A Memorandum on Cooperation between the Administration of St.Petersburg and the ILO Office in Moscow was signed on June 30, 2000 during a visit of Jean-Victor Gruat, the Director of the ILO Office in Russia. At the ceremony in Smolny, the seat of the Administration, both sides expressed interest in developing and strengthening cooperation for implementing the programmes aimed at expanding employment opportunities for St. Petersburg’s population, at promoting social progress and improving living standards.

The purpose of the Memorandum is to create favourable conditions for cooperation between the City Administration and the ILO Moscow Office for an effective implementation of ILO projects in St. Petersburg. The city’s experience in implementing these projects will be very useful for other Russian regions. The number of programmes and projects carried out in St. Petersburg with the participation of the ILO Moscow Office has increased during the last year and a half. Among them are the project "Development of Modular Skill Training Programme in St. Petersburg", the programme "Street Children of St. Petersburg: From Exploitation to Education" and several others. National project managers are empowered, for the first time in ILO practice, to represent the ILO Moscow Office in its relations with the City Administration. These people form the ILO Technical Programme Service in St. Petersburg. The Service will ensure technical support and regular participation of the ILO in solving priority social and economic problems of the city. The Memorandum envisages regular consultations and other forms of contact between the parties.

"Youth on the Threshold of a New Millennium" was the name of the roundtable dedicated by UNICEF to the publication of the annual "Progress of Nations" report in July. It was attended by Rosemary McCreery, UNICEF Representative in the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus, Anatoly Karpov, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to Russia and world chess champion several times, and representatives of health care and educational institutions and non-governmental organisations.

The report presented an in-depth review of the progress achieved in the world during the past eight years in providing all children with an opportunity to live a dignified life. The publication aimed at relating the positive experience achieved in many countries through constructive and well-planned work with respect to children and, of course, at drawing attention to urgent and unsolved problems. The report focussed mainly on the HIV/AIDS problem. We have seen how HIV/AIDS became a disaster on the African continent, and how the number of HIV-infected young people in Russia increased so rapidly that it threatens development and stability.

It is not by accident that health and a healthy lifestyle of the Russian youth was discussed at the roundtable, convened under the auspices of UNICEF. The discussion opened with speeches by Rosemary McCreery and Anatoly Karpov.

The growth in the number of drug addicts in Russia could lead to an irreversibly high number of those infected by the HIV-virus in literally a few years. This essentially indicates the beginning of an epidemic in the country. And if ten years ago, specific measures were not taken in Africa, now, faced with the pitiful consequences of this delay, joint efforts should be made to take such steps as soon as possible.

Such debilitating phenomena as alcohol and smoking are just as dangerous "internal" foe for young people, capable of undermining the nation’s health.

According to a UNICEF study, the number of girl smokers in Russia has risen more than twofold in the past few years. For example, whereas in 1994, 5% of girls under the age of 15 smoked every day, four years later the figure is 14%. At present, the number of boy smokers under the age of 15 is 20%. Adolescent smoking was commented on by Galina Tkachenko, MM, head of the national anti-smoking campaign of the Russian Health Ministry.

A special research study of "bad habits" among young people was conducted in the Moscow Region. The results were, in the words of Gayane Tamazian, one of the originators of the study and Deputy Head of the Moscow Region’s Health Department, extremely pessimistic. Children start drinking and smoking right at home, and once out of home they have an almost unlimited access to drugs. Unfortunately, such temptations are by far stronger that prospects of a healthy lifestyle. Children play at alcohol, cigarettes and drugs, without realizing the terrible danger of these "toys."

The reports made at the roundtable showed that youth problems affect the whole of society today. Ignoring them means deliberately allowing the nation to die out. The only salvation is joining and coordinating efforts to reverse the situation that has developed in the country.

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Vital problems concerning today’s younger generation were also discussed at a three-day conference held by UNICEF under the Youth Health and Development Programme in Russia.

The conference was attended by delegates of almost 50 organisations, which cooperate with UNICEF and are professionally engaged in these issues in such cities as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, Barnaul, Novosibirsk, Tver, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Stavropol, and Ekaterinburg.

The situation in the Northern Caucasus remaining tense, UNICEF continues to give assistance to children and women IDPs.

Special summer schools for IDP children have been functioning all summer in Ingushetia, where almost 200,000 migrants have found temporary shelter. The schools were set up by the Ingushetian Ministry of Education and UNICEF.

Ingushetian Education Minister Sergei Chapanov says:

Before the hostilities in Chechnya, we had approximately 52,000 school-age children in the republic. Now another 16,000 children have joined their ranks. We have had to urgently reorganise all our schools. In many schools, children have to study in two shifts, and we have had to recruit teachers from among the IDPs. Thanks to UNICEF, we have been able to provide all the children with the necessary stationery and organise studies and recreation during the summer.

One of the summer camps is located in Nazran at high school No. 2. Every day, 80 children from impoverished and broken-up displaced families come here. The children have music, reading and drawing lessons and engage in sports. After lunch, all the children have an hour of sleep. UNICEF has provided the school with chess sets, badminton rackets, balls, nets, and other sporting equipment. Camp chief Liubov Malsagova says:

The children play to their hearts’ content. It is difficult to know what they are experiencing in their new place of residence. Often there is not enough food, but here we buy them fruit and sweets, and they can get a decent rest during the day. Thanks to UNICEF’s help, we have been able to organise everything properly.

Another 380 children between first and tenth grade study at a special camp school called Omega. Bella Khadkhimuradova, the English teacher and summer school principal, conducts a class in the fifth grade. Twelve-year-old Marietta Batueva is enthusiastically reciting some poetry. Marietta’s family are from Grozny. They came here on September 15 of last year, and lived for six months (all 13 of them) in a single room. Her older sister, Liana, was accepted at Chechen State University last year, but hardly attended any classes. Marietta would like to become a doctor, but she has a long way to go to realise her dream. At the moment, she would really rather stay at home, but her room was hit by an artillery shell that tore up the whole place, the walls and all.

Marietta’s diligent recital is followed by those wishing to show off their knowledge of English. The teacher says proudly how this class has only just begun learning English, but is showing such immense progress.

In the next tent, tenth graders are studying chemistry. Blackboard, chalk, formulas, all as it should be. In another tent, third graders are having a lesson under a special UNICEF mine awareness campaign programme. Two employees from a non-governmental organisation, Voice of the Mountains, are showing the children UNICEF posters which tell of possible anti-personnel mines lying around and how to avoid them. Such classes will be held in all grades.

The camp also has a special relaxation programme. The instructors show the children relaxation techniques and breathing exercises, and teach them how to relieve stress. They study both in the classroom and outside. The children enjoy these classes immensely.

There are 4,250 residents at the Bart temporary migrant camp. Natalia Zaitseva, a consultant of the Starlet Social and Psychological Rehabilitation Centre and graduate of Rostov State University’s Psychology Department, shows us two tables filled with children’s handwriting. The headings are simple, "What is Good in Life" and "What is Bad in Life."