The name of the project: Joining creativity

Project implementation: April 2016 – February 2017

Lead partner: Karelian resource Centre of NGOs

Partners:

• Aalto University, Finland

• The St. Petersburg International Business Association (SPIBA)

• Institute for Cultural Programs in St Petersburg

• Northern (Arctic) Federal University

• Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Karelia

• Swedish-Karelian Business and Information Center

• Business Sweden

• Lansstyrelsen, Vasterbotten, Umea, Sweden

• Norwegian-Russian Chamber of Commerce (NRCC), Norway

• Innovation Iceland

• Center for Cultural and Experience Economy (CKO), Denmark

• Northern Dimension Institute

Overall objective: To enhance economic cooperation and trade between the Nordic countries and North-West Russia and contribute to the successful internationalization of creative industry firms in the Baltic Sea Region.

Specific objectives:

• To identify creative industry business opportunities with the aim to boost the business in the region;

• To facilitate new ways of cooperation between business and academia by elaborating recommendations for business;

• To increase information exchange and networking between Nordic and North-West Russian businesses and authorities;

• To spread the information about creative industries in Nordic countries and Russia.

Expecting results:

• Increasing awareness among the target groups of CI potential in the Nordic countries and North-West Russia through well-planned activities;

• Increasing information exchange and networking between Nordic and Russian firms and authorities to support the development of creative industries in Nordic countries and North-West Russia;

• Knowledge and competence enhancement for Nordic and North-West Russian firms;

• Accumulation of knowledge  by involving experienced entrepreneurs as mentors in the project

• Strengthening the realization of different kinds of new partnerships between public and private sector actors, sharing of best practices, innovative platforms and operating models that ensure qualitative development work and hence cultivation of cross-cutting ideas into economically sustainable and concrete projects and actions;

• Accessibility of knowledge and information of support services by communication activities.

The name of the project: ComUn Youth (Combating Unemployment among Youth). CBC Phase 5.

Project implementation: February 2016 – August 2017

Lead partner: Karelian resource Centre of NGOs (administrator)

Main partners:

• Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Vilnius, Lithuania (co-administrator)

• Democratic institutions and Governance Department, Directorate General of Democracy

• Secretariat of AEBR (Association of European Border Regions)

Partners:

• Öresunds Committee, tbc., Denmark

• Sønderjylland-Schleswig Cross Border Region, Denmark

• Hedmark County Council, Norway

• Bothnian Arc, Finland

• Varmland county, Sweden

• Administration of Vyborg district of Leningrad oblast

• City student labour of exchange and training Center, SPGUTD

• Regional Development Agency, Kaliningrad

• International Institute of Business Education, Murmansk region

• Education Development Fund of the Republic of Karelia

• Valga County Vocational Training Centre, Estonia

• Tartu University, Estonia

• Euroregion “Country of Lakes”, Latvia

• Kaunas Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, Marijampole Branch Office, Lithuania

Overall objective:  is to improve the employment situation of youth in the periphery in Russian-Nordic-Baltic border areas.

Specific objectives:

• To increase competence in combating youth unemployment and apply new solutions in the border regions of North-West Russia, the Nordic and Baltic countries;

• To create a platform uniting authorities, labour market, educational institutions, researchers, companies and youth organizations from the Nordic countries, Baltic countries and North-West Russia;

• To exchange and distribute the best regional and local practices for combating youth unemployment and increasing youth employment in the Baltic Sea and Barents border regions, using the project’s web-site; creation of new employments; sustainable entrepreneurship; free movement of employees in cross-border regions; education; cooperation of public agencies and cross-border statistics.

Expecting results:

• Youth (individuals or organizations) will  take part in the project activities;

• Increasing awareness of youth in border regions about possibilities of self-employment, development of  their entrepreneurial skills;

• ComUn Youth forum will be organized;

• Establishment of a new international network of companies’ cooperation, increasing awareness of companies about /tools that support youth employment;

• Business community will participate in the project activities.

The Karelian Resource Center of NGOs helps to set up an exhibit called “The Colors of the Arctic” at the School of Musical and Choral Arts №2 master classes with the Photographic Academy students and in organization a picture exhibition at the Rodnik Rehabilitation Center for handicapped children and adolescents to  a Norwegian photo artist and colorist Asbjørn Nielsen. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Karelia and the Children’s School of Musical and Choral, as a part of the Third Russian-Norwegian Cultural Forum support all events.

Implementation period: 2011.

Partners:

• Lahti Region Environmental Service (Finland),

• Miljøpunkt Nørrebro (Copenhagen, Denmark),

• Finland-Russia Society,

• Slavic Economic Union (Moscow),

• Family Center “Three Generations” (Puschino),

• Charity Fund “Health of Karelia”,

• The Association of Karelian Administrative Organizations,

Sponsorship: the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Results:

• An educational trip to Denmark and Finland aimed at garbage collection experience exchange.

• The group members visited the stations of waste collection “Nørrebro Waste Model” (Nørrebro district, Copenhagen). They studied the system of waste incineration and use of energy for heating the houses in Denmark

• They visited the factories Päijät-Hämeen Jätehuolto Oy and Kujalan Komposti Oy (Finland).

Implementation period: 2011.

Partners:

• The Karelian Resource Center of NGOs,

• The Educational Association “Universal Knowledge”, Gdansk,

• Polish National-Cultural Autonomy “Karelian Polonia”.

Goal: introduction to the Polish culture and traditions and presentation of Russian and Karelian cultures.

Results: While being in Poland, the children have learnt a lot of new things and got new impressions. They found out more about Polish traditions and made new friends.

Implementation period: 2011.

Partners:

• Karelian regional women’s public movement “Amal”,

• The Karelian Resource Center of NGOs.

Sponsorship: the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Goal: The development of the international cooperation and creation a mutually beneficial Russian and Northern Countries NGOs business links network for further interaction in the domain of women’s rights protection.

Results:

• Introduction to Northern countries public organizations activities in the sphere of gender equality and women’s safety

• Visiting the multicultural center “Monika” of the region Kajaani (Finland), Women’s school and House of Friendship (Oulu, Finland), Women’s shelter and the Icelandic Women’s Protection Association.

• A final seminar, in which, besides the overseas experts, the representatives of Petrozavodsk Administration, public organizations, social and educational establishments have taken part.

• Participative activities, including information gathering, communication, discussion, negotiation and development of interventions can play a vital role in the empowerment process. For those women and women’s groups, who are motivated to participate, there can be multiple individual and collective benefits that have an impact across a wider range of activities.

• Based on the new experience, the “Northern Cities, Safety and Equal Rights for Everyone” project initiators have published a brochure, which contains examples of the Russian participants and their overseas counterpart’s successful experience.

Implementation period: 2011.

Partners:

• Charity Fund “The Health of Karelia”,

• The Karelian Resource Center of NGOs ,

• The Karelian National Song and Dance Ensemble “Kantele”,

• Association of mentally disabled people and their families «Kuopion Hoiva ry» (Finland),

• FUB-Boden (Sweden),

• Haparanda Folk Crafts School (Sweden).

Sponsorship: the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Goal: to find out more about Swedish and Finnish NGOs’, cultural and educational establishments’ experiences in overcoming the handicapped children’s and adults’ social deprivation, to get familiar with the handicapped children’s and adults’ social rehabilitation and abilitation programs and methods by means art-therapy.

Results:

• Getting familiar with the handicapped people aid provision legislative framework, the system of the state and private sectors partnership in teaching handicapped children and the art-therapy methods for school education.

• The project implementation has revealed a strong necessity to continue work in this sphere: develop the actual projects and reinforce the partnership to create and a friendly urban and social environment for all city dwellers.

Implementation period: 2009–2010.

Partners:

• European Cooperation Center (Poland),

• The University of Oulu (Finland),

• Museum “Varanger” (Norway),

• The State Committee of the Republic of Karelia for Development of Local Self-Government,

• The Institute of Economics of Karelian Scientific Center of RAS,

• North-West Academy of Civil Service, Karelian outlet.

Goal: to create the conditions for citizens and the civil society institutions participation in making decisions at a local level.

Results:

• Creation of a network of NGO partners of the project in the participant countries

• Creation of a mechanism of partnership and involvement in local self-government to transmit European experience in the field;

• Creation of the network of interaction NGO partners’ of the project in the countries of the Baltic region;

• Elaboration of method of access for the population of remote municipal authorities to the information resources on the basis of local NGO’s support with the aim of involvement the population in making-decision process;

• Creation of the working mechanism of partnership and participation in local government of the European level for exchange of experience.

Implementation period: 2009.

Partners:

• The Karelian Resource Center of NGOs ,

• The Ministry of Labor and Employment of Karelia,

• Katowice Local Fellowship and Cooperation Institute (Poland).

Sponsorship: Stefan Batory (Warsaw, Poland).

Goal: to transfer and apply Polish social problems solving method

Results:

Members of the Russian delegation visited seminars, trainings, to get familiar with the way social enterprises in Gliwice, Katowice and Krakow work, where they acquired necessary skills and knowledge to create support teams for the unemployed, developed cooperation between authorities, business and NGOs for social problems solving. They also visited a business game devoted to discussing new technologies aimed at fighting unemployment.

The Polish delegation made a return visit to Karelia which lasted from July 13 to July 17 in the year 2009. As a part of the trip there were held conferences, round tables and working meetings at the Petrozavodsk Job Center and at the Labor and Employment Ministry in Sortavala and Kondopoga.

A meeting with the Minister Givi Karepetov was organized at the Ministry.