World_Drives association has its roots in conferences, projects and cooperations with Eastern European partners promoted by INTAS, World Society Foundation, SCOPES and SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation).

Evaluation and support of regional and social projects of SDC

Interviewers at work.
In cooperation with our Eastern European partners the project targets to “Support to Project Approval, Implementation and Monitoring” of projects financed by the cohesion funds addressed to the New EU-members, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slowakia. The activities purpose to promote bottom-up developments in remote regions of the countries. Linked to our studies on regions and profiles of regional policies (INTAS) the differences as well as particularities of regional policies between the countries as well as to Switzerland are to include as background. Currently seven regional and social projects are focused in Eastern Slovakia.

LOCLAB - Globalisation and Local Labour Markets

The last multilateral project of INTAS including Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Switzerland concentrated on the impacts of globalisation on local labour markets in small and middle centres of the countries.

• Literature and contents of the book.
• The Newsletter 11 informs about the news and outlook of the next period.
• The final report to INTAS.
• Programme Tbilisi 2007 - Newsletter X.
• A research note on case study Stupino (Russian)
• Conference in Stupino-Moscow 2006 - Executive summary.
• Programme Stupino-Moscow 2006 - Newsletter VIII.
• In memorian Yurij Levada - Newsletter IX.
• INTAS conference in Bialystok (Suprasl Poland) - Newsletter VI LOCLAB
• Intermediary report 2006.

The Chernobyl Generations after 20 years: A comparative investigation in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine

At the occasion of 20 years after Chernobyl the comparative survey described and evaluated the long termed impacts of the catastrophe on different generations (project promoted by SDC).

• CHERNOBYL - An international comparison of societal impacts in Belarus, Russian Federation and Ukraine

• German
• English
• Russian

The network initiated projects, mainly “Good Elephants” and “looking upward”, in order to enlarge the cooperation range (including additional Western, African and Latin-American partners). The initiatives focus on the role of Transnational Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility) and the impacts of “Global Economic Government”.

• The Eastern European network of World_Drives takes part in a project proposal HIDDEN IMPACTS: Transnational Companies and Corporate Social Responsibility challenged between Western and Eastern Europe – Case Studies.

• How to include people and societal contexts into impact-assessments of Transnational Companies in Eastern compared to Western Societies? A contribution for the tricontinental AOM-ISEOR conference in Lyon (8-10 June 09).

• Walking forward - back to future? Case Studes in five Eastern European countries show thue impacts of globalisation on communities and people.

• Postsocialist Transformation and Civil Society in a Globalizing World

• A joint book publication: Postsocialist Transformations and Civil Society in a Globalizing World.

• HOW MANY WORLDS? Newsletter VII as a guideline and expert questionnaire for a joint publication.

• Understanding Democracy in the NIS - five readings from Georgia

• The Georgian Rose Revolution in a SCOPES project.

• INTAS_NETWORK Regions and Civil Societies in Belarus, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine. → Newsletter V Sofia. → Newsletter IV Minsk. → Newsletter III Tbilissi.

The network invests into projects relevant for future. The project pool includes also submitted but not funded projects as resouce for further plans and developments.

TUA RES AGITUR PARIES CUM PROXIMUS ARDET Neighbourhood Strategies for the Future EU-FP7 2010 (Threshold passed)

In cooperation with ten international research organisations of Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Israel, Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland a project proposal was submitted in Brussels 2 February 2010. Where the European Union is ending? This question is really experienced by people at the current border regions of EU in the East and in the South. Here one observes laboratories of what trans-border interactions mean. The project intends practical actions for neighbourhoods in Europe. But the strategies for the future demand to emphasise those scenarios of developments which facilitate decisions on border- and neighbourhood strategies.

Market hall in Yaoundé Since 2004 World_Drives association tries to found an African partnership; it started with the Chad-Cameroon-pipeline project and workshop projects including Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, Congo-Braza, the Republic of Central Africa.

• The WORLDPIPE project: state of the art and coming steps Newsletter II informs.

• We start with a workshop in Yaoundé: The Chad-Cameroon Pipeline and the Making of World Society Newsletter I

• WORLDPIPE: The Chad-Cameroon Pipeline and the Making of World Society in Africa

MOSAICS: Metropolitan regions as Laboratory of Sustainable Development – Learning by Comparing Asian, African, Latin-American and European Cases

In cooperation with several international research organisations INURA (International Network for Urban Research and Action), ENTP (European New Town Platform), NEXUS (Berlin) the project proposal was submitted in Brussels, at 16.18, 13th of January 09.

The project’s objectives go beyond the previous and ongoing research, knowledge and actions under the umbrella of sustainable development, promoting a new understanding to amend the agglomeration effects in economic terms by enhanced understanding of the environmental, societal, policy and cultural factors and dynamics characteristic for metropolitan regions. The project includes 16 research teams from different parts of Europe, from the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and from Africa. The compilation of 20 city profiles as base for comparison, and at least 6 detailed case studies will provide a in-depth understanding of sustainability and allows to develop tools for cities to become more sustainable. The project aims to create bridges between research, analysis and implementation, between research in Europe and research in emerging and developing countries and between research and practice in order to address at best the challenges of the 21st century (population growth, poverty, sustainable development).

Sao Paulo, a megacity of Brazil as a case in the project (Picture WDA, 2008)

For that purpose the project concentrates on metropolitan regions as mosaics for understanding and as laboratories for remaking or inventing strategies and tools for sustainable development. The project involves actors on different institutional and local levels, population, settlements in order to understand their needs, images and views of sustainable development, and to explore the basic dispositions, facilities and practices hindering or promoting sustainable concepts and behaviour. The work packages represent the different steps of activity: 1/Management and coordination of the partnership, 2/Defining and analyzing city profiles and their agenda of urgent problems, 3/Creation of a think tank complemented with actors of local settlements, 4/Detailed analysis of case studies and fieldwork, 5/Networking via trans national action, 6/Learning by comparing, 7/Definition of strategies, 8/Identification of tools, 9/Political agenda setting.

A cooperation with China is planned and prepared probably supported by World Society Foundation.

• CHINA: Globalisation and Sustainable Development in Shanghai