International Ties

Vires unitae agunt
Powers act together

International Ties of the Civic Chamber
Participation in the Work of International Organizations

2006 – The Civic Chamber joined the International Association of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions (AICESIS);
It established direct bilateral relations and exchanged delegations with similar institutions in:
China, France, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, Algeria, Brazil and Ukraine, as well as with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC);
The Civic Chamber participated in:
–    General Assemblies and international meetings of the AICESIS (2006-2009);
–    an international workshop of the AICESIS Working Commission for Energy and Development (Rio de Janeiro, February 26-28, 2008);
–    the International Summer School organized by the AICESIS, whose topic was “Economic and Social Councils in a globalizing world” (Noordwijk, August 16-22, 2009);
Jointly with the EESC, the Civic Chamber organized:
–    the workshop “European and Global Energy Security” (Moscow, June 30, 2008);
–    the workshop “Involving Civil Society in the EU-Russia Relations” (Brussels, October 14-15, 2009).
–     The Civic Chamber interacts with the UN and the Arctic Council;
–    Members of the Civic Chamber take an active part in OSCE meetings on human rights, tolerance and human dimension;
–    The Chamber cooperates with the Council of Europe on issues of civil liberties, youth rights and tolerance.

The Chamber has cooperation agreements with:
–    the European Economic and Social Committee (2008),
–    the Civic Chamber at the Majilis, the lower house of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2008),
–    the National Tripartite Social and Economic Council under the President of Ukraine (2009),
–    the Civic Chamber of the Republic of Abkhazia (2009),
–    the Economic and Social Council of China (2009),
–    the Economic and Social Development Council of Brazil (2009).


The Organization of Expert Dialogue
The Chamber is the organizer and/or co-organizer of permanent Track II negotiating platforms:
–    expert conferences of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China);
–    business and public conferences of Asia-Pacific countries;
–    the Russia-India Discussion Forum;
–    the Russia-Arab World Forum.


Significant Events Held by the Chamber in 2008-2009

–    A meeting of the Civic Chamber members with representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Moscow, April 23, 2008);
–    A series of international workshops and meetings with the topic “The War in South Ossetia Through the Eyes of Eyewitnesses” (Moscow, Berlin, Strasbourg, August-September 2008);
–    A visit by Chamber members to Strasbourg to attend a session of the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organizations of the Council of Europe (September 29-October 4, 2008);
–    The conference “Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC)” (Moscow, December 8-9, 2008);
–    The 3rd Public Diplomacy Forum (Moscow, December 15, 2008);
–    The Russia-Arab World Forum (Moscow, December 22, 2008);
–    A round-table meeting with the topic “Russia in Interaction with International and Regional Organizations in the Asia-Pacific Region: Problems and Prospects” (Moscow, March 18, 2009);
–    A visit by a Chamber delegation to Germany (Berlin, May 18-20, 2009);
–    Hearings on the development of Russian-U.S. relations (Moscow, July 3, 2009);
–    A working trip by members of the Civic Chamber to study the Indonesian experience of interaction between government institutions and NGOs in the field of social security of the population (Indonesia, September 19-26, 2009);
–    A round-table meeting with the topic “The UN and Civil Society in the Russian Federation: Opportunities and Prospects for Cooperation and Interaction” (Moscow, September 21, 2009);
–    The Discussion Forum “Russia – India: Prospects for Interaction in a Multipolar World” (Moscow, October 5-6, 2009).


Participation in International Events in 2009

–    The fourth session of the Universal Periodic Review Working Group of the UN Human Rights Council;
–    The International Conference on Anti-Semitism;
–    The 11th World Congress of the Russian Press;
–    The international workshop “The Earth Charter and Ecosystem Services”;
–    The round-table meeting “The Shanghai Discourse: SCO in Modern Civilization”;
–    The 14th OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw;
–    The awarding ceremony of the international children’s drawing contest “Colors of the Earth”;
–    The conference of anti-fascist movements “Future without Nazism”.