INDEPENDENT WOMEN'S DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVE NEZHDI Voronezh The Independent Women's Democratic Initiative (NeZHDI) of Voronezh was registered by the Justice Administration of the Voronezh region in November 12, 1993. Its registration number is 303.

Address: Room 415, 8 Nikitinskaya Street, Voronezh, 394000, Russia.
Contact persons: Tarasova Ludmila, Chairwoman of project;
Telephone: 7 (0732) 52-23-70;
Fax: 7 (0732) 550-600, 551-444
e-mail: forvor@for.vrn. ru

Our organization - Independent Women's Democratic Initiative NeZHDI - is the first non-profit non-governmental women's group in Voronezh. There are more than 200 members of organization. Our organization cooperates with 28 public associations such as women's councils of all regions of Voronezh, association of mother with handicapped children, association "World through the culture", organization "Women in science and education", club "Health", regional association "Voronezh business women", the Committee of Soldier's Mothers etc.

The activity of Voronezh organization NeZHDI is following:

• our members participate in public-political "Round Table" acting at Region Council (Duma) as well as in Public Chamber with the Representative of the President in Voronezh region;
• we organized 4 women's Forums in Voronezh: the first one was connected with the condition of school education; the second was held on the problems of ecology, morality and health; on 2nd of December 1995 we held the conference on the results of IV Beijing Forum in order to work out the region platform of actions to improve the women's position in the Society; the last one was the Ecology Forum.
• we organized the town conference under the title: "Problems of cooperation of women's organizations and local power".

The goal of the conference is to put right the way of cooperation of administration body with non-governmental women's organizations. The conference shows that the way of cooperation must be more perfecting. We decided to have the second stage of the conference in September 1997;

• the firm "Selena" delivers special food for little children. It gave working places for 30 women;
• the school of family enterprising made already 3 graduating classes;
• the family club "Galateya" also works;
• free of charge juridical consultations for women are given once a week;
• women's courses were organized in Voronezh Universities under the title "The history of women's movement in Russia", students of the history faculty write special works devoted to women's movement. We organized the student's club "Sovremennica", a section of women's self-defense;
• we also have contact with the mass-media. Each month we give some information about our work on local radio and on TV. Articles in local newspapers concerning our activities are being published regularly;

We published few issues of the "Newsletter of Women's Movement" and we want to go on with it. Organization NeZHDI participates in NEWW On-line project since March 1995. The work with e-mail helps our women to exchange information with other organizations, to participate in international conferences and projects.

Our organization received the grant from the Ford Foundation in November 1996 for the goals of the creation of an Information Center of non-governmental women associations of Central-Chernozemny region.

We use the information of Informational Center for the following goals:

• to unite women's organizations of Voronezh and the region by the creating of unified informational space;
• consolidation of women's public organizations and movements to support the initiatives, which will provide the growth of the civil activity of women.

NeZHDI cooperates with Informational Centre of Independent Women Forum, supports the contacts with Moscow Center for Gender Studies and regional women organizations in St-Petersburg, Naberezhnye Chelny, Rostov, Saratov and so on.

Natalia Tkachova, coordinator of project