Eurasia Program Highlights Eurasia Grantee Spotlight 2006 Eurasia Descriptions: Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Russia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Central Asia/Caucasus Regional East Central Europe/ Eurasia Regional Jump to Regional Programs

Armenian National Committee of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (HCA)
$30,440
To encourage networking among democratic activists in the capital and in rural parts of Armenia. The HCA will hold 20 discussions in Yerevan, four "master classes," 18 seminars in smaller cities of Armenia, and a concluding conference in Yerevan. The discussions, seminars, and conference will allow leaders from the capital to interact with people from the regions.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$111,600
To cultivate the development of an open, inclusive and transparent tax policy in Armenia. By building a coalition of business associations for tax reform, CIPE and its partner in the region, the Association for Foreign Investment & Cooperation, will consolidate the efforts of the business community and civil society in order to advocate for democratic mechanisms in the development of a unified Tax Code in Armenia.

Meltex, LTD.
$31,564
To produce 11 monthly installments of a talk show, twenty six news segments focusing on the parliamentary elections, and a film about freedom of speech in Armenia. All three types of programming will be carried by the Hamaspyur network of eleven independent local and regional television broadcasters, which covers 87 percent of the territory of Armenia.

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Azerbaijan Lawyers Association
$27,490
To defend the political rights of the citizens of Azerbaijan. The Association will focus on the most basic rights that are constitutionally mandated the right to assembly, association, free speech, and access to information. The Association will provide legal assistance to politically active citizens, produce two monitoring reports focusing on freedom of assembly and other political rights, and conduct four televised roundtables and six training seminars throughout the country.

Citizen Advocacy Office for Legislature's Accountability (CAOLA)
$18,100
To advocate greater transparency in the parliament and create a system of public oversight over MPs. The organization will train twelve constituent groups in methods of advocating for greater transparency and accountability from their parliamentary representative. CAOLA will also launch a campaign to persuade parliament to publish its voting records and publish a monthly bulletin.

FAR Centre for Economic and Political Research
$40,055
To involve Azeri graduates from U.S., European, and Turkish exchange programs in a debate about policy. The FAR Center will work with five groups of young Western-educated graduates, each of which will publish a policy paper on issues of particular importance to young people in the journal, III Era. A public opinion poll about political attitudes among young people will be held nationally.

Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan
$52,900
To publish monthly reports about violations of human rights in Azerbaijan. The Center will provide legal advice to ethnic minorities, refugees, homeless people, and prisoners and select cases for litigation in Azerbaijan and in international courts. The Center will also conduct trainings for activists and partner with the Chechen Educational Center to train young refugees.

Internews Azerbaijan
$49,957
To expand Internews' Azerbaijan Media Forum website. The website will translate materials by Azerbaijani exiles from Iran, publish relevant legislation, monitor of abuses against the media, and critique irresponsible journalism. The site will host online forums with parliamentarians, prominent journalists, and political party leaders. The site will also contain news and interactive discussions, and contribute to advocacy, monitoring of freedom of the press, and criticism of unethical journalism.

Janub Khabarlari
$35,265
To publish a newspaper three times a month, with a print run of 4,000 copies distributed throughout Southern Azerbaijan free of charge. Its main office will serve as a resource center and library for local NGOs, with literature on managing NGOs and democratic ideas and institutions. The newspaper's lawyer will provide consultations free of charge, particularly to NGOs facing legal troubles or pressure.

Law and Development Public Association
$33,572
To enable effective communication between parliamentarians and their constituents in five regions of Azerbaijan. The Association will hold training seminars to inform regional activists about the responsibilities of their parliamentarian and methods of interacting with his office. The Association will also organize forums for parliamentarians to meet their constituents, and will organize study tours for activists from each region to visit the parliament in Baku.

Legal Education Society
$37,700
To bring together a group of attorneys and a coalition of NGOs to monitor the judicial branch. The Society will lodge complaints against judges in instances of serious violations, and train the lawyers and activists. The Society will publish a report, a book, and an electronic bulletin. It will organize three roundtable discussions and a two-day conference.

"Legal Help" Public Association
$15,904
To build legal literacy and defend the labor rights of citizens by providing legal consultations and representation for workers, employers, and trade unions in Lenkoran, a provincial town in Azerbaijan. The organization will provide consultations in person and over a telephone hotline six days a week. The organization will conduct four seminars on labor rights and publish a book about Azerbaijan's labor code.

Media Rights Institute
$30,714
To conduct trainings about the provisions of the Freedom of Information Law for 330 activists throughout Azerbaijan. The activists will form a "Sunshine Network" of activists to support common efforts to obtain access to information. The Institute will publish a manual on the law and create a website with relevant articles, commentaries, and examples of best practices.

Model Constitutional Court (MCC)
$40,298
To continue its program of mock trials and mock public hearings which demonstrate how a free, independent judiciary works. The MCC will hold four mock trials and seven mock public hearings and publish articles in the Azerbaijani press after each event. MCC will also produce two short films and radio programs based on the events and publish a book containing event transcripts.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$217,999
To develop political parties at the local level, and develop targeted voter outreach. NDI will build the capacity of political activists to identify and gauge local issues, develop local platforms, and increase interaction between political party members and the electorate. These efforts will create a core group of effective local party officials, stimulate discussion and resolution of local and regional issues, and create models for use nationwide by political parties.

OL! Azerbaijani Youth Movement
$14,940
To promote the formation a youth movement that truly represents the interests and priorities of young people. OL! will create nine clubs on such topics as international relations and economics, organize monthly roundtable discussions regarding issues of importance, and hold a leadership camp. OL! will also form a specialized library by collecting volumes that are not readily available in university libraries.

Social Union of Sumgait Youth (SUSY)
$46,828
To support the growth of the third sector. SUSY will continue to operate its NGO Resource Center in Sumgait, publish the Yukselish Namine newspaper, and maintain a website. In addition, it will launch a new monthly television program focusing on NGO activity. The show will be modeled on a similar program that SUSY produced two years ago for Dunya, a local TV station.

Society of Women of Azerbaijan for Peace and Democracy for the Transcaucasus
$72,718
To assist human rights defenders from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. The Society will organize seminars for Uzbek human rights defenders regarding security. The Society will form a network of human rights defenders from Azerbaijan. The Society will partner with human rights organizations in Uzbekistan and the youth organization Yeni Fekir.

Yeni Nesil
$42,000
To publish the independent newspaper Gyun and make the newspaper commercially viable. Currently, Gyun is a 28-page weekly newspaper with a print run of 3,500. Yeni Nesil will publish another edition of Gyun each week and increase its subscription base. It will establish an independent distribution network to bypass government-run distribution networks that are unreliable and subject to pressure.

Young Leaders Education-Training and Development Union
$24,935
To educate Azerbaijan's young people and impart the values of activism, teamwork, and civic responsibility. The Union will organize two five-month intensive courses and two final seminars and will publish a monthly newsletter and a monthly NGO bulletin. The Union will also make efforts to integrate students into the local NGO community.

Young Leaders Education-Training and Development Union
$14,344
To launch a media center in the provincial town Ganja. The center will provide office services for local journalists and will conduct training seminars. The Union will organize a journalism contest and maintain a web page about civil society in Ganja. The Union will conduct an opinion poll to learn how citizens obtain news and information.

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American Center for International Labor Solidarity
$151,000
To expand the capacity of the Georgia Trade Union Confederation (GTUC). The Solidarity Center will conduct a training program for GTUC trainers and assist the graduates in conducting 20 one-day seminars in their local organizations. It will provide training on labor law, international labor standards, organizing techniques, and trade unions in a market economy. The Solidarity Center will also conduct five seminars for the Educators and Scientists Free Trade Union of Georgia.

Association Atinati
$17,731
To increase the capacity of the NGO community in the Samogrelo region of western Georgia and inform voters about the upcoming local elections. Atinati will produce four radio programs, which will air daily for the two months preceding the elections and for one month following the election. Atinati will also provide free legal consultations, capacity-building trainings, and technological resources for NGOs.

Cultural-Humanitarian Fund "Sukhumi"
$49,849
To promote leadership in politics among women displaced by the war in Abkhazia. The fund will organize trainings for women active in political parties and form "Women Voters" clubs. "Sukhumi" will create a database of women activists and produce television and radio broadcasts and a bulletin examining women's political participation. There will be a "civic forum" to determine policies of greatest interest to women.

Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights (FPPHR)
$40,075
To conduct human rights monitoring and coordinate and strengthen the activities of the new NGO coalition "Civil Society for Democratic Georgia." The FPPHR provides legal assistance to the most vulnerable segments of the population in Tbilisi and two remote regions of Georgia. It will also conduct monitoring of trials, hold a series of roundtable discussions, and conduct three conferences jointly with the coalition.

Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights (FPPHR)
$16,304
To coordinate and strengthen the activities of the NGO coalition "Civil Society for Democratic Georgia." FPPHR will hire additional staff as a secretariat of the coalition. They will share information and news among members, circulate drafts of appeals and statements, and organize weekly meetings and a two day conference. They will also launch and maintain a website for the coalition.

Georgia for NATO
$24,888
To produce radio talk shows that will educate the public about the military, political, and economic reform that are the prerequisites to NATO membership. The organization will produce 36 half-hour programs that will air on Imedi Radio, a privately owned radio station that broadcasts in FM in Georgia. Georgia for NATO will also maintain a website with transcripts of the broadcasts and reader feedback.

Georgian Association of Young Lawyers (GYLA)
$47,070
To analyze Georgian electoral law and discuss it at a roundtable discussion for government and civil society. In the lead-up to the municipal elections, GYLA will train journalists in election monitoring and maintain a hotline for citizens to report irregularities. In addition, GYLA will monitor candidates and report financial irregularities. Following the elections, GYLA will recommend improvements to the electoral commission.

Human Rights Information and Documentation Center
$39,076
To support efforts to improve human rights practices in Georgia. The Center will monitor and report on human rights, provide free legal aid, and support the activities of two regional human rights centers. The Center will also train future lawyers in human rights through internships.

Internews Georgia
$21,050
To produce a national NGO agenda Internews will conduct a series of 20 meetings in ten locations throughout Georgia to discuss the goals, priorities, and problems of the Georgian third sector. In each location, the NGOs will produce their lists of "ten steps to freedom," which will be combined into one comprehensive national agenda. At the end of the program, this document will be presented at a conference in Tbilisi.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$275,000
To increase the accountability and transparency of the government. NDI will work with the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) to advocate for electoral and administrative reform and monitor local elections. ISFED and NDI will also work to increase citizen awareness of the role and responsibility of the local government; distribute information about upcoming local elections; and improve the management of its volunteers during campaigns.

Open Society - New Kutaisi
$28,556
To train NGOs of the Imereti region of Georgia on how to participate in the process of drafting the local budget. This program will include publishing information about the local budget and budgetary process, seminars for local political and NGO leaders, and the formation of coalitions in three districts of the Imereti region and the city Poti.

Partnership for Social Initiatives (PSI)
$52,009
To assess the effects of Georgian government policy on democracy since the constitutional amendments of February 2004. PSI will conduct interviews with policymakers and NGO leaders, draft four policy papers, and hold four round tables and two debates. PSI will create several television and radio broadcasts based on these discussions. At the end of the program there will be a full day conference in Tbilisi.

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Almaty Helsinki Committee
$35,000*
To promote human rights and civic freedoms in Kazakhstan. The organization will monitor the legislative process and advocate against legislation, normative acts, and government policies that are contrary to international standards of human rights. The program will monitor and report on the state of human rights and freedoms and will respond rapidly to adverse changes in the human rights environment in Kazakhstan.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$139,740
To bring about greater accountability to compliance with Article 5 of the Law on Private Entrepreneurship. CIPE's regional partners, the Almaty Association of Entrepreneurs (AAE) and The Forum of Entrepreneurs, will monitor the establishment of expert councils. AAE will conduct an awareness campaign of public hearings, a website, a discussion forum, and an index for comparing implementation across regions. Seminars will raise awareness within the public sector about the Law on Private Entrepreneurship.

Ecological Society "Green Salvation"
$32,520*
To encourage citizens to become active in the defense of their rights and to pressure the government to improve environmental legislation through judicial and lobbying mechanisms. Green Salvation will obtain and publicize accurate information about environmental hazards, carry out monitoring, promote environmental activism, provide legal counsel, help individuals and community organizations take their cases to court, and produce an annual publication about these issues.

Independent Information Agency Polyton
$41,530*
To continue its Almaty-based discussion clubs, which are a forum for democratic activists, members of the media, and concerned citizens to exchange ideas and produce alternative sources of information and opinion. Discussion club topics will be drawn from current issues in the civic life of Kazakhstan, including politics, economics, inter-ethnic relations, and international affairs.

International Center for Journalism "MediaNet"
$14,350*
To operate a school for journalists. MediaNet will offer beginner and advanced training courses to those interested in improving their knowledge and skills in journalism. Through its courses, MediaNet will offer alternatives to the state curriculum on media and encourage youth participation in the media sector.

Journalists in Danger
$25,690*
To promote independent publishing. Endowment support will be used to purchase six high-speed laser printers and one finisher that will be placed in Almaty, Astana, Shymkent, and Atyrai. Each printer will be capable of producing 300,000 double-sided pages each month. Twenty-two media representatives from 14 different cities in Kazakhstan will participate in the project.

Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law
$70,200
To provide free legal consultations, to conduct trainings in human rights, and to provide assistance to refugees. The Bureau will continue to operate its Legal Defense Center in Almaty and will train university students in international standards of human rights. The Bureau will analyze existing legislation regarding refugees in Kazakhstan, offer legal aid in the largest cities of Kazakhstan, and provide material assistance to refugees.

Social Foundation "Civil Society"
$37,310
To conduct a series of evening courses for youth. The courses will address theoretical and practical topics concerning democratic values and the institutions of civil society. The Foundation will direct the courses toward Kazakhstan's youth to strengthen their knowledge of legal, political, social, and historical topics relevant to the country and its development and to encourage them to become active participants in civil society.

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Civic Youth Movement "KelKel-Vozrojdenie"
$18,381*
To protect students' rights and promote their interests in Kyrgyz universities. KelKel will analyze the legal foundation and current practices of student self-government, inform students about their rights, and develop recommendations to improve the available mechanisms of student self-government. KelKel will implement this pilot program in three universities in Bishkek and Osh.

Independent Human Rights Group
$38,673
To provide quality legal representation to people whose human rights have been violated. The Group will receive clients and lawyers in its offices and offer consultations on a wide range of human rights issues. IHRG's priorities will be strategic litigation to bring government officials to court for violations of the law, mass violations of human rights, and human rights violations of a political nature.

Institute for Constitutional Politics
$30,000*
To inform the citizens of Kyrgyzstan of their legal and constitutional rights. The Institute will analyze Kyrgyzstan's legislation on elections and its practice, prepare and lobby corrections to election legislation and relevant criminal legislation, create precedents to acknowledge unconstitutional elements of legislation, and prepare and lobby normative acts to increase the responsibility of local government in the compilation of voter lists.

Institute for Public Policy
$31,896*
To train a select group of 80 students from rural regions who will participate in a week-long seminar and weekly workshops, as well as bi-weekly roundtable discussion with prominent speakers from the political, NGO, and diplomatic communities. The students will hear different views on the political process and may voice their concerns directly to policymakers. A final publication will contain transcripts of the workshops.

Jalalabad Regional Human Rights Organization "Spravedlivost"
$44,423*
To support its network of human rights NGOs in southern Kyrgyzstan. Spravedlivost will continue to coordinate the activities of the human rights network, serve as a resource center, and offer free legal services. Spravedlivost will administer a small grants program, train activists and lawyers on preventing torture, and organize a working group on rights of citizens to public services.

Kylym Shamy
$24,960*
To promote the understanding of civic freedoms and human rights, and to inform the public and government officials about the rights and responsibilities of each party in holding public meetings in Kyrgyzstan. The program will include ten roundtable discussions, eight seminars, monitoring, and an informational campaign. The primary focus of the project will be the freedom of association and assembly.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$130,000
To conduct trainings, seminars, and consultations with select MPs, committees, and deputy groups. NDI would assist ten leading MPs in forming a group to advance reform, conduct a series of trainings on oversight for two committees, and train select MPs on improving constituent outreach. NDI will work with parliament to encourage dialogue among MPs, parties, civil society, and the executive branch on reforming the election law before the parliamentary elections in 2007.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$256,544
To assist reform-minded MPs to strengthen the parliament. NDI will conduct a series of trainings, seminars, and consultations with select MPs, committees, and deputy groups. NDI will hold regular workshops and consultations with two select deputy groups. NDI anticipates that leading MPs will take steps to help parliament become a more representative and independent institution that could play a critical role in consolidating Kyrgyzstan's transition to democracy.

Osh Media Resource Center (OMRC)
$21,266*
To support the activities of a resource center for journalists in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. The Center will provide computer and technical resources and will conduct educational seminars for journalists and media professionals. The OMRC will also organize roundtables for media, civil society, and government representatives.

Public Association "Shoola-Kol,"
$32,000
To support a network of human rights and political activists in Issyk-Kul oblast. Shoola Kol will maintain its network of six centers, offer free legal services, publish a bulletin, assist in the creation of a teachers and youth association; provide training for teachers, youth, and local officials; and organize hearings with elected officials.

Youth Human Rights Group (YHRG)
$43,595*
To establish a civil society network focused on youth issues and youth policy. The YHRG will conduct seminars in four regions in Kyrgyzstan-Chui, Issyk-Kul, Osh, and Jalal-Abad. In each region, 25 active university students will participate in the seminars. Students will apply for internships at the YHRG main office. The YHRG will publish 800 copies of an educational aid for the NGO community.

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Agency for Social Information (ASI)
$48,000*
To build regional NGO coalitions and strengthen ties between civil society organizations throughout Russia. ASI will carry out a broad-based search for information about active networks of NGOs that currently exist in Russia, systematize the results, and publish the results on their website. To promote local coalitions, six small grants of Amount 3,000 will be awarded for projects that engage regional NGOs in cooperative activities around concrete social problems.

Agency for Social Information (ASI)
$60,000*
To continue its program of collecting and distributing information on the activities of NGOs and other events of importance for civil society. ASI will maintain its network of correspondents and affiliate offices in 25 regions of Russia, which will provide regular reports that will be edited, posted on the ASI website, and distributed by email.

"AGORA" Association
$37,350*
To investigate instances of official pressure on NGOs and to defend the victims. AGORA will adopt a proactive approach to pressure on NGOs by developing security standards for NGOs and helping them audit their operations to ensure that they are less vulnerable to the most common forms of pressure.

American Center for International Labor Solidarity
$100,000
To train local trade union leaders and initiative group leaders in labor organization and conducting strategic planning sessions. The Russian Confederation of Trade Unions will select a regional coordinator who will work closely with ACILS and will receive on-going support from experienced U.S. trade union organizers and educators. Additionally, ACILS will organize a study tour for two Russian trade unionists to visit their U.S. counterparts and attend a conference with the United Auto Workers in Detroit, Michigan.

Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center
$50,000*
To organize a competition among public school teachers for the best lesson plan on the history of totalitarianism and political repression in Russia. Finalists will travel to Moscow for a three-day conference on techniques for teaching the history political repression. The lesson plans of the finalists will be compiled into a final report and published.

Autonomous Non-profit Organization "Mashr"
$39,000*
To help reduce forced disappearances in the North Caucasus by publicizing them and encouraging officials to investigate them. In the coming year, Mashr will offer legal aid to families of victims of forced disappearances; create a website and distribute news and information about the situation in Ingushetia; and investigate disappearances with the help of a small group of volunteers.

Baltic International Development Agency
$25,410
To continue a program to strengthen NGOs in Russia's Kaliningrad region. The Agency will continue to provide technical assistance through its NGO Information and Consulting Center, which was established in 2002, and organize training workshops for a total of 140 NGO activists.

Center for Civic Education and Human Rights
$45,000
To continue its efforts to expand its program in Perm Oblast and Russia as a whole. The Center will organize three courses and seminars on the theories and methods of teaching human rights. The Center will also produce professional teaching materials on human rights and civic education, including a workbook for secondary school teachers and a handbook on introducing human rights issues into biology classes.

Center for Interethnic Cooperation
$25,000*
To conduct a series of conferences and trainings in six regions of Russia designed to educate youth, representatives of the authorities, and the police about protecting the civil and political rights of ethnic minorities. The project will create a network of youth organizations to promote respect for human rights. Local administrations have given the Center written commitments to help in the realization of the project.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$186,107
To train and equip managers of regional business associations and chambers of commerce with tools to conduct effective advocacy work and to improve organizational stability. CIPE will establish a certification program for professionals from the business and nonprofit communities. The program will develop the management skills of participants, as well as their ability to act as a voice for the business community in their region.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$148,543
To develop a corporate governance tool kit for medium-sized companies that will include a corporate governance audit manual on shareholder rights, governance and control bodies, transparency and disclosure, and stakeholder relations. CIPE's local partner on the project, the Russian Institute of Directors (RID), will also consult with companies on working with banks and majority shareholders. RID will then disseminate the tool kit through its partners in Moscow and the regions, and will solicit feedback to assess the project's effectiveness.

Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations
$50,000*
To monitor, investigate, and publicize violations of journalists' rights throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union. The Center will also continue to distribute its weekly electronic bulletins, Dangerous Profession and The Authorities vs. the Press, which catalogue attacks against journalists, conflicts between local governments and the media, and proposed changes in media laws.

Center for Public Information
$50,000
To help human rights and civil society organizations work more effectively with the media. The Center's activities will include organizing a program of press releases and press conferences, building a regional correspondent network, monitoring the media's coverage of human rights topics, and publishing the Chronicle of the Moscow Helsinki Group, among other activities.

Center for Russian Environmental Policy
$38,000*
To increase horizontal cooperation among environmental groups at the regional level. The Center will establish a regional initiative group for a "Union of the Greens of Russia," carry out seminars on best practices, and hold a national conference for the coalition. The Center will also maintain a coalition website and produce a variety of printed materials.

Center for Social Partnership
$50,000
To disseminate to the general public successful models of local self-government that have been tested in the city of Yaroslavl. The Center will develop two brochures aimed at civil society activists and informal tenants' groups, and will conduct its annual School of Self-Government for over 300 representatives of local self-government bodies. It will also continue to publish its newspaper, Window on NGOs.

Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights (CDDHR)
$50,000*
To raise awareness about transparency, to promote public discussion of draft laws, and to stimulate an effective civic response to legislative initiatives. CDDHR will publish an Internet bulletin describing and analyzing draft legislation. CDDHR will also produce a brochure on the voting patterns of Duma deputies and interview legal experts on key pieces of legislation from the perspective of human rights and civil society.

Center for Trade Union Education
$46,000
To expand the Center's program of legal aid, research, and training for trade union leaders and individual workers in the Urals and western Siberia. The Center will run leadership schools for trade unionists; hold educational seminars through its resource centers; conduct research on Russia's compliance with its obligations under the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; prepare a handbook of recommendations for workers seeking to protect their rights; and conduct a media campaign, among other activities.

Chechen Committee for National Salvation
$60,000*
To protect refugees remaining in Ingushetia and those who return to Chechnya. The Committee will operate out of its headquarters in Nazran, the capital of Ingushetia; maintain offices in the cities of Urus-Marta, and Gudermes in Chechnya; and expand its office in Grozny. The Committee will also distribute frequent press releases on developments in the region.

Chelyabinsk Regional Public Fund "Helping Hand"
$55,000*
To continue its program of legal aid and human-rights education and training in four central Russian cities. Helping Hand will continue to offer free legal aid to inmates in the regional prison system and their families, and will continue to provide courses on human rights, democracy, and civic activism. They will also produce a human rights almanac for the southern Urals.

Environmental Rights Center "Bellona"
$46,000*
To expand its website, which it will use to inform the NGO community of environmental and human rights issues and foster inter-organizational discussion. Additionally, Bellona will publish no less than six electronic and two print editions of its journal, Ecology and the Law. The journal will be distributed to Russian government agencies, NGOs, and members of the business community.

Glasnost Defense Foundation (GDF)
$46,000*
To publish three books on the freedom of the press. These publications will be used in training seminars and distributed for free to public and university libraries, university journalism departments, judges, prosecutors and criminal investigators, representatives of local and national government administrations, and human rights organizations. GDF will also hold a roundtable discussion to discuss the defense of free speech in present-day Russia.

Humanist Center
$50,000*
To monitor the implementation of military education in high schools. The Center will organize educational and training activities for a variety of groups to minimize the negative impact of the reintroduction of military training, and will meet with Russian officials to advocate for the least disruptive forms of military education. The Center will also produce two brochures on monitoring methods and advocacy.

Independent Council for Legal Expertise
$60,000
To improve the conformity of Russian legislation with constitutional and international norms and to raise public awareness of legal issues relating to democracy. The Council will monitor legislative developments in the State Duma; provide free legal advice to human rights organizations; monitor the work of human rights lawyers and developments within law enforcement, legislative, and judicial bodies; and provide legal training and assistance to journalists.

Independent Press Center
$50,000
To support the continued operation of the Press Center, which provides a forum for Russian democrats and NGOs to make their case to the public. The Center will organize press conferences and other events for over 100 NGOs on a daily basis, averaging a minimum of six to eight events per week. The Center will also continue to accept questions from regional journalists via email.

Information Agency "Memo.ru"
$70,000*
To train three groups of young human rights activists to use public opinion data and carry out public information campaigns. These young leaders will then carry out public awareness campaigns aimed at young people in their regions; at the end of these campaigns, local populations will be surveyed in order to determine the extent of the program's impact.

Information Agency "Memo.ru"
$70,000*
To maintain its website and to improve the quality of the website's journalism and expand its audience. With 19 correspondents providing original reporting from 17 regions in the Caucasus, Memo.ru will continue to post approximately 60 new items per day covering regional events. Additionally, the project staff will strengthen networks among the correspondents, increase the number of recipients of its electronic newsletter and expand cooperative relationships with Russian and international press.

Information Analytical Center "Sova"
$56,000
To monitor Russian nationalism and ethnic extremism and coordinate with law enforcement agencies on these issues. The Sova Center will work to oppose the infringement of civil liberties by attempting to influence the content of anti-extremist legislation. It will also support the consolidation of an anti-nationalist coalition that will remain independent of the government, and will conduct anti-fascist educational activities for the general public.

Information and Human Rights Center "Memorial" (Ekaterinburg Memorial)
$44,000*
To support two permanent exhibits and an archive of documents on totalitarianism in Russia, a library of the history of political repression and human rights, and a public reading room with democratic newspapers and NGO publications. Ekaterinburg Memorial will also maintain a public legal-aid reception office and an internet-equipped classroom to provide human-rights information to teachers and young people.

Information Research Center "Panorama"
$65,000*
To conduct a program in which it will select eight trainees from among the leaders of democratic youth groups in Russia. The trainees will work to revitalize the news coverage and analytical sections of the website www.scilla.ru, and will participate in writing three brochures containing information necessary for young democrats.

Institute for Information Freedom Development
$44,000*
To research Russian laws and monitor government compliance with domestic and international standards. The Institute will help other NGOs petition the government for information and help them pursue an adequate response. The Institute will also publish a report on freedom of information in Russia, which will be made available to members of the Duma, NGOs, and the media.

International Protection Center
$50,000*
To offer free legal representation to individuals who have exhausted all available remedies under the Russian court system and wish to pursue their cases through the European Court or the United Nations' Committee on Human Rights. The Center's lawyers will offer both written and oral consultation, and will help plaintiffs to submit their documents to the Court or the Committee.

Interregional Foundation for Civil Society
$60,000*
To support a small-grants program that has worked for the past seven years to assist regional human rights groups and place them on more solid footing. The Foundation will distribute small grants, in amounts of approximately Amount 3,000, to between 10 and 15 human rights organizations across Russia.

Kabardino-Balkar Social Center for Human Rights Activism
$25,000
To monitor the law enforcement and justice systems in order to publicize instances of official misconduct and to encourage officials to change their behavior. The Center will provide legal aid in particularly significant trials. The Center will also carry out two historical conferences to establish a dialogue among the region's various elites, and will conduct three roundtables on various aspects of human rights activism.

League of Women Voters of St. Petersburg (LWV)
$45,000
To help young people become more actively involved in Russia's civic life. LWV will hold a series of discussions on Russian politics for young civic activists from six regions Arkhangelsk, Vyborg, Kaliningrad, Pskov, Tver, and St. Petersburg. The League will also hold legal consultations for young people at its headquarters in St. Petersburg, and will continue to publish its newspaper, The League of Women Voters.

Moscow Helsinki Group
$100,000
To hold the "Other Russia" Conference in Moscow on July 11-12, 2006. The organizers will provide a venue for over 350 representatives from legitimate civil society groups, including NGOs and political movements, to voice alternative views on Russian politics. Endowment funding will cover administrative expenses and travel and housing for 50 of the foreign guests.

Moscow Helsinki Group
$41,000*
To strengthen mechanisms of public monitoring of large-scale human rights violations, while encouraging greater cooperation between NGOs in investigating such incidents. A working group will select incidents for investigation and a team of investigators will establish the facts on the ground and offer assistance to victims. The Moscow Helsinki Group will investigate and publish reports on seven incidents in Russian and the former Soviet Union.

Moscow Helsinki Group
$75,000*
To assist the All-Russian Civic Congress, which hosted the recent "Other Russia" Conference in Moscow. The Moscow Helsinki Group will help the Congress develop its network, improve its public outreach, and develop contacts with state structures intended to establish cooperation between the state and civil society. The primary activity will be training regional civil society activists.

Moscow School of Political Studies
$50,000*
To support the participation of twenty-five democracy activists in its seminar program for 2006, which focuses on the development of democratic institutions among young Russian civic activists. The activists, along with over one hundred other prominent young Russians, will take part in four intensive seminars focused on the principles of human rights, civic activism, democratic society, and governance.

Mothers of Chechnya for Peace Association
$25,000*
To investigate disappearances and offer legal aid to the families of the disappeared. The Mothers will compile a report based on research into individual cases, as well as a database of at least 3,000 instances of disappearances. In addition, the Mothers will open a legal clinic that will help Chechen families locate the remains of their dead and will make efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Murmansk Association of Women Journalists
$30,000*
To develop public service journalism in three regions of the Russian northwest. The Association will organize two sessions of a school to help journalists better report on local politics. Following each session, Association staff will remain in contact with the participants, both to monitor the impact of the training on their work and to provide support and assistance in approaching particular stories.

Nizhny Novgorod Committee Against Torture (NNCAT)
$50,000*
To improve the handling of Chechen torture cases in the Russian and international justice systems, publicize the problem of torture in Chechnya, and make individuals aware of their rights. NNCAT will monitor incidents of torture, initiate investigations, and ensure that criminal cases are opened against those responsible. Finally, NNCAT will work with the media to publish information about the project on its website.

Olof Palme International Center
$25,000
To hold a conference for approximately 30 representatives of Russian, Chechen, and international NGOs. This conference will cover the situation in Chechnya; the international response to the crisis; and the viability of various models of conflict resolution. The final session of the conference will form a working group that will define the specific tasks for participants to move the agenda from discussion to action.

Perm-36 Memorial Museum
$50,000
To convert the prison's solitary confinement block, where numerous political prisoners spent their terms, into a central element of the museum's exhibitions. Among other renovations, the cell will be equipped with an audiovisual system that will tell the story of those who were imprisoned there. The project will also involve the completion of renovation work on the fire-damaged facilities.

Planeta Nadezhd (Planet of Hopes)
$37,000*
To conduct a program of research, lobbying, teacher training, and public information campaigns in Ozersk and nine other Closed Administrative Districts in the Urals region. Planeta Nadezhd will open a public reception office for human rights in Ozersk, organize one-day reception centers in other cities, produce a small-circulation bulletin, and lobby the Ozersk city legislature to create a human rights commission.

Rakurs
$46,000
To publish its newspaper, Dagestanskii Rakurs (Dagestan Perspective), which covers a wide variety of topics of relevance to human rights and democracy in the North Caucasus. Dagestanskii Rakurs will continue to cooperate with regional NGOs, while expanding its print run to 10,000 for distribution throughout the North Caucasus. Internet sites and mailing lists will contribute to increasing the paper's impact beyond the North Caucasus.

Russian Association for Civic Education
$37,000*
To hold the tenth Russian Civic Education Olympiad. Students from across Russia will compete in an essay competition on the use of internet resources, an important skill for networking and obtaining information independent from Russia's strictly controlled media. A jury of experts will select forty-five finalists to participate in two days of additional competition in Moscow that will include further written and oral examination.

Ryazan Memorial
$35,000*
To publish its journal Karta. Past issues of Karta have contained in-depth explorations of Soviet and Russian history and practical human-rights work, civic-education materials, and discussions of government policy towards NGOs, inter-ethnic violence, and hate crimes. The journal is distributed to other NGOs, branches of the Memorial Society, local government officials, and numerous universities and libraries, and is used in Ryazan Memorial's civic education programs.

Society for Russian-Chechen Friendship
$120,000
To maintain a source of objective information on Chechnya. The Society's network of correspondents in Chechnya will send frequent reports to its central office, which will edit and distribute them by email as press releases. The Society's staff will also produce preliminary research on establishing a war crimes tribunal on Chechnya, based on the knowledge they have gained from years of work in the region.

Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg
$50,000*
To assist draftees and servicemen in defending their rights through a program of training and education. Soldiers' Mothers will conduct its Human Rights School for recruits and will organize follow-up workshops for smaller groups. Soldiers' Mothers will also assist runaway soldiers who have suffered abuse in protecting their rights through the Military Prosecutor's Office and will work with base commanders to investigate allegations of abuse.

St. Petersburg Institute of Law
$30,000*
To develop the Living Law network, a group of teachers who promote legal education in elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education. The Institute will also work with publishers to print the second edition of Living Law, a widely regarded adaptation of the "Street Law" program, which teaches the basic principles of human rights law to Russian high school students.

Voronezh United Democratic Center
$35,000*
To publish its newspaper, We Are Citizens, with a monthly print run of 18,000 copies. We Are Citizens publishes information about legal and social problems and strategies for their resolution, as well as about the activities of local and regional government in Voronezh oblast.

Vozrozhdenie
$70,000*
To support a program of public informational activities, training for youth leaders, and advocacy, with the ultimate goal of establishing an ongoing program of discussion clubs and leadership activities. The project will consist of eight distinct kinds of activities for the leaders, including lectures, roundtables discussions, and meetings with national youth groups.

Youth Human Rights Movement (YHRM)
$60,000*
To strengthen existing networks of youth human rights organizations and promote the development of a core group of young activists. YHRM will organize three public campaigns on human rights issues relating to youth, produce a series of email newsletters and printed publications, offer young activists a variety of training opportunities for developing programs, and develop a set of methodological materials for members of its network.

Youth Movement "DA!"
$23,000
To organize a series of debates between politicians, journalists, and civil society and cultural figures, covering a wide range of topics of particular interest to young people. The debates will be held in Moscow and broadcast simultaneously on the Movement's website, thereby reaching across the country. The website will also serve as a forum for young people to discuss debate topics and results online.

Za Prava Cheloveka (ZPC)
$60,000*
To help Russian human rights organizations withstand government pressure, develop the third sector across Russia, and publicize cases of human-rights abuse. ZPC will continue to support its network of regional human rights organizations and to directly engage in cases involving human rights violations. ZPC also will provide direct support to five organizations in its network to help them operate on a more full-time basis.

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Center for the Support of Civil Society "Kalam,"
$31,916
To carry out 21 two-day training seminars for representatives of local NGOs in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. The seminars will focus on three themes managing financial resources, managing human resources, and directing projects and programs. The seminars will be carried out using interactive teaching methods, including small group discussions, brainstorming sessions, and role playing. Each seminar will bring together 15 individuals from organizations in the surrounding area.

Independent Newspaper Tong
$22,725*
To continue publication of Tajikistan's only independent periodical in the Uzbek language. The editorial team anticipates that the weekly newspaper will serve the needs not only of the Uzbek speaking minority in the north of Tajikistan, but will also be read across the border in Uzbekistan. The newspaper will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers and will achieve financial independence within two years.

Independent School of Journalism "Tajikistan - 21st Century"
$37,600*
To conduct training seminars for Tajik journalists that will include a cross-border component with independent media outlets in Afghanistan, including radio, television, and several daily newspapers. Journalists will benefit from the sharing of cultural, linguistic, and historical commonalities between the cultures.

National Association of Independent Media (NANSMIT)
$32,575*
To provide legal assistance to journalists in the capital Dushanbe and in two provincial cities, Khuzhand in the north and Kurgan-Tube in the south. NANSMIT will conduct training for its staff, create a website, and publish a monthly email bulletin about violations of freedom of speech.

NGO "Fourth Power"
$22,140*
To run a media resource center in Khuzhand, the main city of the Sughd region in the northern part of Tajikistan. Fourth Power will provide support for the media in Khuzhand, will issue weekly news bulletins and broadcasts, and hold occasional press conferences on current politics. Fourth Power will also organize a ten-day training course for 25 journalists in Khuzhand.

Republican Bureau of Human Rights and Rule of Law
$38,660*
To improve the observance of human rights in Tajikistan. The Bureau will provide free legal assistance to needy citizens and conduct monitoring of human rights violations in the country. It will train law students in human rights work and publish a bi-weekly bulletin, an annual report, and three booklets to inform citizens about their rights.

Republican Public Association "PARITET"
$33,755*
To conduct a series of trainings to raise the level of professionalism of Tajik human rights activists and attract young people to human rights work. The organization will hold two seminars with the participation of local and international trainers and will conduct bi-weekly workshops and roundtables on selected themes. PARITET will maintain a resource center where individual human right defenders can obtain office support.

Women's Political Discussion Club
$24,880*
To promote activism among rural women. The Club will organize 24 roundtable discussions that will focus on themes of particular concern for women. The Club will conduct 20 trainings in the regions to improve the political and rhetorical skills of local women. Finally, the Club will publish ten issues of a monthly bulletin, produce ten radio and television programs, and maintain a website.

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A) Protecting Human Rights and Providing Legal Assistance
$184,936
To monitor human rights abuses and promote the principle of the rule of law by providing free legal assistance to the most vulnerable segments of the population. The programs will provide legal representation to marginalized groups throughout the country, develop a database of Turkmen and international legislation, and support indigenous NGOs through legal assistance and access to office equipment and space.

B) Freedom of Information and Civic Education
$66,410
To provide news and information about Turkmenistan for domestic and international audiences. The programs will create and maintain a network of journalists, photo-journalists, and civil-society activists inside and outside of the country. The programs will train secondary school educators in Turkmenistan in interactive teaching methods, monthly bulletins, resource centers, and an Internet-accessible database of instructions and sample materials for teachers' use.

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American Center for International Labor Solidarity
$396,000
To continue to improve the capacity of the free trade union movement to bring Ukrainian laws into compliance with international labor standards. ACILS will work with the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (CFTUU) trade union trainers to enable them to reach more members, and will help improve workers' rights by facilitating dialogue between trade union leaders and local government officials. ACILS will also work with the CFTUU Women's Committee to more effectively advocate for women's rights on the local government level.

Association Spilniy Prostir (SP)
$50,000*
To monitor Ukrainian television, print, and internet media, as well as sources based in Russia, looking for biased or manipulative journalism. SP will analyze how events in Ukraine are portrayed in the Russian press and produce a series of bulletins to inform the public of heavily biased newspapers, television channels and internet sites.

Association Spilniy Prostir (SP)
$50,000
To collect basic data on the number of local and regional media outlets across Ukraine. SP will collect information on the outlets, including their distribution and level of activity, their degree of dependence of subsidies, and the professionalism and independence of their editorial policies. This information will be analyzed to make recommendations on reforming the communal media sector, and will be made publicly available.

Association Spilniy Prostir (SP)
$50,000
To conduct monitoring of Russian-language media coverage of Ukraine. Working in cooperation with Slovak media watchdog MEMO-98, SP will invite six Russian media experts to Kyiv for training on broadcast monitoring. The Russians will monitor the media in Moscow in cooperation with experts in Ukraine, and the results of their monitoring will be compiled into a book.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$72,078
To organize a conference for think tank representatives from the Balkans and former Soviet Union and key policymakers who are committed reformers. CIPE will work with the Tbilisi-based New Economic School of Georgia and a number of other U.S. and international donors to organize a three-day conference entitled "Freedom, Commerce, and Peace A Regional Agenda." The goal of the conference is to strengthen the capacity of pro-reform organizations to advocate for true democratic and economic values.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$207,361
To educate major Ukrainian political parties on economic reform in five target regions. Under the project, CIPE and the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR) will survey two political parties to determine their understanding of market economic concepts, and Ukrainian business community priorities. CIPE will develop a training program for political parties in the target regions, while UCIPR will assist them in developing comprehensive economic platforms.

Center for Research on Social Perspectives in the Donbas
$30,000*
To provide ongoing coverage of events in Donetsk oblast before and after the 2006 parliamentary election campaign. The Center hopes to arrange interviews and possibly live internet chat sessions with national political figures and their regional representatives, and will offer notable local journalists and political analysts the opportunity to produce online diaries to allow them to comment quickly on events.

Center of Information and Documentation for Crimean Tatars
$37,000*
To publish six issues of the analytical journal Crimean Studies, which is distributed to a wide variety of official and unofficial bodies. The Center will monitor the Ukrainian press' coverage of Crimean Tatar issues, and will coordinate the activity of an analytical group that will help the Center to develop policy recommendations for, and provide information to, a wide variety of official and non-official institutions in Ukraine and abroad.

Chernihiv Regional Youth NGO "Armada"
$20,000
To monitor elected officials' implementation of campaign promises, research problems faced by average citizens and convey this information to officials, and keep citizens informed of steps taken by the authorities to resolve social issues. Among other activities, Armada will set up a network of monitors around the oblast; hold roundtable discussions, training events, and press conferences; and produce bulletins, detailed reports, and a series of radio announcements.

Civil Society Organization "Initiative"
$20,816*
To organize a summer school for young activists from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, which will consist of a ten-day camp where participants will learn the basics of organizational management and have the opportunity to develop networks and contacts. Initiative will also develop a training course and use the materials from the camp to produce a guidebook, which will be distributed in both print and electronic form.

Democratic Initiatives Foundation (DIF)
$50,000
To bring public opinion to the attention of Ukraine's leaders, while informing the Ukrainian public about policy debates, bringing other NGOs and think tanks into these debates, and developing its own capacity as a think tank. DIF will carry out monthly public-opinion surveys on various issues, and will conduct roundtable discussions on the results for journalists, politicians, NGO leaders, and scholars.

Donetsk Branch of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (DCVU)
$38,000
To build an informational network among NGOs in Donetsk oblast. DCVU will create an Internet portal and an NGO bulletin, and will hold focus groups and a series of presentations in 12 cities of Donetsk oblast. The project will allow NGOs to exchange information, publicize their projects through media exposure, share perspectives on local problems with officials, and learn about donor activities in Eastern Ukraine.

Europe XXI Foundation
$35,000*
To organize focus groups of young voters in conjunction with Youth Alternative in order to produce four sets of voter-education materials for distribution in five regions of Ukraine. The Europe XXI Foundation will also publish two special editions of its Novyi Vybir (New Choice) newspaper and organize several events for young voters in small towns in the target regions.

Europe XXI Foundation
$69,000
To research and monitor state-civil society interactions in six regions of Ukraine, especially regarding the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Action Plan. Roundtable discussions will help promote a culture of public debate and communication among civil society organizations. Europe XXI will also publish two books on democratic reform for distribution throughout the former Soviet Union.

European Choice Business Club
$20,000
To hold a public education campaign covering membership in bodies such as the EU, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and NATO. European Choice will hold seminars, a roundtable discussion, and a conference for students, journalists, businessmen, and political leaders from Luhansk oblast. The experience of Poland's Lublin County during that country's accession to the WTO, NATO, and the EU will serve as a model.

Freedom House - Ukraine
$50,000*
To conduct a program of human rights monitoring and research, publication, and training for NGO leaders. Freedom House will compile an annual report on human rights in Ukraine, which will be distributed to NGOs and government agencies. It will also conduct a training and internship program for NGO leaders, and will hold several press conferences and other public events on human rights in Ukraine.

Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation
$66,978*
To hold six public hearings for 150 to 200 people each on Ukraine's integration into the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on the basis of its network of regional NGOs. These hearings will bring diplomats and experts together with the general population to discuss Ukraine's integration into the Euro-Atlantic community, and will take place in regions where polls have shown low public support for integration.

Institute of Mass Information (IMI)
$36,000
To continue its program of monitoring violations of press freedoms, analyzing legislative developments that affect journalists and the press, and keeping the public informed of relevant media issues. IMI will continue to investigate instances in which journalists are subjected to pressure or harassment as a result of their professional activities, and will conduct media campaigns to inform the public of each case.

International Republican Institute
$210,000*
To conduct a short-term election observation mission. IRI will send a delegation of 12 teams, each composed of a staff member and a delegate, such as a regional expert or a political leader. IRI's teams will be autonomous, but will work closely with other international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Network of Election-Monitoring Organizations.

Kharkiv Center for Women's Studies (KCWS)
$50,000
To build on its experience in training young women leaders in political and advocacy skills. The project will include training sessions on political participation, with a special emphasis on human rights; internships for young women with NGOs and social agencies; the sixth annual Conference of Young Women Leaders; and publication of the winning entries from KCWS' annual essay contest on women's role in society.

Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG)
$42,000*
To develop the English and Ukrainian content of its website, publish three monthly bulletins on human rights, and distribute literature on new Ukrainian and European laws. KHPG also plans to continue monitoring Ukrainian laws for potential violations of human rights, as well as to run a seminar for human rights activists and a training session for lawyers on the prevention of torture.

Legal Council "LEGITEAM"
$25,000
To support a program of legal aid in cases where international legal conventions may apply. LEGITEAM will also prepare materials for two alternative reports to international human rights bodies on Ukraine's compliance with the United Nations Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. LEGITEAM will use its research in a training program for judges, human rights activists, and other members of Ukraine's legal community.

Legal Council "LEGITEAM"
$50,000
To continue its program of legal aid, training, research and advocacy. LEGITEAM will offer free legal consultation to the public, and will research and prepare publications on several issues related to the application of international legal mechanisms in Ukraine. LEGITEAM will use its cases and research as components of a training program for judges, human rights activists, and other members of Ukraine's legal community.

Luhansk Regional Organization Public Education and Legal Assistance (PELA)
$39,000*
To train and support novice NGO leaders. Twenty-four groups of 20 NGO leaders will undergo training in basic NGO management and planning, and will receive continued organizational support through PELA's network of resource centers. PELA will monitor the quality of trainees' management skills, as well as their ability to draw citizens into political life and have an impact on political processes in the region.

Luhansk Regional Women's Legal Defense Public Organization "Chaika"
$30,000
To help guarantee citizens' access to information and to promote a greater degree of government responsiveness in Luhansk oblast, Ukraine's easternmost region. Chaika will monitor the activity of the Luhansk city government and five other district seats on a variety of issues of widespread interest. Chaika will conduct activities to encourage citizens and civic groups to take a more active role in monitoring their government.

Public Organization "Telekritika"
$50,000
To continue its program of media analysis. Telekritika will expand and redesign its website, which provides a public forum for discussion of media issues and covers political pressure on the media, the legislative and regulatory environment for media, and issues of journalistic ethics. Telekritika will also continue to publish its journal, Telekritika, which contains original content and reprints of items from the website.

Pylyp Orlyk Institute
$49,732*
To help ensure that the transfer of more authority to sub-national governments serves the interests of Ukrainian citizens. As one component of a multi-year program that will lead to the founding of an independent Center for Local Democracy, the Institute will hold a series of 12 roundtable discussions in cooperation with the Rada and the participation of community leaders and academics.

Regional Informational Center for Women
$25,000
To maintain its 17 Civic Education Network centers in rural Kirovohrad and to continue its program of training and publication to support local NGO networks. Each of the centers in the network will provide access to the Internet and legal information, maintain a contact database of local NGOs, and carry out a variety of educational activities related to recent changes to Ukraine's constitution.

Smoloskyp, Inc.
$62,000*
To organize a series of seminars and roundtables, on a variety of issues related to the general topic "Changes in Ukraine's Political Spectrum Consequences and Perspectives of Ukraine's Democratic Choice." Smoloskyp will also produce several publications and will begin preparations for an encyclopedia of the Ukrainian dissident movement. Finally, Smoloskyp will continue to develop and operate its samizdat archive and museum.

Sumy Regional Committee of Youth Organizations
$24,000
To identify, train, and support youth leaders from Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts. 150 students and young activists will participate in three four-day seminars addressing leadership skills and other aspects of good NGO governance. The Committee will also publish guidelines and accounts of its training programs in a youth digest and carry out three sociological surveys of youth in the three oblasts.

Total Action
$27,000
To monitor the activity of the city government on a variety of issues of widespread interest. Total Action will use the results of this monitoring in training for Luhansk activists and provide mini-grants in support of five campaigns by regional NGOs. Total Action will undertake a variety of activities to encourage citizens and civic groups to take a more active role in monitoring their government.

Ukrainian Catholic University
$25,000*
To support the Religious Information Service of Ukraine website. The site will post translations and edits of translations, as well as commentary on news stories from other sources; original reporting; analytical texts, commentary, interviews, and features to provide context for the news; announcements and other information about smaller religious communities; and a database of primary source documents on religious communities.

Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Research
$50,000
To publish five issues of the journal National Security and Defense, one of the most comprehensive and widely read policy journals in Ukraine. The journal, which provides a thorough examination of an issue of particular importance in Ukrainian politics, will examine issues as diverse as church-state relations, urban government, energy policy, and Ukraine's relations with the EU.

Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR)
$50,000*
To carry out three special studies on the changes made to the structure of the government after the Orange Revolution. UCIPR's Democracy Advocacy Group will monitor the national legislature for compliance with democratic norms, and will propose various items of legislation to support citizen participation in government. Finally, UCIPR will produce 10 issues of Parliamentary Review and 40 issues of their Research Update bulletin.

Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA)
$50,000
To hold 15 town hall meetings that will bring the major 2006 parliamentary candidates to cities in central and eastern Ukraine, where campaign abuses have been most widely reported. The meetings will stimulate greater debate and interaction between voters and the candidates, who will be able to present their views free of media bias. Voters will also receive copies of UCCA-produced voter-education materials.

Ukrainian Youth Association of Ukraine
$40,000
To conduct a program of research, hold a training of NGO leaders, and support for projects through mini-grants. Research into residents' concerns about local government in eight target cities across Ukraine will be used to train 100 civil society activists. After the training seminars, a mini-grants competition will be held to support one project in each city.

Young Rukh
$50,000*
To address the issue of clean elections for student government by forming a network of student electoral committees. Young Rukh will hold several training seminars for students across Ukraine, and will conclude with a seven-day training session for 50 of the most promising youth activists. During the fall, the student electoral committees formed during the project will monitor elections at their home universities.

Youth Alternative
$94,000
To continue its internship program for university students, "Students for Parliament." This year, Youth Alternative will arrange for 40 students to intern in Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, with a further 80 students interning with local legislatures in 14 cities. As in the past, Youth Alternative will carefully select and place the interns, and organize training sessions and seminars to develop these students' leadership skills.

Youth of Cherkassy Coalition
$30,000
To continue and expand its program for the leaders and activists of youth NGOs. The Coalition will hold training seminars, organize conferences for seminar participants, and distribute a series of publications. The Coalition will also organize a mini-grants program for local NGOs, publish an informational digest covering the activities of youth NGOs, and organize efforts to bring together young journalists in the region.

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In FY 2006, the Endowment made grants for democracy-building programs in Uzbekistan totaling $201,960. These grants covered the following fields of activity.

Freedom of Information
$67,150
To provide independent sources of news and information. NED funded programs include publication of an independent journal, publication of an electronic bulletin, and maintenance of an informational website. These projects will expose human rights abuses, provide independent accurate reporting, and produce a manual for journalists and activists.

Human Rights and Rule of Law
$134,810
To defend citizens in civil, administrative, and criminal cases. Programs will also consolidate a network committed to economic reform and development, democracy building, and respect for human rights.

Center for International Private Enterprise
$102,490
To assist a group of Tashkent-based economic consultants with data analysis and preparation of a series of individual sector-specific background papers and policy analyses that will be used by an economic advisory council to develop a menu of economic reform policy options. The advisory council will use the data from the papers to identify and prioritize the economic challenges likely to be faced by a post-Karimov reform government, and engage opposition leaders in a discussion of the socio-economic ramifications of alternative reform policies.

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American Center for International Labor Solidarity Amount
$350,000
To work with local unions, providing them with skills and guidance to represent grass-roots workers. This assistance will also encourage unions to organize vertically to enable the unions to represent members' interests. ACILS and its partners will conduct seminars and provide financing for local seminars conducted by the new trainers. A total of 20 seminars in Kyrgyzstan and 26 in Kazakhstan will be conducted in order to meet the above objectives.

Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations
$39,426*
To provide news and information to readers in Central Asia about their countries. The Center's Russian-language website, which includes the internet journal, Oasis, gives a voice to embattled journalists from the region. The Center will maintain the website from Moscow along with correspondents in each of the five states of Central Asia. The website will contain daily news updates and the bi-weekly Oasis magazine.

Civil Democratic Union
$52,310
To train civil society activists from the region in information and computer security programs and procedures. The Union will bring activists from Central Asia to Moscow, and others from throughout Kazakhstan to Almaty, for training. The Union will also create a permanent consultation center on information security issues in the Netherlands.

Fund for Legal and Economic Reforms in Kyrgyzstan
$45,462*
To support a cross-border network of NGOs in the Fergana with a small-grants program for NGOs. The Fund's activities will build upon the work of previous years which has helped to develop a strong network of Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tajik human rights organizations. In addition, the Fund will continue to maintain the network's website and provide a resource center for NGOs.

Organization for Assistance for Refugees and Forced Migrants "Civic Assistance Committee"
$32,551*
To provide legal assistance to political exiles in Russia who are being prosecuted on spurious charges. The organization will represent individuals in selected cases, offer legal support to emigrants and refugees, and regularly inform the public about these cases. In addition, the Committee will publish reports about these problems and illegal extraditions.

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Democratic Initiatives Foundation
$49,270
To conduct a nationwide campaign to inform and engage the Ukrainian public about the democratic values involved in Euro-Atlantic integration. Together with Central European experts, the Foundation will hold a series of public hearings and roundtables in Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Odessa, four cities that have a plurality of residents who tend to oppose western-oriented reform.

East European Democratic Center
$59,577*
To develop and strengthen youth NGOs in central and southern Russia. Approximately 100 youth leaders from Voronezh and Kazan will participate in a basic training program on NGO management and development. Fifty of the most active will take part in an advanced training program on the same topic, and the ten most promising youth leaders will travel to Poland for a ten-day study visit.

East European Democratic Center
$79,943*
To foster the development of independent youth organizations at the district and local levels in Ukraine. The Warsaw-based Center will work with local youth activists and networks in central and eastern Ukraine with a focus on the 2006 parliamentary elections. Youth NGOs will organize nonpartisan voter education and mobilization programs targeting young and first-time voters.

East European Democratic Center
$88,857
To continue assisting the local and regional independent press in Ukraine. Working with the Association of Independent Regional Press Publishers in Ukraine, the Warsaw-based EEDC will conduct three training events in Ukraine, organize 14 internships at similar newspapers in Poland, and provide small grants to up to fifteen papers in Ukraine's southern and eastern regions.

East European Democratic Center (EEDC)
$74,110
To foster the development of the local press in Central Asia. The Poland-based EEDC will organize ten internships and three workshops to train 60 journalists, editors-in-chief, and advertising managers from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in newspaper management, advertising, and distribution. It will award three to five small grants, totaling Amount 10,000, to local newspapers to purchase needed equipment or improve circulation, advertising, or design.

Foundation for Education for Democracy
$150,000
To continue and expand the Foundation's program of civic education and NGO training workshops in Eurasia. The Warsaw-based Foundation will conduct at least 34 workshops for 792 local activists and over 100 trainers, to be conducted in Ukraine, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Mongolia. Workshops will provide basic and advanced training in civic education, youth leadership, NGO development, and training-of-trainer techniques.

Foundation for Education for Democracy
$90,000*
To continue and expand the Foundation's civic education program at the grassroots level in Russia. The Warsaw-based Foundation will oversee a program of 32 training workshops in Russia and 16 exchanges and internships in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland for approximately 643 activists from Rostov-on-Don, Kaliningrad and Samara.

Institute for Eastern Studies Foundation
$37,682*
To organize the second annual EU-Russia Forum. The Forum, to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, will encourage debate on major issues impacting the EU and Russia, and promote closer ties between leading decision makers and opinion makers in Europe, particularly those from "New Europe," and Russia. The event will initiate discussions on key democracy-related topics and will promote exchange of reform experiences between participants.

Institute for Eastern Studies Foundation
$31,400*
To support the participation of 40 Russian third sector and media representatives in the 16th annual Krynica Economic Forum, a major congress of European politicians, economists, businesspersons, and NGO activists from more than two dozen countries that meets every September in southern Poland. The Russian journalists will also meet with approximately 1,500 participants from 50 countries.

Institute of Public Affairs
$26,315*
To continue a cross-border fellowship program for six young Russian think tank analysts. The Institute will collaborate with the St. Petersburg Center for Humanities and Political Studies "Strategia" (Strategy) in selection and training of candidates. Analysts will undertake a study visit to Poland, where they will receive training in policy research and writing skills, meet with experts, and complete a policy project involving academic and field research.

International Republican Institute
$430,000
To establish a Baltic-Eurasia Inter-Parliamentary Training Institute to pair parliamentarians from established, successful democracies with parliamentarians from struggling, developing states in the region. At the Lithuania-based Institute, IRI and Central European trainers will train parliamentarians from Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia and another Eurasian country.

Lion Society
$68,992
To initiate a democracy-building program between Ukraine and Russia. The Lviv-based Society will convene four meetings of potential partner organizations from Ukraine and Russia and launch an information program on cross-border activities, including creating a website and an informative brochure on cross-border cooperation. The Society will award small grants to 80 Russian and Ukrainian activists for travel to civil society events across the two countries' borders.

Medium Orient Information Agency
$28,752
To continue and expand a series of public opinion polls in seven republics and two regions of the North Caucasus. The Prague-based Agency will conduct 12 surveys, one per month, on key social, political, and economic issues; analyze the data; and disseminate the results on its Caucasus Times website and through other sources of information on the North Caucasus.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$90,000
To help organize a two-day parliamentary component to the next Community of Democratic Choice conference. MPs, including speakers, from 32 countries will participate as well as international organizations such as the OSCE and NATO. NDI will recommend discussing the following topics during the conference strategies for legislative-executive relations, communication strategies for rolling out reforms, public outreach, and formation of a parliamentary association. NDI will invite international experts from Europe and the U.S.

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
$250,457
To continue party building programs in conjunction with the European Institute for Democracy (EID). EID will assist civic groups, and political leaders by organizing five programs to bring leaders from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Tajikistan to Poland to receive training. The trainings will strengthen grassroots organizing skills, and strengthen organization-building skills. These programs will result in concrete plans for advocacy or election campaigns, and organization building in the target countries.

People in Need Foundation
$75,000
To assist democrats in Moldova and Ukraine. The PINF will organize 23 cross-border visits. Nineteen of the visits will bring politicians, local government officials, NGO leaders, and other activists from these countries to the Czech Republic for study, networking and training. Czech politicians, NGO activists, and journalists will also travel to Ukraine and Moldova to assist democratic activists there.

Poland-American-Ukraine Cooperation Initiative (PAUCI)
$42,700
To promote transparency and freedom of the media in Ukraine. PAUCI will award at least four small grants averaging Amount 7,000 to Polish and Ukrainian NGOs for anti-corruption and freedom of the press programs targeting youth, media practitioners, local government officials and local activists based primarily in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Polish-Czech-Slovak Solidarity Foundation
$24,550
To hold a conference commemorating and examining prodemocracy initiatives conducted between Poland and other Soviet bloc states since 1991. The two-day event, to be held in the southwestern Polish city of Wroclaw, will examine the history, experiences, best practices, impact, and future of cross-border democracy-building from Poland. Approximately 50 activists from East Central Europe and Eurasia will take part.

Polish-Czech-Slovak Solidarity Foundation
$46,500
To continue a media training program for independent journalists and editors in Eurasia. The Warsaw-based Foundation will invite 30 media practitioners from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and the Caucasus to Poland for media-related internships. The journalists and editors will spend two weeks in Poland participating in training on how to improve the work of independent newspapers, publishing houses, and radio and television stations. Media-related seminars and meetings will introduce participants to the experiences of Polish organizations, activists, and reforms.

Polish-Czech-Slovak Solidarity Foundation
$73,395
To continue a desktop publishing training and equipment support program for representatives of prodemocracy NGOs and independent newspapers in Eurasia. The Warsaw-based Foundation will train at least 38 activists in desktop publishing skills and equip at least 19 organizations from Belarus, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine with the software necessary to start their own desktop publishing programs.

Pro Democracy Association
$29,122
To conduct three election-related planning meetings for the Secretariat of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organization (ENEMO). The Association, an independent, nonpartisan NGO based in Romania which heads the Secretariat, will also improve ENEMO's international outreach by printing and distributing a five-year history and report on the network's activities, hiring an international coordinator, and revamping its website.

Rebirth of Crimea Foundation
$40,850
To bring together students, teachers, and parents from Crimea for a school newspaper program. Using trainers from Poland, the Foundation will organize journalism training seminars for 400 students from 30 schools using Tatar, Ukrainian, and Russian languages, and help them develop their own school newspapers. It will organize computer trainings, arrange visits by professional journalists, initiate a journalism training-of-trainers program, and publish the best newspaper articles from the project.

TOGETHER Foundation
$40,115*
To promote civic activism among secondary school students in Chechnya. Slovenian experts will train 25 Chechen teachers and activists to serve as mentors, who will in turn teach 375 students about voluntarism. Participants will volunteer in Chechen schools, hospitals, NGOs, and local communities. Three thousand copies of a leaflet on the program and 100 copies of a manual, Voluntary Work in Schools, will be distributed.

Transitions Online
$62,775
To continue a training program that will expand and improve independent Internet reporting in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. TOL will continue assisting last year's participants, organize a three-day training seminar for Uzbek and Krygyz journalists in Bishkek, begin a distance learning project for Central Asian journalists, and bring nine Central Asian media activists to the Czech Republic for training internships.

Transitions Online (TOL)
$107,785*
To expand a cross-border program designed to promote independent journalism and foster independent Internet sources of information in Russia. TOL will bring 30 Russian journalists to Prague for three-week training internships on how to organize and operate an online news service. It will also maintain its distance-learning program, established last year, which will also train at least 32 journalism students and early career journalists.

* Indicates Department of State Funding Beyond NED's Annual Appropriation