Social issues to dominate All-Russia forum

The All-Russia civil forum held in Nizhny Novgorod (an administrative centre in the Volga federal district) will highlight the issues of social support for children and veterans and business social responsibility, Russian Vice-Premier Galina Karelova said in a RIA Novosti interview on Friday.

According to Karelova, such forums are useful because they refine new technologies and approaches to solutions of social problems.

"Development of juvenile (children's) justice and children's rights was widely discussed at the first forum held in Moscow in 2001. Further, these issues were further developed outside the forum," Karelova said.

The Vice-Premier recalled that the forum saw the launch of many social initiatives: "The building of new partnerships between the state and non-governmental organisations and the work on a budgetary model for financing grants to public organisations that implement social programmes." Karelova said that the proposals advanced by human rights organisations were finalised and taken into consideration in the draft of changes and additions to the "Law on Citizenship." "At the current civil forum we will sum up the results and discuss new ways to resolve the problems facing society today," the Vice-Premier said.