The Eurasia Heritage Foundation held the round table "Nonprofit Organizations and Public Intellectual Space in Modern Russia".

The round table is part of the project that is co-funded by the Eurasia Heritage Foundation and the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation - «Public Intellectuals in Russia: their mindset, specific social functions and the ideological differences within the context of post-Soviet transformations» (grant for 2008).  

The round table participants — representatives of Russian NGOs — Natalya Kaminarskaya (Donors Forum), Mariya Krechetova (Nonprofit Foundation «Open Tomsk»), Georgy Satarov (INDEM Foundation), Elena Topoleva (Social Information Agency), Elena Yatsenko (the Eurasia Heritage Foundation) discussed the condition of the public intellectual space in modern Russia:

— What is the place of the Russian NGOs in the scheme «government - private sector - international organizations - NGOs - society»? What are the mechanisms of making the demand for the activities of the NGOs? What are the tendencies in this area at the present time?  

— Do the Russian NGOs lack the intellectual resources of the expert and academic knowledge? How are the activities of the NGOs connected with the centers of production and reproduction of knowledge? What challenges do they face?  

— Do the NGOs in modern Russia act as a public institution that is able to raise and solve the important issues? What difficulties do the NGOs face?