Yuriy BUZNYTSKY,
Co-head of Program "Integration…" Supervisory Board

INTERNATIONAL RENAISSANCE FOUNDATION - CONTRIBUTION INTO BUILDING DEMOCRATIC, TOLERANT SOCIETY IN CRIMEA

There is no doubt that one of the most successful programs of the International Renaissance Foundation in the area of building open, multiethnic, conflict-free society is the Program “Integration of the Formerly Deported Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Armenians, Greeks, Germans into Ukrainian Community.” This is caused with many reasons, but, in my opinion, only some of them can be mentioned. Perhaps, at the beginning one should say that the Program initiation was proceeded with the rather durable preparatory work in the circumstances of the social-cultural and geopolitical situation which existed at that time in Ukraine and in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

A historical reference:

During many centuries Crimea has been considered one of the most multiethnic regions in Europe, inhabited by representatives of 89 various ethnic groups from among those 132 who live in Ukraine on the whole. Accordingly, they are carriers of the historically formed cultural traditions and religious beliefs. Crimea is the single historical motherland for Crimean Tatars, where they formed into a people. In May 1944, Stalin regime, dominant in the USSR at that time, carried out the deportation of about 200,000 Crimean Tatars from Crimea to Uzbekistan and some regions of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Russia. In the summer of 1944, 38,000 Crimean Bulgarians, Armenians, Greeks were deported. Heretofore, in 1941 more than 450,000 Germans and persons of other nationalities, who were members of the German families, had been deported from Ukraine, including about 10,000 persons - from Crimea. The process of the political rehabilitation and return of the deportees back to Crimea began in 1989 and became most intensive in early 90-s when Ukraine obtained its independence. Taking into account that nearly 280,000 formerly deported Crimean Tatars alone have returned to Crimea by this moment and that the process of the deportees' return was developing practically simultaneously with the evolution of the young sovereign Ukrainian state, certain difficulties of political-legal and social-economic character were generated. The deportees' integration into Ukrainian community is a multifaceted process, which, apart from taking political and juridical decisions, demands significant capital investments, particularly, into social-cultural area. The impossibility to solve issues or finance the decisions, concerning the deportees' needs, lead to appearance of certain social tensions in the society of Crimea and Ukraine on the whole. The formation of the political situation and state governance system in Crimea was developing rather complicatedly, with many destabilizing elements against the background of the common public agitation and the danger of rise of social and interethnic conflicts. It has become evident that all progressive forces in Ukrainian society and in the whole world must apply their possible efforts to stabilize the situation and form a democratic, multiethnic, multicultural, tolerant, and open society in Crimea.

At the end of 1996, following the initiative of the International Renaissance Foundation's leadership, the working group was established which included experts in the field of interethnic, migration, social policies, and repatriates' problems. This group consisted of well-known scientists and practical actors who jointly investigated into the problem of the deportees' return to Crimea and offered the concept of a special program which could be supported by the Open Society Institute (USA) - funded by the well-known philanthropist, George Soros, and, relevantly, by the International Renaissance Foundation. A characteristic feature in the concept of the future program was consideration of the opinions of both the deportees themselves, and of state and non-governmental institutions in Crimea and throughout Ukraine, involved in the process of integration of the deportees, returning to Crimea. Thus, at the beginning of 1997 the vision of the problem and the main ways to solve it were shaped. Simultaneously, in accordance with the experts' recommendations, the IRF specialists prepared the Program itself with the title "Integration of the Formerly Deported Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Armenians, Greeks, Germans into Ukrainian Community" which was adopted by the IRF Executive Committee on 4 March 1997, with the funding USD 450,000 in 1997. The Program included four main directions; to support and develop them should promote the process of the deportees' successful integration into Ukrainian community:

Education

• Preparation and publication (reprinting) of text-books and learning manuals for secondary school and higher educational institutions which apply Crimean Tatar, Bulgarian, Armenian, Greek languages in the studying process;

• organization of special educational institutions for the deportees' children;

• promotion to the activities of the educational institutions where the deportees' children study;

• informational provision of the contemporary approaches in educational process;

• support of research in educational area, aimed at introducing a progressive education system for the deportees and national minorities in Crimea;

• promotion to development of teaching-methodical research institutions which carry out their activities in the field of education for national minorities.

Support to mass media

• Support to local mass media of the ethnic-cultural communities, the mass media which cover the process of the deportees' integration into Ukrainian community, protection of the deportees' rights;

• conduction of seminars, journalists meetings to discuss coverage in mass media of the topics, regarding the process of the deportees' return and integration;

• carrying out a competition for the internship grant for journalists who specialize in covering the deportees' problems;

Support to infrastructure development of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

• Holding training seminars for civic organizations on the issues of management of non-governmental organizations;

Popularization of the ethnic cultures of Crimea

• Holding seminars and scientific-practical conferences on the issues of development of cultures of deported ethnic groups;

• support to publications by prominent scientists, philosophers, writers of the past and present who contribute to building multiethnic society in Crimea;

• carrying out the competition for the best coverage by all-Ukrainian and Crimean TV agencies of the history and cultures of the peoples in Crimea and Ukraine on the whole;

• support to libraries of the ethnic-cultural communities.

It is evident that all these directions do not completely cover the whole complex of the problems arising in the process of the deportees' integration into Ukrainian community. But due to a number of the objective causes, actually it was not the Program's goal because the main task of the International Renaissance Foundation is to encourage civic initiatives in the chosen direction and to assist their development at the initial stage.

The Program started its practical activities in March 1997. Following the guidelines of the public broad involvement in implementation of the IRF programs, a highly democratic system of Program management and grant-providing within the Program budget has been chosen. The upper managing body of the Program is the Program Supervisory Board, which consists of the well-known scientists and practical actors from both Crimea and Kyiv. The Program Supervisory Board determines the strategy, main directions of activity, competition terms, terms of grant-providing in the frameworks of the Program, and takes the decision to finance the projects which won the competition within the Program. Thus, the general public is directly involved in taking and executing practically all decisions in the Program frameworks. The annual rotation of the Supervisory Board members allows to make maximum open the process of taking and fulfilling decisions, and to involve broader circles of the public representatives in this process.

Thereby, in the spring of 1997, the main directions of activities, volumes of funding, management system and system of efficiency monitoring of the projects within the Program were already developed. In May 1997, the terms of the first Program competition were published in Crimean mass media. In regard to this competition, 63 projects totaling to USD 400,000 were supported. Simultaneously, the work was started to establish cooperation with other international organizations, state and non-state institutions, non-governmental organizations of Ukraine. Among the organizations, the Program cooperated or is cooperating with, could be mentioned the Program for Crimea Integration and Development, the United Nations High Commissar for Refugees, the Netherlands Royal Embassy, Canada Embassy, Charles Mott's Foundation, King Boduen's Foundation, the Education Ministry of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and others. The work results of the first year allowed critically to evaluate the achieved results and put certain amendments in the Program development in 1998. In particular, the project consideration requirements were revised in regard of creation and publication of text-books in national languages of the deportees for secondary schools; special attention focused on encouraging creation of the text-books for schools with Crimean Tatar language of instruction. In 1998 the Program priorities were supplemented with support to initiatives, directed at development of medical care for pupils; the support has been started to those projects which aim at protecting deportees' rights, at developing the progressive legislation in Ukraine, which will ensure democratic, equal right process of the deportees' integration. Taking into consideration the Program particularity, in the same year the system of submitting projects was applied, which included competition twice a year - in spring (May) and in autumn (September-October). Such competition-based approach to project consideration allowed to increase the number of the competition participants and enabled the applicants to more thoroughly work on their projects, taking into account the requirements of the International Renaissance Foundation and the Program. The policy of openness and active involvement of the public to participation in the IRF programs was fulfilled within the Program "Integration…" as well. Already during 1997 - at the beginning of 1998, non-governmental organizations formed in Crimea (their activities were also promoted by the Program), which obtained certain experience in project implementation, in management, fund-raising for their projects, etc. Therefore, already at the beginning of 1998 the Program administration began to actively involve such NGOs into implementation of the projects in all directions of activity, especially, in the area of the "third sector development" in Crimea. Thus, in the course of the Program activities a broad and multifaceted mechanism of the general public's participation in the process of the deportees' adaptation and integration in Ukrainian community began to form.

Notwithstanding the efforts of the state and international organizations, in the education area remains pressing the problem of rebirth of education in native languages under the new historical conditions, in the state with a new political system, in a different linguistic-cultural situation, on a different scientific base. The demand for rebirth of the education system in national languages is obvious, since such education system in Crimea, particularly for Crimean Tatars, had existed also before their deportation. An impossibility to meet the demand for education in a national language causes disapproval and a feeling of certain discrimination in comparison with other ethnic groups living in Crimea (Russians, Ukrainians, and other) although Crimean Tatars are an indigenous population of Crimea.

Since the majority of the Program projects are implemented in educational area, there is the necessity to take into account the peculiarities of the educational organization in Crimea. In particular, it is necessary to establish fruitful cooperation with the bodies of state governance that are responsible for organizing the education process in Ukraine. The requirements of the state bodies in regard of creation and dissemination of the manuals for secondary schools required an accorded approach to adoption of a number of the projects by the Program administration and by the Ministry of Education of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. As a result of the negotiations, the agreements were concluded to finance creation and publication of textbooks by the Program, on the condition that such text-books are subject to certification and receipt of the necessary permissions from the Commission at the Education Ministry of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Such coordinated way of action helped to avoid misunderstandings in the process of textbooks creation, and to accord to some extent the Program activity in educational area with the state policy and with the education development program for the deportees in Crimea. It can be stated that the constructive dialogue has brought obvious results.

On the whole, by the end of 1999, the funding was provided for creation and publication of 40 textbooks, among which have been already issued. Taking into account that within the Program funding frameworks creation and publication of text-books pilot issues are supported (about 1000 copies each), the Education Ministry of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea supported publication of the text-books, created within the Program, with more circulation (up to 5000 copies). Realizing the necessity for introducing up-to-date teaching methodic approaches in the schools where the deportees' children study, the Program supported the projects which provide technical equipment of schools, creation of the material base, gathering of special libraries, connecting schools to the Internet. There were also other measures implemented which allow to organize the educational process in schools on a rather high level. In many cases, the support, given to the schools by the Program, was accompanied with understanding and, accordingly, assistance to these schools from the local state administrations.

The Program has also actively supported the arrangements in education area, directed at activating the search for contemporary ways in organization of educational process, experience exchange; and seminars, conferences, round-table discussions were held for the teachers from schools with national languages of instruction. The Crimean Industrial-Pedagogic Institute, in the Program project framework, has worked out and published a number of informative-methodical materials and educational programs for schools with Crimean Tatar language of instruction.

During the whole period of the Program's activities, 111 projects totaling to more than USD 600.000 were supported in the area of educational initiatives development. As it has been mentioned, the Program paid the significant attention to development of Crimean non-governmental organizations which carry out their activities in the area of interethnic relations, assistance to the deportees' integration, advocacy of the deportees' rights, building of the open democratic society, and which represent the interests of the ethnic groups in Crimea. Taking into account that, in accordance with the Program competition terms, all Program directions exclude submission of projects by individuals and religious organizations, most of the projects were submitted by non-governmental organizations of Crimea. And then the same organizations implemented them. Thus, the initiatives of more than 100 non-governmental organizations were supported in a mediate way; among them - 29 projects, directly aimed at supporting infrastructure building of the NGOs themselves, totaling more than USD 136.000.

Today, after three years of activities it can be stated that during this period, due to the Program support in particular, the network of NGOs has formed and actively operates in Crimea. These NGOs are not only able to independently support progressive initiatives, but also to find appropriate funds for their implementation, and to efficiently introduce them in life.

Realizing that mass media play an important role in formation of a tolerant multiethnic society, 11 projects with the total value of more than USD 78.000 were supported in the Program funding frameworks. These projects mostly aimed at providing representatives of the various ethnic groups among the deportees with the equal access to mass media in Ukraine and Crimea, and at disseminating reliable information on the process of the deportees' return and on the issues which arise in this connection. Among the successful projects in this area can be mentioned the publication of the bulletin "Crimean Tatar Issue" by the Crimean Center for Independent Political Researchers and Journalists. The bulletin covers the main events, connected with the deportees' return process, and it enjoys the significant popularity both in Crimea and outside the peninsula. And it is successfully published after the expiration of the project within the International Renaissance Foundation.

A significant element of building of the conflict-free multiethnic society is undoubtedly the knowledge of and mutual enrichment with the cultural achievements of the societies in Crimea and Ukraine. The lack of the information about the culture and historical development of either of the ethnic groups entails an inadequate attitude from representatives of other nationalities to such ethnic group, forms distorted and sometimes straightly negative cliches in regard of its role in the society. As a characteristic example can be the negative myth, created in the period of the Soviet Union existence, on a special role of Crimean Tatar people during the Great Patriotic War. At the same time, the society of Ukraine remains unaware of the real situation, as well as of the historical interrelations and the mutual contribution in formation of the cultures of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples. The initiatives, supported within the Program, are directed at mutual learning and enrichment of the cultures, and developing interethnic peace and mutual understanding on this base. Among the successful can be called the publication of Taras Shevchenko's works in Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian, the series of the issues “In Crimean Home”, the publication of the works by prominent Crimean Tatar cultural actors, creation of the documentary "Crimean Tatars" by the stage director V.Sperkach, and others. The project "Renovation of the Crimean Tatar Library", joint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, has become the most successful and remarkable. In the frameworks of the project, the renovation of the building and the equipment of Crimean Tatar Republican library named after Gasprynsky were accomplished. On the whole, 43 projects to the total amount of more than USD 194.000 were supported in this direction.

The project of renovation and equipment of Crimean Tatar library named after I. Gasprynsky, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, may be mentioned separately. The project was started in 1998, with the total funding of about USD 380.000. At present, the renovation of the library building has been completed, the library processes have been automated, and the work has been accomplished to additionally fill the library stocks, make copies of historical editions, and publish books by well-known actors of Crimean Tatar culture. This project was highly evaluated and supported by the general public of Crimea and by international organizations.

Taking into account the experience of the Program's activities and those progressive changes that are passing in the general strategy of the International Renaissance Foundation, accordingly, the directions of the civic activities have been amended, which will be supported by the Program in 2000. The terms of the competition within the Program were published in the mass media of Crimea in March 2000. According to them, besides the current directions, the support is strengthening in regard of educational initiatives and initiatives, directed at protecting civic rights and social interests with the efforts of civic organizations.

I am convinced that further on the Program, basing upon the support from Crimea's society will continue its possible contribution in helping the deported Crimean Tatars, in building a conflict-free, multiethnic society in Crimea and Ukraine on the whole.