MOSCOW, October 15 (Itar-Tass) — The State Duma received a bill on supporting youth and children’s public organisations”, called upon to regulate activities of such associations as well as questions of their support by the state.
The bill was initiated by a group of deputies, led by chairman of the Youth Committee Pavel Tarakanov, reported on Saturday the office of the lower house.
The co-author of the initiative and State Duma vice-speaker Svetlana Zhurova told Itar-Tass that questions of rendering state support for youth and children’s organisation are now regulated by federal law No. 98, adopted 16 years ago. “Much has changed in the country since that time.
“Legislation has largely changed, but what’s the main thing – the attitude to youth and children’s organisations has changed,” the legislator noted, adding that “virtually all subjects of the Russian Federation adopted laws on the state youth policy”.
“The bill differeratiates age and numerical criteria for associations of various levels,” Zhurova continued. Conditions are also suggested to back youth and children’s public organisations, permitting to encompass a greater number of such organisations than it is provided for by operating federal law No. 98.
For instance, according to operating norms, state support is only enjoyed by All-Russian and international youth and children’s associations. On the other hand, according to the suggested initiative, “bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government may render support to youth and children’s associations”.
This can be done in financial, property, information, consultative, scientific and organisational forms. The bill also provides for “training, retraining and higher education of workers, members and participants in youth and children’s organisations”.
Commenting at a request of Itar-Tass on the bill, the vice-speaker dealt at length on information support. “Insufficient professional information support for youth programmes and various youth organisations from the mass media is an important component problem, interfering with more efficient development of youth and children’s organisations,” she claimed.
Incidentally, “the state support for youth, is not regrettably aimed directly at providing information assistance of the youth and children’s movement in the Russian Federation”.
“As a result, a greater part of constructive and positive work of children’s and youth public organisations finds itself in information isolation. The situation should be changed,” the lawmaker said with conviction.
Adoption of this bill will help to establish “understandable and transparent procedures of support for youth and children’s organisations by bodies of Russian state power, subjects of the Russian Federation and bodies of local self-rule”. “This will help to set up youth and children’s organisations and their full-fledged involvement in the work in legislation,” Zhurova concluded.