News, April 2013
A series of training seminars for industrial ecologists and students was organized under the FSD program Responsible Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development
In the first quarter of 2013, a series of training seminars for industrial ecologists and students was held in Samara Oblast within the framework of the program of the Fund for Sustainable Development and Alcoa Foundation “Responsible Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development”. The seminars were organized by the Education Center of Ecology and Safety and its partners.
News, April 2013
The Fund for Sustainable Development Participates in the Summit of Positive Change Forum/Exhibition of Socially Oriented Nonprofit Organizations (SONKO) in the Central Federal District (CFD)
The exhibition and forum took place on April 12, 2013 at the RF Chamber of Trade and Industry. The goal of this event was to demonstrate the contribution of third sector organizations to public life and the work they are doing in the social sector; and also to promote multi-sector cooperation in addressing social issues. The interactive format of the exposition provided a comprehensive account of the variety of SONKO projects carried out in CFD and also facilitated a functional sharing of successful experience acquired in social projects among NGOs, government and business. The full concept of the forum/exhibition is presented at the websites www.nfrz.ru and www.âûñòàâêà-ôîðóì.ÐÔ.
Organizer: National Public Health Development Fund. Number of presented projects – over 600.
News, April 2013
Citi Foundation and FSD Small Business Development Grant Contest Completed
Project proposals for this contest, held under the program Small Business for Sustainable Development, were submitted by applicants from Ryazan and Moscow oblasts who have undergone training organized by the Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) and the Russian Microfinance Center.
A total of 25 proposals developed by the attendees of this training were presented for the final phase of the contest: 15 from Ryazan Oblast and 10 from Kolomensky Raion in Moscow Oblast.
News, March 2013
A Seminar “Methods of Achieving Responsible Water Management” was Conducted at Samara State Technical University
On March 18, 2013, a seminar on waste water treatment attended by 27 students was organized at Samara State Technical University (SamGTU) under the program Responsible Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development carried out by the Fund for Sustainable Development (Moscow) and the Alcoa Foundation.
The seminar was devoted to three key issues: the need to introduce rational water use practices in the region; the shortage of professionals employed in the field of designing, developing and implementing industrial sewage treatment technologies; and sharing and disseminating information about the latest developments in this field.
News, February 2013
On February 2, 2013, a round table was held in the city of Kolomna under the Small Business for Sustainable Development Program
On February 2, 2013, a round table to discuss the results of the first phase of regional small business development trainings was carried out as part of a the Citi Foundation and the Fund for Sustainable Development program Small Business for Sustainable Development (2012-2013).
The round table was organized by one of FSD’s partners, the Koloman Branch of the RF Chamber of Trade and Industry. The participants in the training presented their business plans for a grant contest organized under the Citi Foundation program.
News, February 2013
Sixteen young entrepreneurs from the city of Ryazan and Ryazan Oblast became grant applicants
The second phase of the Citi Foundation and the Fund for Sustainable Development “Small Business for Sustainable Development Project” has been successfully completed. The Project is being carried out in collaboration with the Ryazan Oblast Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Trainers, graduates of the Start Your Own Business Training Course conducted by the staff of the Russian Microfinance Center, trained 180 first time entrepreneurs from the city of Ryazan and Kasimovsky, Sasovsky, Pronsky, Skopinsky and Ryazhsky raions of the region in the fundamentals of starting and operating a small business. At the end of the training, the attendees developed 60 business plans of which 32 were submitted for a regional contest of awards that will be provided by the Project.
News, January 2013
In 2012, the Ural Regional Center (URC) of the Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) has become the second winner of the regional contest of social projects
The Ural Regional Center (URC) of the Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) has been active in Yekaterinburg since 1997 at the Center for Ecological Education and Information. During recent years, thanks to its close collaboration with FSD in carrying out programs and projects in the Ural Region, the Ural Regional Center, as other FSD Regional Centers, has turned into a resource center in the Urals – an NGO widely known in the region, having a multitude of partners, participating in many public activities and actively working with many funds and foundations.
News, December 2012
New Years Comes and Goes, But Health Stays Forever!
On December 12.12.12 in Belaya Kalitva, the most active participants in the Youth Votes for Health! Program have received their awards during a special prize awarding ceremony.
The meeting brought together teachers and students of city schools (Schools ## 5, 4, 6 and 9), the school in Bogurayevo and Cossack Cadet School # 90 – winners in the contest of additional lessons “Healthy Lifestyles”. The participants were welcomed by Galina Alentyeva, head of Corporate Relations at Alcoa Metallurg Rus, XXXXX, director of the Children’s Creativity Center (CCC), Belaya Kalitva, and Elena Bondarchuk, projects manager, Fund for Sustainable Development.
December 2012
The Fund for Sustainable Development Organized an Environmental Lounge at the House of Journalists Devoted to Responsible Water Management
On December seven, at the Central House of Journalists, professionals, scientists and entrepreneurs concerned with water use and related issues, joined a round table discussion “Water as the Key Element of Sustainable Development: Worsening of the Global Deficit of Fresh Water and Topical Water Management Issues in Russia”
December 2012
The Fund for Sustainable Development Presents Its Experience in Municipal Public Partnership Projects at a National Scientific and Practical Conference
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| Oleg Fokin, FSD executive director, delivers his presentation “Project Consortiums as a Mechanism of Municipal Private Partnership on the Example of FSD Programs” |
The staff of the Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) has recently attended the State and Municipal Governance: Issues and Prospects National Conference organized on December 4-5, 2012, by the Financial Institute at the Russian Federation Government. FSD executive director Oleg Fokin made a presentation “Project Consortiums as a Mechanism of Municipal Private Partnership on the Example of FSD Programs” at one of the workshops of the conference devoted to regional and community development.
November 2012
Small Business Development in Local Communities Program News
A new program of Citi Foundation and the Fund for Sustainable Development – Small Business Development in Local Communities Program- scheduled for 2012-2013 and recently launched in Moscow Oblast is being carried out in collaboration with the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC) with organizational support from the Kolomna branch of the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
November 2012
Modern Information Technology Reaches Remote Areas in the Republic of Buryatia Thanks to a Project of the Fund for Sustainable Development
The project Utilization of New Information and Energy Efficiency Technologies in Remote Settlements of Buryatia is being carried out by the Baikalsky Biosphere Reserve in Tankhoiskoye Municipality located in Kabansky Raion of the Republic of Buryatia.
In partnership with the Fund for Sustainable Development, wireless internet equipment is being installed at the visitor center of the reserve and in the international volunteers’ camp. This will provide stable internet access for the residents and guests of the villages Tankhoi, Pereemnaya, Kedrovaya, Vydrinaya and Mishikha.
November 2012
The Projects of the Community Development Support Program Based on Information and Communication Technologies (CDSP-ICT) are Successfully Completed
Three CDSP-ICT projects have been successfully completed in Lake Baikal Region. During site visits to these projects with the aim of summarizing the results of their activities, FSD projects managers met with project teams and local government officials to assess the prospects of developing energy-efficiency and information and communication technologies in Baikal Region. All three projects are contributing to the sustainable development of local communities, promoting an improvement of the quality of life of local residents and having good prospects for replicating project experience in other areas of the region.
November 2012
Alcoa Foundation Program Responsible Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development
On November 7, 2012, under the Alcoa Foundation Responsible Water Resources Management for Sustainable Development Program, the staff of the Institute of Water Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences and of the Fund for Sustainable Development took part in two round tables – “Efficient Water Management: Challenges, Objectives and Solutions” and “The Future of Water in Russia and the World” – that were part of the 2012 Clean Water Third International Forum/Exhibition.
November 2012
The III National Congress of Nonprofit Organizations was Held in Moscow
The congress took place from October 30 through November 2, 2012, and was attended by over 900 delegates – heads of major public organizations and federal and regional government officials from 73 regions of the Russian Federation.
October 2012
Representatives of the Fund for Sustainable Development share experience of their programs at the International Conference on Fundamental Problems of Sustainable Development in the System of Nature-Society-Man
FSD projects managers Elena Milanova, PhD, and Elena Bondarchuk, PhD took part in the Second International Conference on Fundamental Problems of Sustainable Development in the System of Nature-Society-Man devoted to the results of the World Summit Rio+20 and the 155th anniversary of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. The conference, held on October 29-30, 2012, in the city of Dubna, was attended by dozens of scientists from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kirgizia and Ukraine.
October 2012
Citi Foundation and the Fund for Sustainable Development Launch a New Program in Ryazan Oblast - Small Business for Local Sustainable Development
A new program of the Citi Foundation and the Fund for Sustainable Development Small Business for Local Sustainable Development (2012-2013) launched in Ryazan Oblast is being implemented in collaboration with the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC) and Ryazan Oblast Ministry for Economic Development and Trade.
The first phase of the program has been successfully completed. It involved training 8 trainers from among the staff of municipal small business support centers who will train 160 first-time entrepreneurs and unemployed residents in Ryazan Oblast. On October 15-19, 2012, senior RMC trainer Tatyana Dikova and director of the Center for Financial Services and Consulting LLC from Voronezh Marina Samartseva conducted a training course Start Your Own Business intended for first-time entrepreneurs at the Volna Vacation Hotel in Spassky Raion in Ryazan Oblast. Andrei Podobuyev, head of the Department for Entrepreneurship Infrastructure Development at the Ryazan Oblast Ministry for Economic Development and Trade, welcomed the participants in the training.
October 2012
Outdoor Fitness in Belaya Kalitva – Alcoa Foundation/Fund for Sustainable Development Program “Youth Votes for Health”
Outdoor exercising is a relatively new discipline in our city; however, in Russia this movement has already become quite popular among adolescents and youth who chose a healthy life style. Instead of spending time on benches in their yards with cans of beer, they work out enthusiastically on fitness equipment installed there. Outdoor exercising includes elements of traditional gymnastics and workouts. Thus, a new type of physical culture has appeared, one of the key principles of which is accessibility to various chinning bars and fitness machines.
October 2012
The Citi Foundation and Fund for Sustainable Development Provide Grants to Entrepreneurs in Rural Areas
The partners have summed up the results of their joint program to develop entrepreneurship in local communities and announced a new phase of their joint efforts – the Small Business for Local Sustainable Development program.
Moscow – The Citi Foundation and the Fund for Sustainable Development have reviewed the results of their joint program Small Business Development in Local Communities. The program was aimed at training people with low income and the unemployed with theoretical and practical skills on how to start, maintain or expand their small businesses in towns and rural settlements. The program was implemented in the Luga, Tosno and Gatchina districts of the Leningrad Region, the Sasovo and Kasimov districts of the Ryazan Region and in five districts of the Moscow Region centered around the town of Kolomna.
More than 300 first-time entrepreneurs and unemployed citizens completed the entrepreneurship training. Following the training, a business plan contest was held for the awarding of grants to create and develop one’s own small business. As a result of the contest 15 projects were selected for financing, and the authors of these business plans received mini-grants ranging in size from 50,000 to 150,000 rubles.
September 2012
The Fund for Sustainable Development has become the Co-organizer of the Twelfth National Municipal Forum
The other organizers of the Forum that was held in the city of Anapa in Krasnodar Krai on September 18-20 included the State University of Management, the Russian Municipal Academy, the Strategic Initiatives Agency and the Territorial Development Agency.
Over 100 representatives of government and self-government bodies, educational, academic, consulting and public organizations and other stakeholders attended the Forum.
September 2012
Samara volunteers joined the World Cleanup day «Let's do it!»
On September the15th 2012, millions of inhabitants of our planet took part in the world cleanup day «Let's do it!». School-students from school ¹ 147 and also volunteers from Alcoa SMZ didn't stand aside from this event and went to the aid Samara botanical garden.
The director of a garden – Svetlana Rozno told gathered about problems of a garden and thanked all that responded to a call for help. After all on the threshold of celebration of the 80th anniversary of a garden, the help of volunteers came just at the right time.
August 2012
The Fund for Sustainable Development and the Citi Foundation Continue to Support Small Business Development
A new program Small Business for Local Sustainable Development (2012-2013) has been launch in September 2012
Starting from 2008, several programs aimed at community development through supporting small businesses and expanding the local labor market were successfully fulfilled by the Fund for Sustainable Development with funding from the Citi Foundation:
- Improving Communities Right Now! (2008-2010)
- Small Business Development in Local Communities (2011-2012)
- Promoting Sustainable Development in Russia (2011-2012)
Svirsk Municipal Health Care and Educational Institutions Are Cutting Energy Costs
Energy costs have been significantly reduced due to an energy consumption control system installed by the project Automation of Energy Resources Metering Devices in Svirsk Municipal Health Care and Educational Institutions that was fulfilled under Community Development Support Program (CDSP-ICT)
Project activities included putting in place an information and measuring system and a control room for servicing six state-run institutions in the city of Svirsk (the City Cultural Center, the Olymp Sport and Health Center, Kindergarten # 1, Middle School # 1, Middle School # 2 and the local hospital) and an apartment house located on Mira Street.June 2012
Two New Fitness Grounds Were Opened in Schoolyards in Belaya Kalitva
On June 21, 2012, a fitness ground was opened in the yard of School # 5 under the Alcoa Foundation “Youth Votes for Health!” Program. The festivities that followed were joined by 150 community members of all ages, including the school’s teachers and students, the attendees of the neighboring Sports School # 2, residents, members of the local self-government committee of Nizhny Settlement and the staff of the Belokalitvensky Poultry Factory. ZAO Alcoa Metallurg Rus general director V.Pavlov and head of corporate relations department G.Alentyeva, as well as deputy heads of Belaya Kalitva Raion Administration V.Bodrov and E.Kerentseva and journalists were present at the opening ceremony.
June 2012
The round table Small Business and Sustainable Development: Best Practices was successfully held in St.Petersburg
The round table organized by the Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) and the regional branch of the national public organization Business Russia from Leningradskaya Oblast on June 19, 2012, was devoted to the issue of government support of small and middle-sized businesses. The over forty participants in this event represented small and middle-sized businesses of Leningradskaya Oblast, the NGO OPORA Russia, North-Eastern Women’s Association, the Committee for Small and Middle-Sized Businesses at Leningradskaya Oblast Government, business support centers and the media.
During the discussion of the topic “Is it easy to start a business in modern Russia? What do entrepreneurs think about this?” the participants tried to answer these questions and spoke about the current mechanisms of supporting businesses; and owners of business shared their experience.
June 2012
The latest results of the Responsible Management of Water Resources for Sustainable Development Program were presented at the II International Conference “Water - Invaluable Legacy”
On June 14, 2012, in St.Petersburg, Elena Bondarchuk, manager of the Responsible Management of Water Resources for Sustainable Development Program carried out by the Fund for Sustainable Development and the Alcoa Foundation, presented its results at the II International Conference “Water – Invaluable Legacy”.
The conference was attended by over 150 representatives of federal and regional state and legislative authorities, environmental organizations from St. Petersburg and Leningradskaya Oblast, the Environmental Council at the Governor of Leningradskaya Oblast, local government, communal services coordination and development services, NGOs, scientific institutes, universities and organizations – water users from St. Petersburg, Leningradskaya Oblast, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Baltiisk, Volkhov, Pskov, Kirovsk, etc.
June 2012
The Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) organized a round table at the Central House of Journalists entitled “Twenty Years After: Conservation Needs Reloading. Actionable Solutions for Sustainable Development”
The Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) organized a round table at the Central House of Journalists entitled “Twenty Years After: Conservation Needs Reloading. Actionable Solutions for Sustainable Development”.
This event took place on June 5, 2012, the International Environment Day, and in view of the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development scheduled to be held in Rio de Janeiro on June 20-22, 2012.
May 2012
The kindergarten Forest Fairytale in the settlement of Dvurechensk now has a fairytale microclimate
In May 2012, under the USAID funded Community Development Support Program a heat supply automatic control system (SART) was installed in Kindergarten # 56 (Forest Fairytale) located in the settlement of Dvurechensk, Sysert Urban District, Sverdlovskaya Oblast.
The system, which was assembled, tested, adjusted and transferred to the kindergarten, is now in operation, maintaining standard indoor temperatures. Its technical test was successfully performed on May 15, 2012 with the participation of the technical staff of the kindergarten, the local heat supply company and the Chief Power Engineer Department of Kluchevsky Ferroalloy Plant; the head of the settlement’s council; the Mayak newspaper correspondent; and the director of the district municipal unitary heat supply enterprise.
May 2012
The issue of government support of small businesses was discussed at a Small Business and Sustainable Development: Best Practices Round Table held at the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Legislative Assembly
The Small Business and Sustainable Development: Best Practices Round Table took place on May 16, 2012 in Nizhny Novgorod under the program Promoting Sustainable Development in Russia Programá that is being currently implemented with financial support from the Citi Foundation. This event, organized by the Fund for Sustainable Development (Moscow) and the Low Impact Technologies Center (Nizhny Novgorod) jointly with the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Legislative Assembly, was held during the Great Rivers of Russia National Forum. The round table was attended by local government officials from 24 raions of the region and representatives of Citibank Privolzhsky Branch, businesses and NGOs.
April 2012
Team members of the Responsible Management of Water Resources for Sustainable Development Program took part in the XVI Scientific and Practical Conference “Sustainable Regional Development: Situations and Prospects”
The key implementers of the Responsible Management of Water Resources for Sustainable Development Program – scientists and graduate students of the Institute of Water Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences - attended the XVI Scientific and Practical Conference “Sustainable Regional Development: Situations and Prospects” organized in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky on April 24, 2012. Their presentations were devoted to the objective of furthering the mechanisms of improving water resources management in the Russian Federation. In his introductory speech, Prof. Venetsianov, head of the Water Protection Laboratory at the Institute of Water Problems, stressed the significance of challenges related to municipal water resources management. This subject was of special interest to the audience that was made up mainly of instructors and students of universities and colleges specializing in the field of water management.
April 2012
“Youth Votes for Health!” Program Announces Contest Results
On April 12, in Satkinsky Raion, a press conference was held on the question of quality control of heat and water supply to the community, at which journalists from the local press, radio and television – Satkinsky Rabochy, Gornyak Baikala, and OAL SKAT-MEDIA – were acquainted with the new initiative of the raion administration, the project “Introduction of a soft hardware platform Raion Energy Resources Consumption Monitoring Dispatcher Center”. The staff of resource supply organizations and companies servicing heat and water supply networks and operating entities attended this event.
April 2012
A new project of the Communities Development Support Program (CDSP-ICT) was launched in the city of Satka in Chelyabinsk Oblast
On April 12, in Satkinsky Raion, a press conference was held on the question of quality control of heat and water supply to the community, at which journalists from the local press, radio and television – Satkinsky Rabochy, Gornyak Baikala, and OAL SKAT-MEDIA – were acquainted with the new initiative of the raion administration, the project “Introduction of a soft hardware platform Raion Energy Resources Consumption Monitoring Dispatcher Center”. The staff of resource supply organizations and companies servicing heat and water supply networks and operating entities attended this event.
April 2012
Lake Baikal Region: Second Round CDSP ICT Program Projects are Launched
On April 1, 2012, three projects of this program were commissioned in Ust Barguzin and Tankhoi municipalities in the Republic of Buryatia and in the settlement of Khomutovsky in Irkutsk Oblast. These projects are focused mainly on the priority area of the grant round: energy-efficiency and the introduction of information and communication technologies.
Project teams met with local government officials and the staff of FSD (projects manager Elena Milanova and financial director Olga Mashkova) and FSD East Siberia Regional Center (director Vladimir Belogolovov and manager V. Gustomesova). The participants in the meeting discussed issues facing communities and explored possible ways and means of resolving them; noted the interest of the local public in the projects; and considered the possibility of cost sharing projects by local organizations.
April 2012
Small Business Development in Local Communities Program
The model communities selected for this Program include Luzhsky, Tosnovsky and Gatchinsky raions in Leningradskaya Oblast; Sasovsky and Kasimovsky raions in Ryazan Oblast and 5 raions in Moscow Oblast with a center in Kolomensky raion.
Mini-grant contests for starting a small business were held among local first-time entrepreneurs and unemployed citizens. The applicants presented their business-plans for the contest developed in the course of trainings they had attended under the Program. A total of 15 projects were approved and grantees were awarded mini-grants from 50,000 to 150,000 rubles. In Ryazan Oblast, the winner projects involved developing children’s education centers and agriculture (a goose farm). In Leningradskaya Oblast, funding was provided to projects to upgrade the public services sphere, including home nursing of handicapped, and the development of tourism and farms. In Moscow Oblast, these were projects of processing used tires and developing a private bee farm.
April 2012
The brochure “Small Business and Sustainable Development in Russia: Best Practices” put out by the Fund for Sustainable Development was presented in Yekaterinburg at the round table “Small and Middle-Sized Environmentally Oriented Businesses”
The round table, held on April 10, 2012 in Yekaterinburg by the Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD) and its partner, Ural Regional Center, was devoted to this publications produced by the Fund for Sustainable development under the Citi Foundation program “Promoting Sustainable Development in Russia.”
This event was joined by 38 participants representing government institutions, municipal administrations (Sverdlovskaya Oblast Center for Ecological Monitoring and Information; Satkinsky Municipal District Administration, Chelyabinsk Oblast; and Rezh City Administration) and owners of small businesses, many of whom are the heroes of case stories included in the brochure (IE Maslikov – Tavolga Pottery LLC, Uraltermoplast LLC, IE Dobrov, IE Gabova – Environmental Audits and Consulting, UralVEK LLC – oil spill cleanup with the use of microbiological substances), NGOs (Union of Small and Middle Sized Businesses, Sverdlovskaya Oblast, Ural Environmental Union, Sverdlovskaya Oblast Branch of VOOP, Ural Association of Environmentally Responsible Businesses; Nevyansk Small Business Support Center, Environmental Training and Information Center, Institute for Environmental Studies, Ural Federal University, Occupational Safety Research Institute, Ural Association of Environmental Science Teachers) and the media (Echo or Moscow Radio Station and URFO Journal). P.Christopher McCabe, Consul for Political and Economic Affairs, US Consulate General in Yekaterinburg, who also attended the round table, expressed much interest in the FSD programs in the area of supporting environmentally oriented and social community development.
April 2012
The Fund for Sustainable Development Held a Round Table “Environmental Businesses as a Regional Sustainable Development Tool”
This event was organized by FSD on April 4, 2012 in Ufa in collaboration with the Republic of Bashkortostan Union of Ecologists and was devoted to the presentation of the brochure “Small Business and Sustainable Development in Russia: Best Practices” published by FSD under the Citi Foundation funded program Promoting Sustainable Development in Russia. The over 60 attendees of the round table included heads of environmental services of enterprises/nature users (Republic of Bashkortostan Waste Processing Association, EcoUris LLC, Promvodokanal LLC, Ecotech-Meleuz LLC and Ecotrade LLC), officials from the republic’s ministries and departments (Ministry of Nature Use and Ecology, Rosprirodnadzor Authority, State Committee for Business and Tourism, Kama Water Authority and Forestry Ministry); and representatives of the scientific and teaching community (Eastern Economics and Law Humanitarian Academy), NGOs ( VOOP, RB Union of Ecologists and the Public Council for the Environment) and the media (National State Television and Radio Company, the newspaper Rossiiskaya gazeta, the TV channel All of Ufa and the newspapers Kommersant and Bashkortostan Argumenty i fakty. Among the participants were also Oleg Goncharov, manager of Citi Bank Ufa Branch and the heroes of case stories included in the brochure (R.Khanov from Medical Audits, Service and Consulting LLC and A.Veselov from RB Association of Waste Processing).
March 2012
The Fund for Sustainable Development presented its Promoting Sustainable Development in Russia Program at the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry
On March 28, the Fund for Sustainable Development together with partners - Russian Microfinance Center and the Citi Foundation - conducted a round table “Is it Easy to Become an Entrepreneur in Russia? Pros and Cons” at the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
At this event, the participants became acquainted with the Promoting Sustainable Development in Russia Program that was carried out by FSD in 2011-2012 with support from the Citi Foundation. A brochure “Small Business and Sustainable Development in Russia: Best Practices” printed during project implementation contains 29 concrete practical examples of business success stories. Oleg Fokin, FSD executive director, presented this publication and spoke about how its idea had originated and why entrepreneurs from all corners of Russia and their experience described in the publication deserve much respect and a careful study.
March 2012
Eleven CDSP-ICT Round 2 applications approved for funding
FSD Advisory Committee Working Group meeting was held on March 15, 2012 in Moscow. Advisory Committee Members, representing State Ministries and NGOs discussed and approved eleven CDSP-ICT Round 2 projects in competitively selected communities from Russian Far East, Baikal, Sverdlovsk and Nizhniy Novgorod areas. Community Development Support Program based on ICT (CDSP-ICT) is funded by USAID and this particular Round was devoted to the introduction of the best energy saving practices in Russian municipalities.
February 2012
News from the Program “Responsible Management of Water Resources for Sustainable Development”
On February 1, 2012 at the Training Center in Samara, a seminar “Regional Water Management” was conducted as part of the advance-training course “Environmental Safety” attended by 26 representatives of the management and staff of 21 small and middle-sized businesses.
Galina Kotsubinskaya, leading specialists/expert of the Water Resources Department for Samara Oblast at the Lower Volga Watershed Authority, conducted the seminar.
February 2012
The project “Increasing heat supply efficiency in educational establishments of Sysert Urban District has been launched in the Ural region in the framework of the Community Development Support Program
The site of this project is Kindergarten # 56 located in the settlement of Dvurechensk, Sysert Urban District of Sverdlovskaya Oblast, which is a pilot institution of the municipal energy-efficiency program for 2012. The project is fulfilled by the Ural Center for Energy Saving and Ecology (UCEE) from Yekaterinburg whose staff is well aware of local problems.
Last year UCEE designed an energy-efficiency program for the Sysert Urban District that was approved by the Government of Sverdlovskaya Oblast. The program provides for a whole range of measures in the housing and utilities services and entities funded from the municipal budget, including the installation of heat supply automatic control systems (SART) in Kindergarten # 55. Elena Bondarchuk, FSD projects manager, during her site visit to Sysert monitored the launched project, conducted training on reporting procedures and met with project participants.
January 2012
The Program “Youth Votes for Health!” is Continuing in Belaya Kalitva
The second phase of the Alcoa Foundation Program “Youth Votes for Health!” was launched in January 2012. Under this Program, which has begun in 2011, new outdoor fitness sites will be opened in 2012 in the city of Belaya Kalitva and in Belokalitvensky Raion.
In December 2011, the Program partners – the Fund for Sustainable Development (FSD), which has developed the program and is currently implementing it; the Public Relations Department of Alcoa Metallurg Rus; and Belaya Kalitva Committee for Sports examined potential areas where outdoor fitness machines will be installed.
January 2012
26th Webinar of FSD Regional Centers
The twenty sixth seminar of FSD Regional Centers held on January 13, 2012 in the form of a webinar was devoted to a discussion of the beginning of work on the first round of the Community Development Support Program Based on Information and Communication Technologies (CDSP-ICT) and its prospects, as well as of the priorities of the second round whose contest of concept papers was opened on December 26, 2011.
O.Fokin, FSD executive director, and R.Butovsky, FDS program director, described the CDSP-ICT planned activities, priority areas, the specifics of the second round and the role of RC in Program implementation.
RC directors (S.Pleshakov, V.Belogolovov, K.Strukova and E.Volkova) spoke about activities of the initial stages of CDSP-ICT first round projects. Most of these have begun with feasibility studies and were coordinated with local Electric Inspection Services. In his presentation, V. Belogolovov focused on the importance of social contracts as an energy savings reinvestment mechanism supporting social project contests.