According to the data as of November 04, 2004, submitted by the Department of Justice of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee, 117 non-governmental organizations and 58 regional organizational NGO structures were registered in 2004. In addition, according to information as of October 01, 2004, – 38 city (functioning within the city of Mogilev) and 3 district (functioning within Mogiled district) organizational structures of non-governmental organizations were registered/ taken on the books.

Half (52%) of the local non-governmental organizations of Mogilev region had been registered before 1999 (inclusive). Since, according to the data as on early November, 7 non-governmental organizations were dissolved and decision on dissolution of 13 other organizations was made, one could assert that 42% of NGOs functioning in the region have been carrying out their activities at least more than 5 years, which fact could serve as an evidence of their viability. The number of non-governmental organizations registered in 2000-2004, and the number of local non-governmental organizations that were successfully re-registered during the above period, amounted to 56 NGOs. 3 of such NGOs have been dissolved, and decision on dissolution of 5 other organizations has been made by the time of analysis. Thus, only 86% of non-governmental organizations that were successfully re-registered in 2000-2004 have survived by the time of analysis.

The number of local non-governmental organizations annually registered in 2000-2002 was approximately at the same level; certain drop in NGO registration was stated in 2003; and the situation improved in 2004. There was an abrupt increase in registration of the regional organizational structures of non-governmental organizations in 2003. While in the recent years and in 2004 newly-established organizational structures had made up from 1 to 3 organizations per year, their number sufficiently increased in 2003. As many as 21 regional organizational structures of sports-oriented NGOs (18 of them being not incorporated) were registered in 2003. The number of non-governmental organizations re-registered on account of entering amendments in their statutes remains practically at the same level (1-3 organizations per year). The non-governmental organizations that change their goals but retain their legal status are re-registered in the regions most often (that was typical for 3 of 7 re-registered organizations). As for 2 non-governmental organizations successfully re-registered in 2002, decision on their dissolution has been made by the time of analysis.

We are going to examine the outflow of non-governmental organizations in the region on several levels (see the document “Registration for the recent 5 years, subsection “Gomel and Gomel region” in Portal russion version ).

As for Mogilev region, 6% of non-governmental organizations (7 organizations) ceased their activities as a result of the first-level outflow. The second-level outflow was insufficient during the period under review: 1 organization (creative by nature of its activity; moreover, it performed the functions of social protection and had the target groups such as “children” and “teenagers”) was reorganized, and such reorganization involved changes in its legal status. Consequently, outflow of local non-governmental organizations in the region amounted to 6% of the total number of NGOs registered during this period. Decision of dissolution of 11 local non-governmental organizations was made, half of them (6 organizations) had been registered before 1999 (inclusive). One may forecast, that outflow of local non-governmental organizations will make up at least 17 % at the beginning of 2005.

Let us clear out what regional non-governmental organizations are less viable, judging from the facts of their actual and forecasted outflow, and using such criteria as “target group”, “executed functions”, “general nature of activities”.

It is worth mentioning, that in contrast to, say, Gomel district in which one fifth of NGOs being dissolved was sports-oriented, in Mogilev district the most often dissolved NGOs were hobby organizations by their nature (that was stated for 1/3 of the first level outflow organizations). Kinds of activity of dissolved NGOs were stated for 15 out of 20 organizations. The Table below shows the data on the kinds of activity of local NGOs subject to dissolution (as of the date of analysis).

Table 1.

The fact, that 2 of 5 local non-governmental organizations that have been registered since 1999 and were involved in post-Chernobyl problems now are under dissolution, is of particular interest.

The functions of the less viable local NGOs (which are more typical for NGOs in Mogilev region) are as follows: social protection, defense of different rights and interests of the organizations’ target groups, enlightening.

? of regional non-governmental organizations registered during the mentioned period are sports-oriented by nature of their activity (at that, 50% of sports-oriented NGOs have been registered/reregistered by 1999 (inclusive)); 15% of NGOs are charitable (about 60% of charitable NGOs have been registered by 1999). Ne charutable non-governmental organization per year were registered during 2000-2003, three such NGOs were registered in 2004. 14% of NGOs are interests-oriented (hobby) organizations, activity of about half of them is of creative nature. 9% of non-governmental organizations are culture-oriented, majority of them (7 out of 11) are furthering interests of national minorities residing at the territory of Belarus. Only 5 non-governmental organizations are involved in post-Chernobyl issues, activity of 3 of them is targeted to children. 3 more organizations are involved in other ecological problems. Organizations formed on a professional basis are not numerous (3 NGOs), two of them have the entrepreneurs as their target groups. The most widely spread functions carried out by NGOs in the region (by 15% of NGOs in each) are social protection, defense of different rights and interest of the organizations’ target groups, and enlightening. There are twice as less organizations that contribute to improvement of health of the population and have recovery of children’s health as their goal. At that half of such organizations is involved in recovery of children’s health. As a rule, in any part of Mogilev region there are non-governmental organizations involved in both global (patriotic training, furthering of democratic reforms, defense of human rights and freedoms, formation of active live position of an individual), and narrower (social and psychological adaptation, assistance to engineering or agricultural activity, etc.) functions. According to content-analysis of the name and goal of non-governmental organizations in the region, “children and youth” and “national minorities” are the most represented target groups. Children and national minorities as target groups were stated for 11% of NGOs. ? of target groups “children” are of special character: children who suffer from certain diseases, children who suffer from consequences of Chernobyl and children with disabilities coming first. 18% of NGOs targeted to the young generation (“youth”) displayed the broader meaning of target group. The target group that includes persons who suffer from certain diseases is represented relatively well. Apart from children’s groups, such target group is represented with seven organizations, fore of which render assistance to people with confirmed disability, and to family members of disabled people. Women’s organizations are not numerous, only 5, 2 of them being sports-oriented by nature of their activity. As far as 2 non-sports NGOs, for which women are the target group, were registered in 2002, one may hope that women problems will not remain unassisted. Each of such target groups as “elderly people” and “members of large and incomplete families” is covered by four organizations (in contrast to, e.g. Gomel region). One should mention, that specification of NGOs’ target groups in the region is sufficiently complete.

Certain groups, e.g. groups of veterans of armed forces or veterans of labour, are most likely represented with the republican and international non-governmental organizations. So, activity of only five local non-governmental organizations is targeted to such group, but (as will be mentioned below) this group is well represented with the regional and city/town organizational structures of non-governmental organizations. Other target groups in the region, namely “lonely people”, “homeless”, “convicted”, are also represented with five local non-governmental organizations.

As was mentioned before, 58 regional organizational structures of non-governmental organizations incorporated and 21 organizational structures not incorporated were registered during the period under review. Organizational changes of the organizational structures were caused with entering changes in their statutes. 10 regional organizational structures were successfully re-registered, including 3 organizations involved in social protection and rehabilitation of people with disabilities.

The nature of activities of 61% of regional organizational structures and 53% of the city (Mogilev) and district (Mogilev district) organizational structures of non-governmental organizations was discovered in the course of content-analysis.

37% of the regional organizational structures are sports-oriented: more than half of them are not incorporated. 9% of the regional structures are vocational non-governmental organizations. Very few organizations (2 only) can be described as ecological ones; and only one of then in involved in Chernobyl issues. The same number (2) charitable organizations exist. The target groups of 24% of regional organizational structures were analyzed. The following target groups are mostly covered: “war veterans, military personnel” (50% of occurrences); “Children and youth” and “people with disabilities and people who suffered after the outburst at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (by 1/4 of occurrences).

According to the data as of October 1, 2004, 37 city (city of Mogilev) and 3 district (Mogilev district) organizational structures of non-governmental organizations were registered/taken on the books. 1 organization registered as far back as 1999, was re-registered in 2003.

The majority of non-governmental organizations are sports or culture-oriented by the nature of their activities 915% of occurrences). At that, while 2/3 of the culture-oriented organizations had been registered about 5 years before, the same share of sports-oriented organizations was registered during 2003-2004. The number of the city and district organizational structures of vocational non-governmental organizations is a little less (12.5% of occurrences). The number of ecological organization makes half of sports and culture-oriented organizations. Only one organization under review was involved in solution of Chernobyl issues, its activities being targeted at “children”. One of the non-governmental organizations that has got its organizational structure in the city of Mogilev is of a charitable nature. “Children and youth” are mostly represented as a target group among the organizations that are the city and district organizational structures of non-governmental organizations (15% of organizations). Such target group as “children” has its specifics for the mentioned organizations. The organizations mentioned are involved in rendering assistance to children who suffer from certain diseases (subgroups are separated such as “children with disabilities”, “children who have suffered from Chernobyl outburst”, etc.). “People with disabilities” as a target group also has a 15% share; and it’s worth mentioning that orientation toward this target group is typical for both organizations registered/successfully re-registered in 1999, and for organizations registered in 2003-2004. The group of people related to military service (war veterans, military personnel, family members of military personnel perished) – 12.5% of occurrences – is represented relatively wide. One should mention, that almost all those organizations were registered as far back as 1999, i.e. have got more than five-year experience.

Functional orientation of 100% of city and district organizations and of 70% of regional organizations was recorded. It has been disclosed in the course of content-analysis of NGO organizational structures, that the function such as “defense of rights and interests of target groups” is represented the most distinctly. Execution of such function by 1/3 of city and district organizations and by 12% of regional organizations was recorded. 15% of city and district organizations, and 5 regional organizations are involved in enlightening (almost all of them have been acting for more than 5 years). 13% of city organizations and the same share of district ones act in the field of social protection and patriotic education of children. 4 regional organizational structures are involved in patriotic education of the youngest part of the population in the region as well. It is worth mentioning, that the number of the regional structures of non-governmental organizations which goal is to contribute to democratic reorganizations (5 organizations that have been functioning more than 5 years) is relatively high as compared to other regions of Belarus. Use of scientific methodology by some of them was observed.

Tatsiana Kusmenkova