OREANDA-NEWS. June 22, 2007. Severstal announces the launch of “Museums of the Russian North”, a new charitable program aimed at supporting fine arts museums. The company is working jointly with the Russian branch of the British Charities Aid Foundation (CAF Russia).

The grant funding for the program will be fully financed by Severstal and will constitute over $300,000 which will be distributed through an open tender among the museums.  Applicants will be required to contribute no less than 30 per cent of the grant sum.

The aim of the program is to enable museums to develop, enhancing their role as centres of cultural life, and lay foundations for a new social and cultural environment in the Russian regions.

Alexey Germanovich, Senior vice-president  of Severstal, said: “We believe this program marks an important milestone in the life of the Russian North-West, helping to preserve the region’s imaginative and original cultural heritage. The Russian North is the birthplace of our company. The majority of Severstal’s Russian enterprises are located here, and a significant part of our employees live here. This program will create concrete tools for the development and popularization of such museum activities as the introduction of modern museum technologies, the establishment of relations between central and provincial museums and the realisation of publishing and web projects”.

Maria Chertok, CAF Russia Director, said that this is the most significant amount ever allocated to support arts museums in a Russian region. “The specialist nature of this program will ensure that tender participants can be chosen more carefully, and will enable the grants to be distributed as effectively as possible, with each grant exceeding about $50,000 .We are delighted to continue our cooperation with Severstal, with whom we have already successfully completed a tender in 2006-2007 for modern arts.”  According to Maria Chertok, this open tender approach is indicative of Severstal’s highly professional approach to the management of charity programs in the sphere of corporate social responsibility.

Under the program an open tender will take place during the summer of 2007, among fine arts museums, as well as exhibition halls and picture galleries in partnership with museums. The program spans 12 regions of the Russian North: Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kirov, Kostroma, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod, Pskov, Perm regions, the Republic of Karelia and the Komi Republic, the Nenets Autonomous District.

The tender will be held for the following categories:
Organisation in the Russian provinces of exhibitions from the funds of leading Russian and foreign museums or galleries using modern exhibition technologies;
Museum websites;
State-of-the-art interactive museum technologies, enhancing the visitor experience;
Unveiling of arts masterpieces of the Russian provinces, scientific attribution of unknown works with the aid of renowned experts;
Curating exhibitions based on the research of cultural and artistic values of the Russian North provinces;
Publishing projects.

Severstal and CAF Russia already have experience in the successful implementation of joint grant projects, having conducted a similar open tender in 2006.
For Reference

CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) – one of the largest international charitable foundations, established in the United Kingdom in 1924, has international offices in 7 regions of the world. CAF’s Patron is HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh KG KT. The Russian representative office – CAF Russia – has been successfully working in Moscow since 1993. Annually CAF Russia implements about forty programs in collaboration with the largest Russian and International companies and foundations directing over 5 mln dollars towards social projects. Among charitable programs in the realization of which CAF takes part are: Vladimir Potanin National Scholarship Program, Life Line Program providing assistance to seriously ill children, New Day grant competition, etc. Please visit www.cafrussia.ru, www.cafonline.org.