A round table discussion took place organised by the Local Association Foundation “Kaliningrad” and the Agency for Social Information  (ASI) as part of a programme to increase public support for NGOs.  Over 20 representatives from NGOs in Kaliningrad took part in the discussion. The website “Kompas Dobra” concerning volunteering was presented as a major information source. The results of a survey on public attitudes towards NGOs in Russian regions were made known. In Kaliningrad the level of interest in NGOs was the lowest of all the regions covered, although most citizens had a positive attitude towards them.  Involvement in NGOs in Kalinigrad also remained at a low level.  Ways of increasing interest in NGOs and volunteering, such as a PR campaign, were discussed.  Participants from the youth organisation “Tsunami” invited participants to the joint Russian-Lithuanian forum “Ledokol” where volunteering would be discussed.  Useful ideas could be gained from experience in Lithuania.  In the opinion of the participants NGOs needed to be integrated more into the society from which they expected support.  It was proposed that organisations which had signed the document “NKO-Koordinaty” should be involved in the campaign to stimulate interest as these were highly regarded in the region.  A further round table discussion about the PR campaign is planned in September.

            Ekaterina Porotnikova (Local Association Foundation “Kaliningrad”), tel: (4012) 59-51-23, e-mail: fond-kld@mail.ru

ASI32 (695), 8-14 August