The Committee for State Initiatives summons
representatives of civil society to participation in a forum discussion

The
Aleksei Kudrin Commission for State Initiatives (KGI) has published a
statement, which includes the following statement: ‘We are open to discussions
with all those participating in the socio-political procedures. This includes
representatives of the authorities, who understand that a strong civil society
is necessary for the building of Russia’s future.’

In the
opinion of the State forum’s organisers, it helps to establish a feedback
system and makes the state organ into an effective tool for the realisation of
Russian peoples’ interests. The specific date and location for the event are as
yet unknown. Currently, the event is only at the organisation stage.

The head
of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Ludmila Alekseeva, who is a supporter of Kudrin’s
initiative, told RIA Novosti that the forum was likely to take place in October
or November of this year. According to the Human Rights activist, the event has
been planned in order to attract Human Rights activists, ecologists, and
educational, social and charitable organisations. ‘The forum will be large-scale;
fortunately we will be able to gather together many organisations’ she
emphasised.

Evgeny
Gontmakher, a member of the management team at the Institute of Modern
Development, also signed the statement, as well as the management of the Human
Rights organisation ‘Civil Control’ Anatoly Ermolin, representative of the KGI
Aleksei Kudrin, head of the Russian branch of Transparency International, Elena
Panfilova, editor-in-chief of the journal ‘The New Literary Review’ Irina
Prokhorova, the president of the Foundation for the Protection of Transparency,
Aleksei Simonov, the director of WWF Russia Igor Chestin, and the head of the
Centre for Social Ratings, RIA Novosti, Irina Yasina.

http://www.asi.org.ru/ASI3/rws_asi.nsf/va_WebPages/5AA57795FCB408F944257BBA0038689DRus