1 октября 2014

Round Table "Charity in Today’s Russia: Experience and New Challenges".

A tribute to Raisa Gorbachev (1932-1999)

October 1, 2014: 15.00 – 18.00

The International Foundation for Socio-Economic and Political Studies (The Gorbachev Foundation) together with Donors Forum, Russia, and with participation of SAMU Social Moskva charitable foundation are pleased to announce a Round Table to be held at the Gorbachev Foundation, on Wednesday, October 1, the European Day of Foundations and Donors, to discuss the experience and new agenda of the charity sector in today’s Russia.

For decades, charity had been a forgotten and forbidden word in Russia, a concept that had lost its original meaning – people’s help and support for other people, a manifestation of societal solidarity. It was in this meaning that the tradition of charity was revived in this country in the late 1980s, in the years of Perestroika. Raisa Gorbachev played a key role in this revival. It was under her patronage and with her personal involvement that museums and cultural heritage sites were being restored across Russia and efforts were taken to return Russia’s cultural property. She put her heart and effort into launching first charitable funds providing money for treatment of children with serious health problems. The Raisa Maximovna Club she established in the late 1990s initiated a public debate on the problems of the charity sector, seeing charity as an open, public activity. It is only logical that charitable programmes have always been high on the Gorbachev Foundation’s priority list since its very inception in 1992. Today, the Foundation provides an independent forum for discussion and analysis of the more important social issues, including by all means charity.

We invite charity funds, NGOs and all those involved in promoting charity in Russia to participate in the Round Table themed “Charity in Today’s Russia: Experience and New Challenges” and dedicated to the memory of Raisa Gorbachev.

CHARITY IN TODAY’S RUSSIA:

EXPERIENCE AND NEW CHALLENGES.

A tribute to Raisa Gorbachev (1932-1999)

October 1, 2014: 15.00 – 18.00

ROUND TABLE AGENDA

15.00 – 15.15

Opening of theRoundTable

Natalya Kaminarskaya (Donors Forum), Olga Zdravomyslova (The Gorbachev Foundation), Anne Mondoloni (SAMU Social Moskva)

15.15-15.30

“Raisa Gorbachev – The First Lady of Russia’s Charity”

Olga Zdravomyslova (The Gorbachev Foundation)

15.30 – 16.30

Session “Lessons and Achievements of Modern Charity”

Invited are experts from among donors and NGOs who will present their analyses of the evolution of charity legislation; overview of the charity sector’s development – from the mid-1990s till now; evolution of the non-profit sector in retrospect; changes in the attitudes among citizens and the media towards charity and charitable groups. Speakers will help take stock of the experience and the key achievements and issues of the Russian charity sector.

Host– Natalya Kaminarskaya (Donors Forum)

Speakers:

Daria Miloslavskaya (The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law Alliance Russia Office)

Vyacheslav Bakhmin (The C. S. Mott Foundation)

Yelena Kovalevskaya (The Higher School of Economics)

Yelena Temicheva (Agency for Social Information)

16.30 - 16.45

Coffee Break

16.45 – 18.00

Discussion panel “Charity’s New Challenges and Agenda”.

The panel brings together economists, political scientists, researchers, representatives of donors and NGOs.

Host– Yelena Topoleva (Agency for Social Information)

Speakers:

Yevgeny Gontmakher (Committee for Civic Initiatives)

Denis Volkov (Levada Center)

Maria Sedushkina (SAMU Social Moskva)

Hegumen Petr (Russian Orthodox University)

The Round Table will take place on October 1, from 15.00 to 18.00, at the Gorbachev Foundation (located at 39/14 Leningradsky Prospekt, Moscow; nearest metro station: Aeroport)

Contact phone: (495) 946-05-49

E-mail: public@gorby.ru