Please become familiar with open e-communication – the new strategy of the International Renaissance Foundation.
The IRF provides for you to use its updated web site. By that the Foundation introduces a new form of open e-communication with representatives of public organizations and all interested citizens.

We, at the Foundation, call it strategic communication. Its essence is in critical enhancement of feedback between the Foundation and representatives of the public sector, in order to enhance impact on its activity on the part of civil society.

The principle of openness is one of the key ones in the activity of the International Renaissance Foundation. Today, this principle is already being implemented through involvement of a broad range of independent experts and public activists into the Executive Board and Program Boards of the IRF that actually make all grant decisions. The Foundation constantly runs open meetings in the regions of Ukraine, focus groups, public discussions of its program priorities and annual strategies with representatives of numerous non-governmental organizations. We regularly publish complete reports about financial contributions, granted to public initiatives.

The reports are published as a separate piece of information in mass media publications and are also placed on the web site of the IRF. In addition to their own independent position, very often our managers also make the position of the Foundation public when they act as experts at different public events, conducted by public organizations of the country. All these factors are elements of openness, but today all of that is not sufficient for development of public self-government in the country.

We strive for representatives of the civil society themselves to have the maximum impact on fair and reasonable distribution of the funds, provided to the Executive Board of the Renaissance Foundation by the Open Society Institute and its founder George Soros and also by other respected donors for development of the open society in Ukraine. Ideally, any funds, targeted by donors or philanthropists for the needs of civil society, have to be distributed with the broadest participation of the citizens themselves.

The new site of the IRF is one more step towards this goal. Open e-communication through the updated web site is an opportunity for you to:

• express your opinion on any projects, supported by the Foundation;
• share your proposals and opinions on our program strategies;
• receive statistical information, in real time mode, about the number of submitted and supported projects, including per regional basis;
• become familiar with the results of implemented projects, implement and disseminate best practices, including with the help of application of the newest media.

Journalists are invited to the Press Center that provides announcements of press events, news, and contact information of the Public Relations Department and information about representatives of the Foundation for press inquiries.

The updated web site is just a first step in implementation of the new strategy of the Foundation, the strategy of open e-communication. The Foundation is preparing many other new forms of cooperation as well. Please follow our news.

We invite everyone to participate in open e-communication and joint determination of vectors for development of the civil society in Ukraine.

Dear journalists and public reporters, interested in covering current events of the civil society of Ukraine,

We invite you to follow the news of the International Renaissance Foundation and the announcements of events, organized by the Programs of the Foundation and public organizations that carry out projects under the support of the Foundation all over Ukraine.

Please refer to experts of the Foundation for comments about the experience of operation of the programs of the International Renaissance Foundation under different directions:

• public control over authorities;
• implementation of electronic forms of communication with government institutions;
• provision of public protection of rights and establishment of rule of law; conducting of judicial and penitentiary reforms;
• development of European integration;
• establishment of freedom of speech and information;
• development of independent and professional media;
• provision of public activity of national minorities and tolerance in interethnic relations;
• reforming of the education system and health care system;
• support of the Ukrainian book publishing and other areas.

Please send your request for information and your questions to experts of the Foundation to Public Relations Department of the International Renaissance Foundation at the following contact information: pr@irf.kiev.ua; tel: +380 (44) 461 95 00 , 13-a, Bekhterevsky Lane, room 1, Kyiv.