUPPORT GIVE & TAKE ON THE WEB:
Give & Take is available in .pdf format at <http://www.isar.org> at no cost.
Voluntary contributions to support ISAR's work are greatly welcomed and can
be made via the secure credit card donation services of eGrants.org, a
project of the Tides Foundation.
For a hard copy of the latest issue, or to order back issues, please send
$5.00 (checks drawn on a US bank only) to Mieka Erley (mieka@isar.org),
ISAR, 1601 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite #301, Washington, DC 20009
John P. Deever | john@isar.org
Publications Program Officer
Initiative for Social Action and Renewal in Eurasia
1601 Connecticut Ave NW #301
Washington DC 20009
tel: 202-387-3034, fax: 202-667-3291
http://www.isar.org