The World Bank, in partnership with the Open Society Institute-Assistance Foundation (OSI-AF) and Eurasia Foundation announces the results of the Small Grants Program Competition for Municipal Development in Azerbaijan

BAKU, May 21, 2004 - Ten local nongovernmental organizations have been awarded grants in total amount of $100,000 under a Small Grants Program jointly funded by the World Bank, OSI-AF and Eurasia Foundation. Overall, 97 organizations officially registered in Azerbaijan have participated in the competition, all non-profit and non-governmental organizations.

The main purpose of this joint initiative is to support efforts in enhancing civic engagement and empowering citizens to have greater ownership of their community’s development processes, thereby making these processes more inclusive and equitable.  Developing the capacity of local municipalities to effectively deliver services to their communities is a major focus of this program. Along with strengthening relationships between municipalities and local communities, the program also supports greater interaction between businesses, government structures and other community stakeholders.

After a careful review of submitted proposals by the joint selection committee, the following organizations and projects have been selected to participate in the program:

Towards Civil Society  to conduct an expert analysis of recently established legislative acts for local self-government institutions

Young Accountants Union   to improve the financial, budgeting and accounting capacity of municipality members in Nabran, Khachmaz and Guba

Sumgayit Students Union to promote increased cooperation between municipalities and NGOs in Sumgayit

Azerbaijan-American Youth Social Association to encourage greater student participation in their local self-government processes

Care for Children to improve the collaboration between government organizations and community members in addressing their development needs

Independent Trade Union Committee of BSU Students to introduce municipality and NGO leaders to the benefits of volunteerism in Baku, Ganja and Mingechevir

Human Rights and For the Sake of Civil Society (union) to support the enhanced management and transparency of municipal elections Mingechevir

Origami to introduce new mechanisms for artistic expression to visually impaired children

215 KL Independent TV Company to encourage increased public knowledge about the casual labor market in Azerbaijan

Human and Health Organization, Public Association for Cultural and Social Development of Youth to support the development of communities negatively affected by iodine production.

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Open Society Institute - Assistance Foundation (OSI-AF)/ Azerbaijan is a branch of the Open Society Foundation Network  established by famous investor and philanthropist George Soros in over 50 countries.  The main goal of OSI-AF is to foster transition of closed society to more open one.  Since its establishment in the country in 1996, the Foundation has encouraged the development of the third sector by awarding grants and also through operational activity to support civic initiatives in education reforms, communication technologies, human rights and rule of law, mass media, public health, gender equality and arts and culture.  Responding to new challenges of the country development, OSI-AF has recently concentrated on increasing civil society involvement in democratization process, good governance and transparency of national resources.

The Eurasia Foundation is a privately-managed institution that receives significant funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with additional support from other governments, foundations, corporations, and individuals.  Since its establishment in 1993, the Eurasia Foundation has worked to promote the development of democratic and free-market institutions through its small grants program that responds quickly and flexibly to the needs of local organizations. The Eurasia Foundation has made over 7,000 grants totaling more than $140 million to support democratic and economic reform in the former Soviet Union.