24 Greencoat Place, London., SW1P 1RD, UKtel: 020-7798 6000, www.f-4-f.org , F4F@london.mra.org.uk Issue 29 May 2003 ! "#$ % & ' % % ( ) '& * + ,- # * $$ . /0 1 2 % & % 3& *

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It happened! The biggest event of the year! So far?! Having been on the verge of cancellation due to the finan- cial problems, having been through tough discussions on how and what it should be, through misunderstandings and a lot of questions – it survived and proved to be one of the most significant Regional Meetings we ever had (A special Regional Meeting 2003 Report is available on re- quest).

Founda- tions 4 Free- dom is 10 years old and spring 2003 has been the busiest time ever! From courses in Latvia, Roma- nia and Moldova to follow-up vis- its to Novosibirsk, Ukraine, Estonia, Moldova, Serbia and Lithuania to Regional Meet- ing in Lviv – it was all happening al- most at the same time!

So, how was this Regional Meeting any different from any previous one? Well, first of all, it’s been the first time the Lviv team hosted such an event. Sur- rounded by beautiful Carpathian moun- tains, it’s been a special place that welcomed us all as a small community. And we would like to thank Lviv for all of the preparations and organisation they had to go through. It was well done! Hopefully this will be a really

bonding experience for the team there.

One of the evaluation sheets says

that someone ‘learnt more about realis- tic F4F and about the gap between “what is“ and “what could

be”.’ Most people agree that this RM was productive. We have even

produced a Resolution that underlined the importance of

informal communication, interregional and inter- team care and support as well as draw- ing attention to the

fact that in order for all of us to work efficiently and successfully we

have to exchange ex pe ri en ce , ideas and peo- ple (training of personnel) and interregional / inter-team fi- nancing

and fundraising.

This is all good. But this is all diffi- cult.The Regional

Meeting gave people a special chance to meet in different groups to discuss how they could co-operate – orphanage project, anti-bribery/anti-corruption, schools program, Young Politicians Fo- rum, F4F web-site and others.

But on a more general note, this Regional Meeting was such a valuable lesson and experience on how to and how not to co-operate – this especially ap- plies to the preparation period. It showed how different we are, but also that there is something that unites us. And we were trying to focus on the lat- ter.So, the foundation is laid and a common ground is set, now it’s time for action!

My association with Foundations 4

Freedom is a strange one. Some might say I have been involved with it since its inception, being that I am Erik Andren’s son. I also share a house with Nick Foster who is deeply involved with all aspects of F4F. Whilst this assumption may be true, I have only recently cometo emotionally

televisions etc. But the one thing that came to me clearly without even thinking too much it, was that when it comes down to it, objects are just objects and that work was just work. I couldn’t answer the question “What are you achieving?” in any meaningful way.

I thought that helping to facili- tate a changing course would be an

believe that I am involved. Up until then, it was always ei-ther something

interesting diversion, and maybe give me some insights. What I found was much more. I assumed that the con- tent of the course would be what changed me, if anything would, but

that “Dad did” or something that Nick and Dad were working on. So why then have I just announced to my company that I would like them to give me a 6-month sabbatical so that I can work with F4F more?

Many would view this as a CLM (Ca- reer Limiting Move) and as financial suicide. Realistically, all I have done is to help facilitate one changing course in Novosibirsk in October 2002, and been on one follow up visit in April of this year, yet I am proposing to give up work,

finance and possibly stability…WHY???

Answering this question has been a struggle and the an-swer is not short! Last year, I was at a point where

my heart waslooking forsomething. I

have been working for6 years since uni- versity, and have done all the things that one would put on a usual societal list of accepted norms. I have had a number of jobs, I have increased my

re- sponsibilities, and my

earnings, and purchased all the usual accoutrements of comfortable liv- ing; houses, cars,

it wasn’t. I realised that a lot of the thought was not new to me, as it was part of my upbringing…strangely enough having been initially developed by my Father!

What changed in me was a result of enlightenment and Luff. I watched peo- ples hearts and minds change, and found mine changing too. The Luff, is a term coined on the course in October, which describes the love, support and spir- itual togetherness of the group as a whole, but not just when working to- gether towards the same goal. It seemed to start on the course, but has been almost visible throughout my interac-

tions with the participants since then. I realised also that I was on the same journey of discovery as I was attempting to encourage in the participants to take, that I had gained from them as much as I hoped they had gained from me, and that as a result, there isn’t a possibility of “teachers and pupils”. It just can’t work like that when dealing with heart/ spirit based issues. No one person has the answers. I

feel now that a facilitator’s remit cannot be to teach, but to offer insight and inspiration with no expectation.

Finding that I was walking with the participants and feeling the Luff has meant that my heart is involved, which is new to me. It also means that what I had to offer is not what I thought I had to offer. My belief is that the Changing Course is only a seed. If it starts the growth of personal investi- gation, my responsibilities are only starting. I have a responsibility to the participants to be available to join them on their journey, if they want me to, for as long or as short a period as required. It was the strongest feeling of the course for me, that to be part of the initiation of a personal investiga- tion and then to walk away was wrong. I would be arrogant to feel that I can be

“a teacher”. I can offer only what I

have to share, if it is asked for. In response to this feeling I write a weekly e-mail to anyone who asks to see it. It

contains my shared thoughts from any R&D time that I have had during the week. There is no requirement to receive, read or even respond. Curiously, this com- mitment has also forced me to continue my journey, which has been very benefi- cial to me.

In addition to the spiritual stimu- lation and love that I found, it came as a surprise that my practical skills were also something that I could give. Previ- ous participants had formed a Non-Gov- ernmental Organisation called YHI (Youth Humanitarian Initiative), and as a re- sult of the October course, many more people wanted to participate. Nick, Gabrijela and I were able to spend three or four hectic days working on really practical things such as mission state- ments, planning, and objectives with YHI. I think that watching the Luff, enthusi- asm and heart being applied by YHI in such a practical way was really the start of my realisation that the work that I was doing felt non-substantive. I could see the practical side of work that I knew so well, being married to a will to do something greater than just working. This contrast has remained with me since then.

So, to answer the why question, tak- ing this 6-month sabbatical has

a number of objectives for me. Iwant to be more available to freely give either my heart or my hands to any that might want them. It will also allow me to fur- ther investigate what I am called by my heart to do, as I know that I cannot just work for work’s sake any longer. I do not know what will happen, but I hope that at the end of it, I will have been able to give of myself and also be closer to answering my heart when it asks

“What are you achieving?” If I am really lucky, I might

also work on “Who am I?”, “What do I believe in?” and “What is my life

about?” Fingers crossed.

(Part II or Terrible reefs and A Happy Jazz

Spririt...)Every morning the inhabitants of

the Community ‘Chaos’ burst into reality, thinking non-stop and searching for dif- ferent (by its nature and logical struc- ture) solutions and decisions on cur- rent troubles in their lives, most fre- quently created by themselves.

The number of people living in the House has increased to one more brave person, who is Jean Reno – one of the members of the band, where Vlad plays, his friend and ‘comrade’.

Friends say that we fight for ‘per- sonal freedom’ living this way – living s e p a - r a t e l y from our r e l a - t i v e s and hav- ing cre- a t e d this mi- cro-com- munity. However we think that at this mo- ment in o u r l i v e s this is the only way to d e f i n e what’s inside of our values and to try to show the right example to others.

Well, let’s just leave the theory and talk about practice! Every day in the House starts with an alarm clock bell that becomes the start of our own day (no matter how unbelievable it sounds!). For some it’s a brand new day, but for others it’s just another day! We live in the same house, cook together, eat together, argue with each other and every minute becomes a close personal contact and exchange of experience.

For us a real challenge is the eve- ryday conflicts (and soon you’ll under- stand that this becomes the cause of

spiritual differences), such as a moun- tain of abandoned dirty dishes in the kitchen, for example. You could think‘what a small thing that is!’ However when you get back home from work having stroked a cat on the way (who is almost a full member of the Community House) you would like to wash your hands! But there’s only one wash-stand in the house. And if it’s full of dirty dishes, what do you do then?

Experience showed that even a cer- tain agreement on keeping the kitchen area tidy and dirty dishes

free doesn’t a l w a y swork. But not every- thing is that bad b e c a u s e it’s the Community House that has to be an example for the wandering Moldova n society!You can

feel that the atmos- p h e r e within the House has c h a n g e d

since a new member joined us and spring came. With a new enthusiasm the Commu- nity House trio makes new rules and crea- tively tries to solve ‘dangerous’ trou- bles of daily life, which, like a reef, are capable of ruining a small boat that HAS to become an Ark!

We would like to say that, if you have any experience to share, comments or advice for us, then don’t hesitate to write to us.

Truly yours,Vlad Oleatovschi, Vitalie Cracan andJenea Kubovschi as House-Spirits.

F1RST 1

The first Romanian F4F course took place on 1-10 May near Baia Mare in the North Western part of Romania. The course was invited by 2 Romanians, who had at- tended the F4F teachers’ seminar in West Ukraine a year ago. Most of the 28 par- ticipants were teachers, others were University students or in jobs. 3 par- ticipants came from Moldova, one from Crimea. Also the Faculty was rather mixed in age, experience and nationality: Dutch, Latvian, Czech-American, Crimean and Moldovan. The venue was a resort in a small village, Ocna Sugatag, where daily a lot of mainlyolder people came for medi- cal treatment and a bath in special min- eral water.

A special happening was the Orthodox baptism of 2 participants on the last Friday of the course. They had been thinking about this important step already for some time and came to the c o n c l u s i o n that inthe atmosphere of this course, the presenceof Father Milan as a fine friend/priest and many new friends, this was the right moment. The baptism in the small wooden church was a very special occasion for all, but especially for Father Milan and his colleague from the village, who to- gether conducted the service, assisted by Marina, who is a

minister from the liberal Dutch Mennonite church.

Well, this is what the participants have to say about the course itself:

Flavia Cadar: “The course we hadin Ocna was very complex. We had a chance

to meet new people from different cul- tures, with different

backgrounds and exchange ideas and opinions. It was a course of

building self-confidence, moral values, civic conscience and of

build- ing a team. These processes are still in progress, as our team

is developing. Some of us decided to get involved in YMCA’s projects,

since most were already vol- unteers there, we see each other at least three times a week in formal and

espe- cially informal meetings and we enjoy each other’s company. I

hope that this is only the beginning and future projects will develop

in Baia Mare and in Roma- nia in gen- eral.”M a r i

a Ungurean: “This course was not only interesting, but

also

useful, from many points of view. First, be- cause we had the opportu- nity to meet very inter- esting peo- ple from different countries and cul- tures. It was useful

because we had an opportunity to do some- thing for ourselves and others, espe- cially for those who need it. Personally I really enjoyed the R&D sessions, the teamwork, the values and everything. I hope this was just the beginning, and we’ll have the opportunity to meet again and to continue...”

Iulia Dan: “Those ten days were interesting and helpful for all of us. We enjoyed the topics and the way the discussions were held, because in thatway we could know everybody better and

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we were able to find different opinions, which helped us understand others, and in the same time we could understand ourselves better. We had time to think about ourselves because in everyday life we don’t have so much time for us. We also learnt to see man from different perspectives, to understand which are the basics of being human, we learnt to set our priorities in life, etc.”

Olga Ghilca: “We were given some hints, suggestions and we were the ones to choose what is RIGHT and what is WRONG for us. These were not lessons at school where the teacher says what you have to do and how you have to do it. I discovered some things that I have al- ready known, but I never really had time to think about them and to systemise them. Maybe this course raised more ques- tions for me than it answered. And even now, after all, when I’m trying to find some answers, I just find new questions. Maybe it’s not bad, I’m not sure.

Our sessions discussed such topics as “Basics Of Being Human”, “Freedom”, “Who Am I?”, “Moral Values”, “Silence”, “Public Speaking”, etc. It was funny to talk about silence in not a silent way at all, and for me it was a real experi- ence to be able “to hear” this silence at the end of the course, at the last session, when we were standing in a cir- cle, holding our hands and thinking about what changed inside and outside us dur- ing these ten days. You really could “hear” silence during these moments and it was very exciting. It was a very strange feeling, I hope not only for me.

And of course, I have to mention one of the greatest moments - our R&D times. I remember how much I hated to wake up each morning at 7.30 and to be in the library (where usually our ses- sions were held) at 8.15, but at the same time after that it was such an inner pleasure to see how sincere were you and people from your R&D group, al-

though we were strangers one to another before that, and now I realise that I didn’t have a doubt about revealing them all I was thinking about at that moment (although I could not do it), because everything I said would remain in that$

room. I wanted to believe that confi- dence that we were talking about during our sessions wasn’t just a word that sounded well.

It was also funny to see how the faculty was trying to wake us up with the help of an icebreaker each time we were sleepy after a night without any sleep or after a lunch when everybody was dreaming only about hugging his soft bed. It was also exciting to see how interested were adult people about some childish games and how they wanted to get involved into them. There were no ages and although I was one of the young- est, I didn’t feel that at all. You could talk in the same way with a 19 year-old youth or with a 65 year-old adult without being afraid that he wouldn’t understand you. I think it was the first time when I really felt that people who are older than me have simi- lar thoughts with me.

So the purpose of this course was achieved for me and not only for me. I was not sure whether people would take anything useful for them from that course, and there were some moments, some words and some deeds that proved they really changed something inside, maybe very little, but very important at the same time. As for me, although now I’m not so enthusiastic as when I came home two weeks ago when I thought that from now on everything would be great. I would change everything. Now I fell down from sky to earth again, but I think about a lot of things differently, I think in a better way and I’m sure one day I will feel the results. I try to be optimis- tic, although I never was so. That’s also a change!”

Earlier in the spring mony CN (New Civilization) members had an idea of or- ganizing a Visiting Course, which would lift the spirit of the group and help us shape the direction of our further de- velopment. Most of us agreed to this and we proceeded towards the organization of the event. Since the beginning it was important to us that we acknowledge all the changes that occurred in CN struc- ture and that everyone has an idea con- cerning the current situation of the NGO and its members. Also it was very impor- tant that each person would express her/ his opinion on the issues that should have been tackled on the course. Of course, each participant had an indi- vidual vision of the VC topics, but they all crossed in the opinion that we have to use this period to work upon our problems approaching them constructively and also upon ourselves in order to de- termine how we individually can contrib- ute to the group.

I had a strong feeling that the course started when the first part of the faculty stepped on Moldovan land at the airport. One of the faculty members had some visa problems and we had to give a good teamwork example straight away, concentrating our efforts and en- ergy on solving this problem.

We were also very glad to meet Stanley Kiaer, whose spiritual input given as Bible studies and individual discussions with the members of the group was very helpful for group spirit consolidation.

The course took place during the period 16-19 May, in a summer resort called “Floricica” (the Flower). Despite some unforeseen organizational “sur- prises” that caused a slight delay, the general spirit was positive, open and work oriented. It was a period of 4 days, when each of us had the opportu- nity to give time and define their goals, actions and initiatives

of the past, present and future. It was an occasion, where everyone could share his or her problems and observations, concerning our group. With the help of the faculty (Nick

Foster, Gabrijela Leovic, Nigel Heywood, Bhavesh Patel), we managed to find our path through constructive criticism and establish healthy ground for further group/community development. We also used this period to strengthen our community spirit and evolve more on inter-rela- tional and trust building level.

I received one more confirmation to an idea I have read somewhere - that if you have strong conviction that some- thing is right and necessary to be done then all the forces of the universe will conspire to make it happen. This is how I explain the unexpected help arriving in the last preparation day from the mother of one of the participants, who offered to help us cooking the meals for us.

I would give a special gratitude to our friends from abroad who have been caring, thinking and praying for us making the VC idea happen, as well as to the F4F and the faculty whofaced the challenge to come so far and meet us all with so much openness and understanding. I think the friendship we established is one of the most pre- cious assets that we got.

Many of those who have played

Red & Blue remember how frustrated they felt while playing the first round. How hard it was to predict the decision of com- petitors and how afraid they were to make the wrong decision and lose it all afterwards! And how amazed they were when realised these very simple, but main principles: 1) the “team” is not only the people playing in your group – we all are the “team”; 2) trust is essen- tial in any relations; 3) sometimes it’s worth taking risk of losing everything in

order to establish the trust and get the common good; 4) we need to communi- cate to find the common solution and achieve the goal.

Lately I have started to think how

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appropriate this game is for explaining our own lives. And the only reason for that was the sudden feeling that this was always just a game for me (a very interesting and breathtaking game though) and every time it was played - it was later left there, in the walls of the room full of emotions, disappointment, joyfulness and enlightenment… But ordinary day-to-day life went on, not really recalling the game anymore. Until the next time it was played…

This was just a prelude to the story I want to share with you. And it’s not based on the reflection on how important the principles of the game are in our professional and private lives out there. Or might it be so?

2003 is a special year for the Latvian team. It is special just because this team started to take a shape and have included new and inspired people willing to contribute to the activity. This is a special year also because these young people have started to develop an idea (which took over the hearts and minds of older “F4F generation” for the whole year then) into the form of the course, able to introduce the participants with common values and principles, shared by IC commu- nity. And to integrate these into discussion of the most painful Latvian problem– the relations between different ethnic groups.

A dialogue only happens, when both sides have met and got to know each other. A dialogue only starts, if both sides desire so. Every dialogue continues, if both sides have an interest in what the other has to say. And finally, every dialogue gives a result, if both of the sides have developed respect towards each other’s views and arguments.

We live in a culturally diverse society, in a very small state - there are only 2.5 million Latvians – not even the size of Kiev population. But in this small state we don’t know each other so well that we could start communicating or have a proper dialogue on the issues that worry us the most. This gap in communication has led to creation of certain stereotypes people recall while meeting indi- viduals of different ethnicity or culture and judgements upon these people in the framework of certain stereotypes. I won’t repeat these stereotypes now – there is no use in doing so – but what I was willing to say is that WE NEED TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER IN ORDER TO BREAK THE WALL AND START TALKING!

That was the beginning of an IDEA, which later on have resulted in a joint course, which consisted of 7 days of the VC lead by F4F faculty followed by 3 days of “Cross-cultural dialogue” lead by Latvian team.

Many of the course reports I have read tell about the course itself. I will not talk that much on the inspiring place – Karosta – where the course took place. Not on these in-

credible feeling of enthusiasm and inspiration (or as our Novosibirsk friends call it – “luff”) shared by the majority of participants. Neither about the sincere and emotional discussions, unforgettable moments of informal part of

the course. None, who was not there, could really understand or feel it. I would rather like to touch upon the period just before these wonderful things happened – the part of process not always enjoyed, a period, bringing mental pain and spiritual rise and fall, a period of decision-making and carrying responsibility for every decision you havemade.

As in the book of P. Gundersen “Incorrigibly Independent” Estonian entrepre-

&

neurs asked to share the mistakes, I want to share a bit on the challenges and lessons we have got while preparing and then analysing the course…. Not that I want to com- plain – I just want to share them.

“Cross-cultural Dialogue” (as we name this course) - was one big challenge for the new and inexperienced team, as we were. We had a vi- sion, but didn’t have enough practical knowl- edge to realise this vi-

sion into concrete results. In our professional lives we all had rich experience in developing, managing and sustaining the projects. But this was a different, very different matter. And the first important challenge was to learn how to work with each other as the team. We only knew that we must start the dialogue between young generations inheriting the society and social system the previous genera- tions have developed. If they don’t, nothing would really move on…

So, the team decided to bring 20 young and active people from various Latvian Youth NGOs, of different age and different ethnic background together for 10 days at the seminar “Values, Identity and Possibilities for Cross-cultural Dialogue” and see where it leads us. It was rather a big challenge for they as well could have serious fights over such emotional and personal issues as ethnic identity, integration, stereotypes and future of Latvian society. We realised that every misinterpreted word and step could increase the gap between them and deepen their stereotypes and intolerance.

It was also important to create an informal atmosphere able to initiate open and sincere discussions. We were wondering how we could motivate them to discuss the inter- and intra-personal relationships, not the big politics played in Government and Parliament. How can we suppose and reason the fact that integration starts on the level of each individual communicating with another culture? That it’s not the task of Government, but rather the task of the whole society. How can we address the importance of personal intelligence, moral values and principles they share?

In short, it was a very difficult task to integrate these two parts into one, not breaking the logical chain and motivate the participants to apply these criteria to their personal inter-ethnic experience. We were uncertain whether we should do it and whether this is possible at all.

Now, looking back, we can say it was successful. Did it reach the goals we have stated? Overall, yes. And the feedback from participants proves it. Many of those have become good friends. Some have changed their perception of another culture through getting to know each other more and realising the similarities we all share. However, we are quite sure that it has to be improved. Whether we wanted it or not, it has stumbled on the role of political questions. Although we tried to escape it, the politics do influence our thinking, and provide different history and understanding for every side involved. But these histories may never overlap and may never create one common history, shared by everybody.

And then - the participants themselves. You may not even imagine how diffi-

cult it was to conduct a more or less ethnically balanced group. The majority of

'

those who replied to our invitation were Latvians and it seemed that Rus- sian or other young leaders were not that much interested. It might be, that overall sceptical attitude to- wards such discussions had played its role. The common marginality of ethnic minorities (as well typical for a major part of the younger gen- eration) and lack of belief that the one can change the situation made them apathetic. It turned out to be a complicated task to get them par- ticipating, just hoping that this participation can inspire them aswell. It did. And the faculty did it best to make them interested and motivate them be involved not to stay apart and observe how life is changing around them. We now see it every day in our relationships with participants – happily, we all have stayed in touch.

When the contents and participant group were almost ready, we faced one of the most complicated problems for every project team – financial support. Apart from the help from F4F, we were still waiting for the reply from Netherlands Embassy. We were waiting. The time of the course was very close, but the Embassy was silent. That was the moment of this spiritual fall. We have realised that people on both sides have put their trust in us and are expecting this event. The feeling that we can fail their trust and belief was the most unpleasant one. It was the time of reflection, of taking responsibility for the decisions we have made before and carrying the consequences we may have produced by a possible back out. It was the time when we realised that “team” was not just ‘us’, developing this project, but also the faculty and future participants, waiting for our final decision.

We could risk giving a green light to the course, but then later realise we didn’t have enough support, or back out and disillusion many people. It was a test of our faith and beliefs… The decision was made and it was incredible how the problems were resolved. Right after the “green light” decision, the Embassy approved our project and has provided us with needed amount. However, we have learnt two important lessons here: 1) Never give up your beliefs and your hope! but 2) Try to sort out financial questions on time so as not to go through tough times afterwards!

The course did take place. And it was inspiring in many ways. It has given us the belief that this young generation of future leaders is open to many things. And the contents of this information depend only on the conscience of those who will fill them in; who will let the information flow into their open minds.

In addition, “Cross-cultural Dialogue” has brought new people willing to apply their knowledge and skills in the group’s activity, which has broadened our perspectives. And everyday we wonder whether it all really turned out so success- fully? And in our daily life we rarely come back to the time of preparation, although always try to learn the lessons we have got out of it. We are improving the course together with those participating, and hope that together with F4F we will be able to develop a model applicable in different regions. And last, but certainly not least, we have found so many new friends, got much inspiration and found a new vision.

And if after it all, someone says that Red & Blue principles are created for the “game”, I start to doubt it very much…

(

Ukraine: Revisited (by Miles and Janet Paine)The foundation for today’s

concepts of democratic freedom and justice in England can be traced back to the year1215. A group of 25 barons and religious leaders confronted the ruthless King John on an island in the Thames named Runnymede with a charter of demands. The King grudg- ingly accepted but then went back on his word. Two years later following a civil war and some redrafting, the King again assented. Magna Carta, the docu- ment’s name, now forms the basis of Eng- lish law. Four of the 40 original copies of the document have survived. Its clauses were incorporated in the Bill of Rights of the United States of America five and a half centuries later.

It was seeing one of these original Charters recently in Salisbury Cathe- dral that emphasised for me the power of a group of friends to change the moral climate in a country. Time and again it has been shown in history that change in a nation can be brought about by ordi- nary people, starting with a group of friends whose God-inspired unity, pas- sion and commitment provide such an in- fectious spirit that others are readily attracted to join.

Reading the report on the Regional

Meeting it struck us that those who met were just such a group of friends who could pro- vide the basis for far- reaching change in the whole of Eastern Eu- rope. It was with this vision that we visited Ukraine in March/April for a fortnight. Most of our time was spent in Kiev, but we also paid a brief visit to Kharkiv, our

first, where we renewed our

friendship with Dr Olena Borysova, a Uni- versity lecturer on environmental matters whom we met first when she came to study for a higher degree at Man-

chester University some 8 years ago. In Kharkiv we also met Iryna Yoshchenko who has just completed her studies and has been to Caux to help look after the chil- dren there in the summer. Incidentally we were very impressed by the newly in- troduced fast train (5 hours) between Kiev and Kharkiv, which in our view ex- ceeded the comfort of anything similar found in the west.

Ukraine was one of the first coun- tries to invite an F4F Visiting Course 7 years ago. There are now active groups in L’viv and Crimea. But although there are many in Kiev who have been to Caux, or had contact with F4F, there is not yet any recognisable team as such. The aim of our visit was to meet a number of these individuals and where possible con- nect them with each other. For our days there we were fortunate in being joined by Vlad Oleatovschi, one of the Moldovan team, to strengthen the cross-border con- nections and help us with Russian trans- lation when necessary.

Many will know Vlad Devakov from a number of visits he and his family have made to Caux, initially as translator and later as active participant. As the result of a job change, he and his fam-

ily have recently moved to Kiev from Kherson. They were keen to get to know others in the capital, who have had contact with F4F/IC over the years and we were able to introduce them to some.

Two recent F4F courses were arranged by Kostyantyn Ploskyy, Chairman of the Kyiv Centre for Political Education. Kostya and Anna Borzakovska warmly welcomed us in their office where we were able to discuss plans for the Young Politicians’ Forum to be held in July at Caux - the second in the series.

In all we were able to meet about 20 politicians, academics, students and those in a variety of jobs. With them we explored possible Caux participation, and upcoming F4F plans.

Next autumn Ukrainians will go the polls to elect their President (provided the constitution is not amended in the meantime). Opposition parties are active. If they are successful much will depend on the extent to which they prove to be a true group of friends and the extent to which they live and apply a moral yardstickthemselves and to all their policies.

F4F Diary

19 July - F4F Committee Meeting

2 July-17 August - A series of interna- tional conferences “From conflict to com- munity in the global home” including “Partnerships in Service, Responsibil- ity and Leadership” - 2-9 July(Caux, Switzerland)

This was the biggest issue of the F4F newsletter ever! And there could have been many more articles in this issue covering other events, which were not mentioned here. But maybe it was a good thing to stop here. You might have no- ticed that unlike previous two issues this one didn’t have ‘Meet the family’ column, but it is to re-appear in the next issue, which will be mostly dedi- cated to Caux conferences.

Also there was a suggestion that we could have a column, where people would express their opinions, feelings and thoughts on any subject as a sort of an open tribune. If this sounds good to you, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Have a good summertime!

Dear Reader,

We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to making this issue of the F4F Newsletter. If you think that some- one else you know should get this news- letter or if you have any suggestions, please contact the editor Oleg Ermurati at oleg@london.iofc.org . Thank you.

News from the Treasurer...

Right now, the F4F Treasurer’s mind is full of gratitude on the one hand, and hopes and prayers on the other - which is how Treasurers’ minds, often, are!

Today’s gratitude is for some wonderful contributions from individuals, includ- ing the gift that helped so much with the Regional Meeting in Lviv, and for a grant of £11,460 from the Karl Popper Foundation in Switzerland towards help- ing people participate at Caux.

Some of the hopes and prayers are for a positive response from another Swiss Foundation to which we have applied. This would enable us to fulfil the rest of our commitments at Caux.

Then we could turn our attention to rais- ing funds for what seems likely to be a crowded autumn programme.

We have also made an application to a fund in the USA for funding over the next five years, which if it was granted would enable us to expand F4F’s activities. This is a big focus for our prayers, and we invite you to add yours also.

Watch out for the next issue in August 2003 featuring new stories

from the Community Houseas well as impressions on

Summer Conferences in Caux 2003!