ECA Alumni Small Grants Program

Program Successes - February 2002

View success Alumni Small Grants Program success stories by country:

About the Program
The ECA Alumni Small Grants Program was piloted by IREX in February 1999. The program is designed to enable alumni of ECA programs to increase their impact on their home countries by providing funding for individual projects that further the goals of their original programs in the United States. Grants have been awarded to alumni to: extend professional memberships; organize and/or regional seminars and conferences; make research trips within the NIS; publish self-authored books and materials; and invite US colleagues to the NIS for collaborative projects. IREX has administered four rounds of the program to date.

Armenia

Karine Adamyan, CI 2000, and Marine Adamyan, CI 1998, Yerevan, Armenia
Project Description: Conducted an eight-week course on nutrition and food safety, using materials developed and published through this grant. Approximately sixty children from low-income families, accompanied by one caregiver each, attended the course. The project served as a pilot program for a larger-scale program, using the materials the Adamyans developed, which will be implemented by World Vision Armenia. The Adamyans also conducted a training of trainers for employees of the NGO Cross of Armenian Unity, partners on the project, to prepare them to conduct future educational courses on this topic.

Armen Jughurian, Yerevan, Armenia, CI 1995
Project Description: Published 500 copies of the book Case Studies in Accounting and distributed them to Armenian universities. The text presents Western accounting and audit procedures and features situational problems requiring group work and discussion. This publication will contribute to curriculum and methodological reform in the teaching of accounting in Armenian universities.

Tigran Zargaryan, Yerevan, Armenia, CI 2000
Project Description: Published 500 copies of the book Digital Libraries, which were distributed to over thirty Armenian and US libraries, as well as to other local organizations. An electronic version of the book is available online at http://www2.ysu.am/~manhat/book.html. Zargaryan’s book was also the topic of a discussion organized by the Ministry of Culture and attended by representatives of several Yerevan libraries.

Azerbaijan

Hasan Huseynov, Ganja, Azerbaijan, CI 1995
Project Description: Attended a conference entitled “Ten Years of Reform in Higher Education: Analysis, Problems, and Prospects” in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Huseynov presented a paper on the attitudes of Ministries of Higher Education towards private institutions of higher education in Eurasia. His paper was published together with other materials from the conference.

Ruslan Sadirkhanov, Baku, Azerbaijan, CI 2001
Project Description: Organized a seminar to develop criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of local NGOs. Nineteen participants representing fifteen local non-profit organizations attended the seminar, where they discussed the issue and defined appropriate criteria. The categories considered in the rating system include the number of activities organized, the group’s connections to the regions or Azerbaijan and public relations work Seminar participants composed a document with their findings and presented it to the local media.

Belarus

Vladimir Biruk, Minsk, Belarus, CI 1998
Project Description: Organized a conference in Minsk and a series of seminars in the regions of Belarus to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement as a model of economic cooperation for the countries of Eurasia. Representatives of both private and state exporters and importers, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Commonwealth of Independent States Committee, the United Nations Development Programme and the International Finance Corporation attended the conference.

Sergey Kirpich, Minsk, Belarus, CI 1997
Project Description: Conducted a seminar series on innovative educational methods in Minsk, Grodno, Gomal, Vitebsk, Brest and Mogilev, Belarus. A total of over 100 participants attended seven seminars on the following topics: case method teaching and learning, preparation of Master’s theses, and innovative learning. Kirpich designed and published 100 copies of educational brochures for the seminars and distributed them to participants.

Yuri Stulov, Minsk, Belarus, RSEP 1996
Project Description: Organized a conference entitled “Problems of National Identity/-ies in Literature of the Old and New World” and published the conference materials. Over 100 participants from Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United States attended the conference. Stulov also developed a database of the conference participants, facilitating future communication and collaboration.

Viktor Ukhvanov, Minsk, Belarus, RSEP 1999
Project Description: Published 200 copies of the book Current Political Leadership in Russia and Belarus: Methodology of Political Discourse and Text Research, Volume 3. Ukhvanov collected and analyzed data on Belarusian and Russian politicians’ speeches and their political and social contexts, and analyzed their words to create “text portraits” of the speakers. Ukhvanov is distributing the book to libraries and will present it at a conference on political discourse studies in Moscow.

Liliya Vlasava, Minsk, Belarus, CI 2001
Project Description: Organized a “School for Business Lawyers.” Vlasava, president of the Belarusian Association of Business Lawyers, collaborated with the Association to hold this workshop for members and non-members practicing business law in the outskirts of Minsk. Participants met with representatives of the Belarus courts, government officials and representatives of ABA/CEELI, and made recommendations to the Ministry of Justice regarding upcoming revisions to Belarusian legal licensing laws. Vlasava organized sessions on current legal issues and new methods of finding legal information on the Internet, as well as a mock trial. Plans to hold the School again next year are already underway.

Georgia

Giuli Alasaniya, Tbilisi, Georgia, CI 1996
Project Description: Organized the conference entitled “Traditional and Non-Traditional Religions in Georgia.” Over seventy participants from numerous institutions and organizations, representing six different religions, met to hear presentations that addressed the history of relations between religious groups in Georgia and analyzed current attitudes toward religion in Georgia. The main topic of discussion was religious tolerance in Georgian society and ways of achieving peaceful coexistence.

Marina Asatiani, Tbilisi, Georgia, CI 2000
Project Description: Organized a series of workshops for children with chronic iodine deficiency diseases (IDD) and their families, targeting low-income families. The program was modeled on American approaches to chronic disease. Fifty children and 100 caretakers from their families attended five weekly classes and five group therapy sessions. The classes covered topics such as medical information regarding IDD, activities and sports accessible to children with IDD, parenting skills, diet, and school issues. The therapy group focused on handling the emotional and psychological effects of chronic illness. The program’s main goal was to provide participants with tools and outlets that would improve the lives of children living with IDD.

Giorgi Kipiani, Tbilisi, Georgia, RSEP 1996
Project Description: Published the book National Character and Development: Societal and Organizational Culture in Georgia. In this book, Kipiani presents the results of six years of research, including interviews, surveys and focus groups with hundreds of managers. She analyzed developments in management and organization in Georgia, and compared organizational and societal culture in Georgia and with other cultures throughout the world. The publication will be distributed to libraries, academic, consulting and governmental institutions, and to university students in management, psychology and politics.

Vakhtang Maisaia, Tbilisi, Georgia, CI 1997
Project Description: Published a monograph in English entitled The Caucasus-Caspian Regional Security Agenda in the 21st Century: Caspian Oil Politics and Georgia. Maisaia plans future collaborations to further investigate this issue with the editor of Azerbaijan Today and a Swedish colleague specializing in regional affairs in the Caucasus.

Kazakhstan

Yelena Gayevskaya, Almaty, Kazakhstan, CI 1998
Project Description: Published the book Collected Articles of the First Virtual Conference of ECA Alumni, containing articles in Russian and English by Kazakh and US scholars. Gayevskaya organized the conference in 2001 after participating in a virtual conference with American colleagues. Over 40 ECA alumni participated in the conference and discussed virtual communities, alumni’s US research and experiences, and the creation of alumni associations. The book was distributed to regional libraries, conference participants, and Internet Access and Training Program sites in Central Asia.

Svetlana Kovalskaya, Astana, Kazakhstan, RSEP 1997
Project Description: Conducted research in Moscow on American historiography of Kazakh cultural development in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Kovalskaya’s research allowed her to develop a new graduate course on this topic for history students at the Eurasian National University, and she is currently developing another course on issues in modern historiography. She has also written an article entitled “Soviet Historiography: Rethinking the Models.”

Maira Mukambayeva, Aktobe, Kazakhstan, RSEP 1996
Project Description: Conducted research in Moscow on approaches to multicultural education. With her findings, Mukambayeva designed and conducted a seminar for secondary school administrators entitled “Addressing Cultural Diversity in Schools: Strategies for Teachers,” and designed a syllabus for a course on multicultural education in secondary schools at Aktobe University.

Raushan Nauryzbayeva, Almaty, Kazakhstan, CI 2000
Project Description: Organized a conference to educate representatives of NGOs, law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Justice about preventing the illegal sale and use of drugs. Methods of preventing drug use and new developments in preventing drug addiction were discussed, and participants formulated recommendations for the government, proposing measures to combat drug use. The conference facilitated collaboration among the NGOs and government agencies in attendance.

Kyrgyzstan

Elena Alexeeva, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, CI 1998
Project Description: Published 500 copies of the book Parents’ Meeting and created an electronic version entitled Parents and Teachers: Constructive Dialogue. The publications give parents information and advice on building a family free of violence and abuse. Alexeeva presented the book to over 200 people who participated in Bishkek School Number Twelve’s annual teacher’s conference.

Ainura Cholponkulova, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, CI 1997
Project Description: Published 400 copies of the monograph Political and Legal Aspects of Third-Sector Participation in Lobbying in the Kyrgyz Republic. In her book, Cholponkulova examines the third sector’s role in legislative activity in Kyrgyzstan, particularly the legislative initiative process and the use of ballot initiatives by NGOs to affect the legislative process. This work is also the basis for a new course Cholponkulova developed on the political and legal aspects of NGO lobbying in the Kyrgyz Republic for university students.

Aigul Ordokova, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, CI 2000
Project Description: Organized a seminar entitled, “Monetary Policy and the US Banking System: Lessons for the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (NBKR).” Sixty participants representing the NBKR as well as commercial banks attended the seminar, which featured presenter Ed Stevens, Senior Advisor and Economist of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank. Ordakova also arranged meetings between Stevens and officials from the NBKR, top government officials, and commercial bank directors. Stevens drafted recommendations for the NBKR, and further collaboration between the NBKR and the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is planned, beginning with an upcoming visit by the NBKR Chairman to Cleveland.

Moldova

Olga Buzu, Chisinau, Moldova, RSEP 1997
Project Description: Published 100 copies of the book Organizational Aspects of Appraisal Activity in Russian and Romanian. In this book, Buzu explains important aspects of Moldova’s 2002 Law on Appraisal Activity, which she co-authored. The book will be distributed to university and public libraries, colleges offering courses on valuation, and an association of real estate appraisers.

Andrei Fiodorov, Chisinau, Moldova, CI 2001
Project Description: Conducted research on natural resource management in Moldova and published the book Moldovan Nature on My Mind in English. Fiodorov’s research involved gathering information from governmental, non-governmental, educational and research organizations; statistical data collection; archival research and extensive field work during trips to 25 locations in Moldova. Fiodorov will distribute the book to Moldovan and foreign professionals and academics, students in the field of natural resource management. He will also use the book in his English-language environmental issues classes at Tiraspol State University.

Russia

Olga Amcheeva and Darima Soktoeva, Ulan-Ude, Russia, YLF 00
Project Description: Attended a training on negotiation held in Moscow by Time Management International and led two seminars in Ulan-Ude on negotiation and intercultural communication. Over 70 participants attended the seminars, learning about current developments in these fields. Through their seminars, Amcheeva and Soktoeva shared the techniques they learned at the Moscow training with a local audience that lacks access to the newest developments in this field. They will also use these skills in their careers as a lawyer and a university professor, respectively.

Tatiana Artemieva, St. Petersburg, Russia, RSEP 1999
Project Description: Organized the conference “Russia and Britain in the Enlightenment: Philosophical and Cultural Comparisons” and published the papers from the conference in book form. Approximately 100 participants from Russia, other Eurasian and European countries and the United States attended, sharing their work with other scholars studying the history of ideas. Information from the conference is also available online at the website http://ideashistory.org.ru/scot/conf206.htm. The conference allowed Artemieva to make new contacts in her field and increase her activities with a local NGO, the St. Petersburg Center for the History of Ideas. She was also able to involve more scholars in the electronic network supported by the Society of the History of Ideas.

Yuri Bossin, Moscow, Russia, CI 1996
Project Description: Organized a seminar series on the topic "The Middle East: Perspectives and Challenges in the Twenty-First Century," published the materials from the seminars, and generated an informational listserv for Central Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Bossin held six seminars, with up to 40 participants at each seminar, and published 100 copies of the seminar materials.

Olga Demidova, St. Petersburg, Russia, RSEP 1993
Project Description: Published the book Aesthetics of Literaturnyi Byt of Russian Emigration. In this work, Demidova presents the results of nearly ten years of archival research and collaborative research with US and British scholars. Her work on literaturnyi byt – everyday literary life in all its forms, such as literary societies, publishing houses and periodicals – develops a methodology for interpreting literaturnyi byt and analyzes its role in the formation of Russian émigré culture.

Vladimir Diatlov, Irkutsk, Russia, YLF 2000
Project Description: Organized a conference on youth community leadership development in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Irkutsk. Over seventy participants from eastern Russia (from the Urals to the Far East) attended the conference, which was lead by four US trainers. Topics covered at the training included future collaboration between youth oriented NGOs, how to implement global projects, and how young leaders can make a difference in their home communities.

Diana Erickson, Ekaterinburg, Russia, YLF 1999
Project Description: Organized a conference on domestic violence and the trafficking of women. Twenty volunteers from 15 local organizations participated in sessions that included an analysis of the experiences of international and Russian Crisis Centers on domestic violence issues, discussions on how to prevent the trafficking of Russian women and girls, and training for hotline counselors. The training was planned with the help of a US NGO, Rape and Assault Support Services of Nashua, NH. The training manual and materials that Erickson compiled for the training will be used for future trainings.

Anastasiya Ermolaeva, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, YLF 2000
Project Description: Organized a conference on violence among youth and sponsored the participation of US colleague Dr. Julie Becker, Einstein Hospital of Philadelphia. Ermolaeva also arranged meetings between local government officials and directors of crisis centers in Nizhny Novgorod. The conference and meetings allowed participants to share their experiences in the field of public health and discuss future collaboration between US and Russian organizations. The conference received local press coverage, including a segment on the television news and articles in the local editions of Argumenty i Fakty and Nizhegorodsky Rabochiy.

Aleksandr Gritsay, Vladivostok, Russia, CI 1998
Project Description: Attended a conference in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on access to information for the visually impaired, emphasizing the importance of information technology. Gritsay met many colleagues working in this field as well as specialists in adaptive technology who shared their experience in training visually impaired people to use contemporary computer technology.

Svetlana Ivchenko, Moscow, Russia, YLF 2000
Project Description: Participated in the roundtable “Sponsoring Social Advertising,” gave a presentation at the conference “Ten Years of Community Development in Russia,” developed a booklet on corporate social responsibility, and received memberships in the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action and the International Society for Third-Sector Research. Through her work at the Institute for Urban Economics, Ivchenko has been able to further contribute to the discussion of corporate social responsibility in Russia, and she has written an article that will be published in the annual Survey of Philanthropy in Russia.

Anna Korkounova, St. Petersburg, Russia, YLF 2000
Project Description: Subscribed online to the American journal The Economist and the Russian economics journal Expert in order to access the most current analysis of economic trends as well as historic economic data. She also used these journals as sources for her Master’s thesis. In Spring 2002 Korkunova defended her thesis and graduated with honors, then enrolled in the PhD program at St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University. Her journal subscriptions will also aid her in researching and writing her dissertation.

Alexander Kousnetsov, Cherepovets, Russia, YLF 2000
Project Description: Participated in the workshop “School for Professional Business Consultants” devoted to developing of public-private partnerships; preparing small business associations for dialogue with local, regional and federal government officials; advising associations and NGOs on how to lobby for small business support and development; and studying and removing administrative barriers to business. Kousnetsov applied the knowledge he gained at the workshop through a presentation at a conference of the Union of the Entrepreneurs Associations of Russia (OPORa), as well as in his work at the Institute for Urban Economics, where he developed recommendations for the further development of socio-economic development programs in the cities of Dimitrovgrad, Tsivilsk and Perm. In addition, he analyzed state control functions and the developed proposals for the removal of excessive state control functions for a project organized by the Institute for Urban Economics and the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Kouznetsov has also been included in the consultant network of the Academy of Investments and Entrepreneurship in Moscow and OPORa.

Andrei Laletin, Krasnoyarsk, Russia, CI 1995
Project Description: Attended a workshop in Tbilisi, Georgia entitled, “The Underlying Causes of Forest Degradation in Georgia,” and published an article about the workshop in the Global Forest Coalition’s newsletter, “Forest Cover.” Laletin shared experiences from his work with the Russian organization Friends of the Siberian Forests, and collaborated with other workshop participants to summarize the current problems of forest protection in Georgia. Their analysis was used to draft recommendations for the improvement of the situation.

Maria Lebedko, Vladivostok, Russia, RSEP 1996
Project Description: Published a book entitled Time as a Cognitive Dominant of Culture: A Comparison of American and Russian Temporal Conceptospheres, which examines cognitive structures in order to elucidate differences in time perception in American and Russian cultures. Lebedko’s research for this book helped her write her kandidat nauk dissertation; she also incorporated this research in her teaching at the Far Eastern State University.

Mikhail Loukianov, Perm, Russia, RSEP 1999
Project Description: Conducted research in St. Petersburg on Russian and British conservatism prior to the First World War, gaining access to archival materials not available in his region. Loukianov has submitted an article entitled “Russian Conservatives in a British Context: Common and Unique Features in Russian and British Conservatism on the Eve of the First World War” to the American journal Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History.

Andrey Makarychev, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, RSEP 1999
Project Description: Conducted a roundtable and a seminar on proponents and opponents of globalization in the regions of Russia, and published the resulting materials. Guests from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands and the University of Upsala, Sweden, addressed the roundtable participants. Through his work on this project Makarychev had the opportunity to collaborate with members of the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Public Chamber, the Center for Strategic Research of the Volga Federal District, the Kazan Institute of Federalism and the State Duma.

Vyacheslav Panichkin, Novokuznetsk, Russia, CI 2001
Project Description: Published and distributed 1,000 copies of his Manual on Civil Court Cases for Lawyers and Citizens and conducted five seminars to teach members of human rights organizations, local attorneys, advocates for the disabled and librarians how to use the manual. Panichkin gave copies of the manual to seminar participants, the Novokuznetsk City Library, and his students of civil and housing law at the Novokuznetsk Institute of Kemerovo State University.

Evgueni Pivovarov, Bryansk, Russia, YLF 2000
Project Description: Published 500 copies of his monograph about the life and work the prominent Russian librarian and teacher A.V. Babine, one of the pioneers of cultural and educational exchanges between Russia and the United States. His monograph was the result of two years of research in Russian and US libraries and archives. The monograph will help Pivovarov write his kandidat nauk dissertation, and will aid others interested in the history of US-Russian relations. The book has been distributed to Russian and US libraries and educational centers, and has been discussed at conferences in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Omsk, Kostroma and Pushkin.

Oksana Selekhova, Moscow, Russia, YLF 1999
Project Description: Worked with a US television crew to arrange the production of a nature documentary about grey whales in the waters near the island of Sakhalin. Selekhova was able to learn from her US colleagues about US standards for professional documentary films, the technical aspects of filming, and the legal regulations governing the film’s distribution. An example of the legal agreement for this film will be distributed through the National Association of Broadcasters to other independent producers and regional TV companies in Russia. Selekhova will have the chance to apply and build on this experience in the summer of 2003 when she will participate in a joint project between the Russian TV station RTR and the German television company Deuthsce Welle to film a documentary about St. Petersburg.

Leonid Shabad, Moscow, Russia, YLF 1999
Project Description: Conducted a research trip to Vladivostok in order to research the feasibility of marine diving eco-tourism in the Primorsky Kray. Shabad ascertained that prior to the development of recreational tourism in the area, management of the nature preserve must be improved. Shabad is currently addressing this issue in his work at the World Wildlife Fund. In addition, he is currently collaborating with a YLF alumna in Sakhalin on a proposal to the Forum for Russian and American Economic Cooperation (FRAEC) to launch a citizen monitoring program for marine protected areas there. Shabad’s research also led him to publish an article entitled “What Would Save Underwater World” in the August 2002 issue of Diving Club Magazine.

Sergei Slobodin, Magadan, Russia, RSEP 1996
Project Description: Participated in the International Archaeological Congress in Khanty-Mansiysk, giving a presentation entitled “Some Problems of Bering Archaeology,” which elucidated the results of his research in Kolyma, the Okhotsk Coast, Chukotka and Alaska. An abstract of the presentation was published in the congress materials. Slobodin also conducted research in Moscow on a missing archaeological collection of stone tools from Alaska sent to Moscow in 1938. He located the collection in the Department of Anthropology of Moscow’s Lomonosov University, and was able to examine and photograph it. This research is currently being prepared for publication in the US publication Alaska Journal of Anthropology and the Russian journal Rossiskaya arkheologiya and for presentaion at international conferences. Slobodin’s research also contributed to his presentation at an international conference in Sapporo, Japan, arranged by the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D.C. and the University of Hokkaido.

Elena Smilianskaia, Moscow, Russia, RSEP 2000
Project Description: Conducted research in St. Petersburg on popular faith and superstitions in Orthodoxy during the Enlightenment. Smilianskaia obtained access to rare manuscripts and newly opened collections, allowing her to correct and complete her monograph Magicians, Blasphemers, Heretics: Popular Religiosity in Eighteenth-Century Russia, currently being edited for publication. She has also updated her course on anthropological history of eighteenth-century Russia and prepared two talks for international conferences on popular religiosity during the Enlightenment, in addition to preparing a paper for an international conference in Germany in 2003 on literature and medicine in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Vadim Stepanov, Moscow, Russia, CI 1997
Project Description: Attended the 2002 Internet Summer School at the Pushkin East-Kazakhstan Regional Library in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, where he was the primary trainer. Stepanov led sessions for more than 20 librarians on the use of Internet applications in library work. Stepanov also extended his membership in the American Library Association, allowing him to continue his subscription to the journal American Libraries.

Maria Stoletova, Vladimir, Russia, YLF 2000
Project Description: Prepared a manual for NGOs entitled “Managing Quality Improvement in a Non-Profit Organization,” attended a training of trainers workshop, and gained membership in the American Society for Training and Development and renewed membership in the American Society for Quality. The manual allowed Stoletova to share the knowledge, experience and materials she gained from the training of trainers workshop and memberships with the Family Protection Center, a local NGO she works with, as well as other local NGOs, which received electronic copies of the manual.

Pavel Tchikov, Kazan, Russia, YLF 2000
Project Description: Published 500 copies of a book entitled Universal and Regional Systems of Defense of Human Rights and State Interests, which includes contributions from various colleagues, including the chief of the Courts’ Department of the Kazan Human Rights Center. Tchikov, who is currently completing his PhD in International Law, will use the research and materials from this book in writing his dissertation.

Maria Tysiachniouk, St. Petersburg, Russia, RSEP 1995
Project Description: Organized a conference on the role of university-NGO partnerships in social transformation. Over 60 representatives of universities and NGOs from Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine and the United States attended the conference and analyzed the role these institutions play in policy decisions. They discussed ways of creating networks and promoting dialogue between universities and NGOs. The “Science Shop” organizational model, used in Western Europe as a mediator between community organizations and academic institutions to promote community based research, was presented as an effective mechanism for achieving this goal. (For more information on science shops please visit the following sites: http://www.bio.uu.nl/living-knowledge/ and http://www.qub.ac.uk/scisho/.) Tysiachniouk is currently preparing articles from the conference for publication.

Angelina Volovik, Ryazan, Russia, RSEP 1995
Project Description: Conducted research on women’s and gender issues in Moscow and published 200 copies of the book Young Rural Women's Educational Equity: Hopes and Expectations. The publication addresses the obstacles young women from rural areas face in adapting to the academic community and urban life, and discusses a program to help them adjust, implemented by the NGO Women in Education, Research and Business, of which Volovik is president. Volovik’s work helped her develop gender studies at her university, and will aid her in writing her doctoral dissertation. Volovik also discussed her work at an international conference on Gender Studies in Higher Education in June, 2002, and published a related article in the academic journal Pedogogika.

Yuri Zaretsky, Moscow, Russia, RSEP 2000
Project Description: Published 500 copies of a book entitled The Autobiographical Self: From Saint Augustine to Protopope Avvakum. In this volume, Zaretsky examined the autobiographical writings of religious figures from the medieval period to the modern period, using them to analyze the development of the autobiographical genre and the concepts of the self and the individual. Publishing this book allowed Zaretsky to share the results of his research with other scholars, and he expects the publication to help him receive a promotion to full professor in 2003.

Tajikistan

Muazama Burkhanova, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, CI 2000
Project Description: Organized a training of trainers workshop for local NGO leaders and ECA alumni. Fourteen participants attended the training to learn about how to design and plan workshops, how to incorporate experiential learning in trainings, and other training techniques useful to social activists. American trainer Raffi Aftandellian of the Moscow NGO Tepliy Dom led many of the sessions, and also conducted follow-up activities on the Open Space conflict resolution technique and teaching non-violence. The results of this workshop were presented at the Annual Conference of Interregional Association of Trainers (Intertraining) in Moscow in June 2002.

Turkmenistan

Serdar Agaev, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, RSEP 2000
Project Description: Organized a seminar series on private business development and published three brochures in Russian: “A Guide to Conducting Market Research: American Experience,” “How to Develop a Strategic Business Plan: American Experience” and “Accounting in Small Business.” A total of over 100 participants attended five seminars on topics such as bookkeeping, tax payment, how to establish and manage an enterprise, and how to conduct market research. The brochures have been published with outside funding and are being distributed to seminar participants and others.

Aine Kekilova, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, CI 1998
Project Description: Published two brochures on the importance of environmental management in the oil and gas industries of Turkmenistan: “Environmental Protection: Management Systems and Innovative Techniques in the Oil and Gas Industries” and “Waste Minimization in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production.” The brochures were distributed to professors and students throughout Ashgabat. Kekilova also conducted a presentation on environmental management in the oil and gas industries for representatives of environmental NGOs and university students.

Ukraine

Ivanna Bakushevych, Ternopil, Ukraine, CI 1995
Project Description: Published a manual for studying organizational management in the social work and welfare systems. The manual will assist NGO leaders in improving their managerial approaches to the development of civil society and democratic institutions. Bakushevych used this work to help her develop the curriculum for a graduate course entitled “Management in the Social Sphere,” to be taught to social work managers at the Ternopil Institute of Social and Information Technologies. Several presentations of this work are scheduled for the spring, at venues including the Ternopil Institute of Social and Information Technologies, the Academy of Labor and Social Work, and an international conference on American Studies.

Iryna Berezovska, Lviv, Ukraine, CI 2000
Project Description: Conducted a workshop and training session on electronic information sources and search mechanisms for biomedical information. Participants from Ukraine, Russia and the United States attended the workshop, received informational handouts, and had the opportunity to work with educational software. The materials from the workshop were published and posted online at www.med-it.iatp.org.ua.

Anatoliy Furda, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, CI 2001
Project Description: In collaboration with the organization Ukrainian Distance Learning System, Furda selected and led a group of five experts in developing a set of quality requirements for the evaluation of distance learning courses and a manual for course evaluators. Using these materials, a group of experts evaluated distance learning courses at five Ukrainian universities free of charge, in order to increase quality control in distance learning and strengthen the ties between participating NGOs and Ukrainian universities. Furda presented his project at a roundtable at the Distance Learning Center of the Academy of Public Administration, at a workshop on distance learning at the Lviv Regional Institute of Public Administration, and at a conference on the Internet in education and science in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Furda also received journal subscriptions from the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education and Syllabus: New Dimensions in Education Technology.

Nataliya Korol, Kyiv, Ukraine, CI 2000
Project Description: Researched the effects of the Chernobyl disaster on the reproductive health of adolescents and organized two seminars for specialists on this topic. Korol interviewed adolescent victims of the disaster, consulted with medical specialists and collected relevant literature for youth. She learned that most medical practitioners did not discuss reproductive health issues with the victims, a group with a high incidence of abortions and STDs. Her seminars educated participating specialists about reproductive health problems and reproductive health care for the victims, including identifying risky behaviors and organizing support groups modeled on twelve-step programs. Korol also distributed literature designed for the adolescent victims about medical and psychological issues.

Carina Korostelina, Lviv, Ukraine, CI 2000
Project Description: Published the book A System of Social Identities: An Analysis of the Ethnic Situation in the Crimea. Korostelina presented this book at an international forum on culture and national identity entitled “Multiculturalism and the Formation of National Identity among Ethnic Minorities” in Crimea, Ukraine. Her book is now being used in courses on conflict resolution, peace education and social psychology at the National Taurida University.

Tetyana Koshmanova, Lviv, Ukraine, CI 2000
Project Description: Published the book The World Wide Web in Professional Teacher Education. Koshmanova’s book serves as a guide to new teachers, showing them both how to use the Internet to supplement their own studies in education and how Internet technology can be used in the classroom to change traditional teaching and learning methods. The work done on this book was also helpful in compiling a manual on the use of computer technology in Ukrainian pedagogical education. The book was sent to Ukrainian public libraries and to the libraries of all Ukrainian pedagogical universities.

Gleb Maslov, Zaporozhye, Ukraine, RSEP 1999
Project Description: Conducted research in Moscow and designed a course entitled “Modern Ethics: Challenges from the Internet Era.” Maslov collected information from Moscow libraries and met with colleagues specializing in this field at Moscow State University and the Russian State University for the Humanities. He developed a syllabus for a new course at Zaporozhye State University on the philosophical aspects of ethics in the Internet era.

Valeriy Ryabukha, Chernihiv, Ukraine, CI 2000
Project Description: Published 500 copies of a “Safety Manual” for children, with information about drug use prevention, crime prevention, environmental protection and AIDS education. The publication was distributed to Chernihiv school libraries and university law departments. The Chernihiv Regional Administration decided to send the manual to all districts of the region with directions to use it for teaching schoolchildren.

Sergey Yakubovskiy, Odessa, Ukraine, RSEP 1999
Project Description: Organized a workshop on interactive teaching methods in Economics. The workshop provided junior faculty in Odessa and southern Ukraine with trainings in interactive teaching methods, allowing them to introduce new techniques in their classrooms. Participants also examined students’ opinions about traditional and modern teaching technologies. The workshop featured case studies, a master class, and interactive games. Several ECA alumni conducted trainings at the conference.

Elena Zavialova, Kyiv, Ukraine, CI 1997
Project Description: Published 500 copies of the book International Mergers and Acquisitions. The book has been distributed to libraries and other organizations; additional copies are available to ECA alumni.

USA

Amanda Baldwin, Madison, WI, USA YLF 1999
Project Description: Conducted research on the current practice of Russian Orthodoxy in the Moscow region. Baldwin observed worshippers’ behavior on visits to monasteries, cemeteries, holy springs and over fifty churches, collected informational materials regarding individual churches and popular religious publications, and kept a photo and written journal of her travels and observations. Baldwin concurrently completed a ten-week intensive Russian language course at the Moscow State University Russian Language Center. Her independent research and language study will aid her as she continues to pursue a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Jennifer Diane Brannon-Nordtomme, Etters, PA, USA, YLF 2000
Project Description: Attended a seminar on grant proposal writing held by the Foundation Center in Washington, DC. Brannon improved her skills in grant-writing, which will aid her in her current position at the Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and in writing grants for local organizations on a contract basis.

Steven Swerdlow, New York, NY, USA, YLF 2000
Project Description: Conducted research in Georgia on ethnic minorities, holding interviews with members of minority groups and policy-makers in the Georgian government who deal with minority education and repatriation, making visits to deportation sites and collecting documentary video footage of the lives of minority populations in Georgia. He participated in roundtable discussions of these issues in Tbilisi and elsewhere, and was invited to discuss minority issues in Krasnodar, Russia and Georgia at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees. He is also organizing a roundtable on this topic at Columbia University in the spring.

Uzbekistan

Iskandar Abdullaev, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, CI 1998
Project Description: Conducted field research on the impact of unreliable or insufficient water supplies on farmers’ practices, crop yields and incomes in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Using this research, Abdullaev has prepared a manuscript entitled Poverty and Water Management in Central Asia, currently under review for publication in 2003. Over the course of nine trips throughout Central Asia, Abdullaev collected data on water management, water distribution and socio-economic conditions, allowing him to analyze the relationship between water availability and poverty levels. He will prepare a brief document for Central Asian policy makers summarizing his findings and giving recommendations for improving water management.

Makset Karlibaev, Nukus, Uzbekistan, RSEP 2000
Project Description: Conducted research for the book Madrasah of Karakalpakstan in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries and published an edition of 1,000 copies. Karlibaev collected information from the regions of Karakalpakstan, including interviews and written materials, which he used in his book. He also used this research in a presentation on Ishans and Muslim education in Karakalpakstan before the twentieth century at the World Congress on Middle Eastern Studies in Mainz, Germany in September 2002, and in an article entitled “L’Instruction musulmane et les ishan chez les Karakalpaks du XIX e siecle,” published in Cahiers D’Asie centrale.

Albina Komachkova, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, CI 2000
Project Description: Published 820 copies of the brochure, “Contraception: Everything You Should Know,” designed to give women alternatives to unwanted pregnancies and abortions. Komachkova supplied her brochure to women’s crisis centers for distribution, and led discussions at the centers on women’s role in the family and reproduction. She shared her work on this project with practicing physicians at a seminar in a Tashkent clinic, and also received a grant from the Open Society Institute/Soros Foundation to present her work at the Salzburg International Medical Seminars in January 2003.