Our Center considers the development of Russian community networkers society and establishment of the nationwide association of community networks as one of its main objectives.
In September of 2001 CCNS and IRPN organized the international workshop "Inter-organizational Relations in the Post-Soviet Non-profit Space: Time for ICTs" ( St. Petersburg, Russia ) in which leading Finnish, American and Russian specialists in the field of community networking and community information technologies participated.
In November 2002 we plan to perform the national-wide conference on the community networks. Within the framework of preparation to this conference we make the database of organizations working at informational projects at the community level and in the field of information technologies for developing of the civil society sector in Russia.

At present we realize the necessity of cooperation with organizations that have a large positive experience of creation and development of CN for a joint work at the next stage of our work - creation of several experimental CNs and community access centers in the Northwest of Russia. Nowadays there are no independent information networks specializing in local issues, and this hampers development of "horizontal" ties within community, as well as information exchange between different sectors of the society - business, civil society, and municipals. Besides, development of these networks will allow local citizens to participate in formation of local information resources (for example, in creation of community web-site and local e-lists).

From final statement of the "Inter-organizational Relations in the Post-Soviet Non-Profit Space: Time for ICTs" workshop (St. Petersburg, 2001).

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