Activity in 2002-2008:

Soros Foundation, Ukraine. Project “Formation of national identity: the way to peacebuilding in Crimea” - research and seminar series (2001);

Facilitating Community Change in Multicultural Communities of Crimea: Way to Peaceful Co-existence, Council of Europe - Confidence-building measures programme (2001- 2002)

Community Change in Multicultural Coomunities of Crimea: final conference. IRF (2002).

Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution Certificate Program October 10 – 22, 1999 Miskhor (Big Yalta region), Crimea, Ukraine

25 NGO and government leaders from Eastern European and former SU countries participated in the Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution Certificate Program - a comprehensive program focusing on the theory, model, and skills applicable to peacebuilding and conflict resolution which may be applied in transitional societies, complex humanitarian emergencies and war – torn societies.
The general scope of this course included several inter – related themes: Bridging the Peace, Nurturing Culture Gap, Restructuring Power, and The Search for Reconciliation.
This course was designed and developed by the Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation especially for Eastern European countries. Dr. Hoffman, the President of the Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation, ran the Program.

The IDC initiated the project and provided all administrative work for the preparation and conduct of the course.
General cost of the project was 34800 USD.
Joint initiative of the Integration and Development Center and Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiations with the financial support of the East – East Program (9500 USD) and the Integration of Formerly Deported Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Bulgarians, German, Greeks into Ukrainian Society Program (2600 USD) of the International Renaissance Foundation (46 Artem street, Kiev, Ukraine, tel: 380442161253).

Local Fundraising Volunteer Exchange Project. December 1999 - January 2000. Volyn' region of Ukraine - Crimea.

The aim of the project was to accelerate Crimean NGOs development, to help them in reaching sustainability and to promote philanthropy and volunteering in Crimea and in Volyn' region.

Objectives:
- to transfer local fundraising experience of Volyn' Region NGOs and to put the most useful of that experience to work in Crimea
- to increase the number of strong, independent and sustainable not-for-profit organizations in region
- to activate local sources of financing
- to improve the professional level of Crimean NGOs
- to develop partnership between regions of Ukraine

Project results:
1st stage: 15 representatives of the Crimean NGOs were selected, trained and placed for internship in Volyn Region NGOs for further development of their newly acquired knowledge of local fundraising.
2nd stage: Participants stayed for 10-12 days in Volyn' organizations to acquire hands-on experience in local fundraising and started to develop campaighn plan for their organizations with the help of Volyn' NGOs representatives.
3rd stage: During the month after internship Crimean participants planned detailed campaign for their organizations and started campaigns in their organizations. Representatives of Volyn' organizations joined them and stayed for 10 days. They assisted local organizations to raise money from local sources.
Cost of the project: 8200 USD.
Financial assistance provided by the International Renaissance Foundation (46 Artem street, Kiev, Ukraine, tel: 380442161253) and the UN Program of Integration and Development of Crimea (20 Yaltiskaya street, 10th floor, Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraime)

Round Table: The Role of NGOs in Local Communities’ Development. April 21 – 22 2000. Yalta, Crimea, Ukraine

The aim of the Round Table was to provide opportunity for the NFO representatives working on a grassroots level in local communities, in small towns and/or rural areas to get together and to discuss important problems in their work, to help them to find a place in their community work in Ukraine with representatives from other countries and to hear about their experience.
Issues for discussion
- crossectoral partnership – cooperation with governmental agencies and businesses to address important community problems thru joint initiatives
- philanthropy and volunteering development
- openness and transparency of the organization as a key factor to build public confidence
- public reporting
- multicultural communities issues
- conflict prevention
- sustainability of the NGOs

Financial support provided by the East – East program of the International Renaissance Foundation and by the UN Crimea Integration and Development Program.

Members of IDC played leading role in project “George Mason University/ National Taurida Vernadsky University partnership for conflict resolution development in Ukraine”.

(Total budget – 300000 USD)
The main goals of project were.
- Develop a new emphasis in conflict resolution across National Taurida Vernadsky University’s curriculum, including the development of new courses and the modification of existing courses,
- Establish a student-led University Dispute Resolution Center, to provide both conflict resolution services and training to the University community, and
- Provide outreach in the form of consulting and training for government executives, NGO and business leaders, educators, and community leaders, to conduct collaborative research on interethnic conflict and peacebuilding, and to facilitate resolution of conflicts of regional or national significance.

In July 2001 professors from Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University (USA) and members of the IDC taught Summer Training School for Conflict Resolution (Yalta, Ukraine) jointly. The targeted group of the school was volunteers of the IDC and also young leaders of ethnic communities in the Crimea.
This training school aimed to
- Develop cross-cultural communication and cooperation skills among its participants,
- Increase their awareness about ethnic and cultural diversities
- Master conflict resolution and mediation and negotiation skills (such as active listening, paraphrasing)
- Practice various methods and techniques of mediation and negotiation.

Members of IDC also leaded the project supported by the United State Institute of Peace (2000-2001, budget – 30000 USD).

Which included the production of the training courses for workshops on peacebulding and conflict resolution, cross-cultural communication, negotiation and mediation with the usage of new technologies, with special attention to case study; conduction scientific research and publishing results. The project included the conduct of the workshops for the professors of Social and Political science with the aim of introduction of this methodology into the system of higher education of Crimea. There were prepared three special educational curricula and programs on conflict resolution, cross-cultural communication, negotiation and mediation. A training handbook on peaceful conflict management was produced and published. A book “The ethnic conflicts in Crimea: Finding a New Framework for understanding Tensions in the Search for Peace” was published. About 90 persons were trained and prepared to continue teaching and training work in higher educational institutions and local communities.

“Integrated monitoring of Mass Media in Autonomous Republic of Crimea as to their usage of ‘language of animosity’, demonstrations of racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance launched in Crimea” (September, 2008 – May, 2009), supported by International Renaiisance Foundation.

Openness of Mass Media in Ukraine during last years is one of the indicators of democratic changes in the society. But strengthening the freedom of speech in Ukraine shouldn’t ignore modern ethnic norms, and shouldn’t be accompanied by spread of xenophobia, racism, ethnic and religious stereotypes, anti-migration moods and other features of intolerance.

In 2002 , 2008 the antiracism and intolerance European Commission in its 2nd and 3d reports about Ukraine (CRI(2008)4) indicated on demonstration of hatred and spread of unlikely summarizing and stereotypes in Ukrainian printed press. These conclusions were confirmed in the results of a pilot research of printed press and Internet Mass Media in Crimea in 2002-2006. The planned research of printed press materials is a part of the project “Monitoring of tolerance ethnic principles and inter-cultural dialogue observation by journalists” supported by International Renaissance Foundation (Program “Mass Media”).

Further information on the project...

Tolerance promotion at the community level in Crimea (Ukraine) as means of early conflict prevention (April-October 2008), supported by the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, a project of the German Marshall Fund (www.gmfus.org)

The proposed project will provide local communities members in several Crimean regions (Ukraine) with knowledge and skills of effective cross-cultural communication, conflict prevention and resolution and facilitating community changes. The project is aimed at supplying 20 secondary school teachers (among those who were already involved in the “Culture of Neighborhood” course teaching at schools) with knowledge and skills of training activities for adults (mainly their pupils’ parents) through a three-day training of trainers (TOT). The organization plans to prepare and publish brochures for parents “How to manage changes in the poly-ethnic community” and supply parents – participants of further trainings with them.

Further information on the project...