Steering Committee on Children and Youth at Risk 2008-2012 (CYAR)

The Joint Working Group on Health and related Social Issues (JWGHS) adopted a new co-operation sub-programme ‘Children and Youth at Risk’ in March 2008, and at the same time elected a Steering Committee responsible for the implementation of the programme. The purpose of the CYAR programme is to increase co-operation efforts aiming to improve life conditions for the most vulnerable group of the child population in the Barents region.

The government of Norway has the chairmanship of the Steering Committee, with deputy chair from the region of Murmansk.

The Program for 2008-2012 (in English) was endorsed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs in November 2007, and adopted by JWGHS in March 2008. The program in Russian.

The CYAR Program Broschure  English
The CYAR Program Broschure  Russian

Update of activities, as of October 2010

CYAR Newsletters:
2012, January - March | English/Russian
2011, November-December | English/Russian 
2011, September-October | English/Russian
2011, May-August | English/Russian
2011, February-April  |  English/Russian
2011, January-February  |  English/Russian
2010, November-December  |  English/Russian

Four methods are selected for 2010-2012 and together they are labeled The CYAR Support Project:

  • “The Incredible Years Program” – parent/teacher and child social skill training
  • “Aggression Replacement Training (ART)” – cognitive behavioral intervention
  • “Family Group Conferences” – method of decision making based on empowerment of family and its immediate network.
  • “Restorative Justice” – mediation between the criminal and the victim. 

All four methods are chosen based on documented effect with positive results from both Nordic and North-West Russian regions and through discussions that Mr. Bergstrom has conducted with partners in the region.
Press release

The CYAR Support Project Booklet English
The CYAR Support Project Booklet Russian

The CYAR programme underlines that competence development in the social sphere is the most effective way to make a difference towards children and youth at risk, with a special emphazis on knowledge-based competence.

The priorities 2008-2012

Prioritized target groups:

  • Families and children in a dangerous social situation
  • Orphans, unaccompanied children
  • Institutionalized children and youth
  • Young offenders
  • Children and youth with indicated or expressed behaviour problems
  • Children with disabilities

Prioritized fields of competence:

Family and network perspectives are at the center of all the fields of competence:

  • Strengthening of parental resources, family intervention programmes
  • Continue developing systems for professional foster care services.

Social skills training for rehabilitation of institutionalized children and youth

  • Monitoring of the rights of the child, supervision mechanisms

The Steering Committee’s 2011 Activity plan

  • April 15th:
    Deadline for application to NDPHS

  • April 30th:
    Deadline for suggestion to a new CYAR programme  

  • May 10th:
    The 6th Meeting of the CYAR Steering Committee 
    Tromsø, Norway 

  • June 13th: 
    Deadline for application to Kolarctic 

  • November (date TBA):
    The 7th Meeting of the CYAR Steering Committee
    Murmansk, Russia 

  • November 30th:
    Deadline for report to JWGHS

  • Date/venue TBA:  
    Cooperation meeting WGCC CBSS

  • Continously:
    Continue CYAR project activities

Meetings of the CYAR Steering Committee

  • Archangelsk, November 11, 2009 - Minutes 3rd Meeting  English Russian
  • Syktyvkar, Komi, April 15, 2010 - Minutes 4th Meeting  English Russian
  • Petrozavodsk, Karelia, November 18, 2010 - Minutes 5th Meeting  English Russian  
  • Tromsø, Norway, May 10, 2011 - Minutes 6th Meeting  English Russian
  • Murmansk, Russia, December, 1, 2011 - Minutes 7th Meeting English Russian

Members of the Steering Committee

 Mr. Pål Christian Bergstrøm, Chairman of the Steering Committee
Director General 
Regional Office for children, youth and family affairs, Northern Norway  (Bufetat)
P.O.Box  919 , 9259 Tromsø , Norway
Tel +47 46615502, fax +47 77680795
E-mail:  pal.christian.bergstrom@bufetat.no 

The Murmansk Region
Mrs. Elena Krasovskaya
Deputy Chair
Adviser, the Department for Cooperation with the law enforcement agency of the Government of the Murmansk region.
Vice–head of the Regional Commission on juvenile matters and protection of their rights the Government of the Murmansk region
Tel: +7 8152 486 476
Mob.: +7 921 172 61 33
E-mail: okdn@gov-murman.ru  

Finland
Mrs. Vappu Sunnari
Docent in equality/gender issues
University of Oulu
Mob: +358 40 552 92 40
Fax: +358 8 553 744
E-mail: vappu.sunnari@oulu.fi 

Republic of Komi
Mr. Ilya Semyashkin
Director, Komi Republic Agency for Social Development 
174 Internatsinalnaya St., Syktyvkar, Komi, Russia
Tel +7 8212 24 15 01, +7 8212 20 37 27  
Fax +7 8212 24 24 84  
E-mail: social_rk@rkomi.ru 

The Republic of Karelia
Mrs. Svetlana Antohina  
Deputy Minister of Health and Social development
Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia
Tel: +7 8142 79 29 04
E-mail: antohina@social.onego.ru  

The Arkhangelsk Region
Mrs. Elena Dunaeva
Adviser of the vice-governor of the Arkhangelsk Region for social issues
Tel: +7 8182 288 317
E-mail: dunaeva@dvinaland.ru

Working Group on Indigenous Peoples
Mrs. Alexandra Artieva
E-mail: alexandraan@mail.ru
Substitute: Mrs. Valentina Sovkina,
Lovozero, Murmansk
Mobile: +7 911 305 00 88
E-mail: vilkes@mail.ru

Sweden
Mrs. Ingrid Löfstrand
Project co-ordinator, Licentate of Arts, Research and Development department
Co-ordinator and supervisor of research and development projects relating to children
and youths in the Social Services field of Local Authorities in Norrbotten
Box 947 SE-971 28 Luleå
Sweden
Tel:+46 920 20 54 47
Mob: +46 70 577 54 47
Fax: +46 920 942 49
E-mail: ingrid.lofstrand@bd.komforb.se


The Secretariat of the Steering Committee for the "Children and Youth At Risk" Program: 

Mr. Roman Koposov
Project Leader
Regional Office for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufetat), Northern Norway
Mob: +47 466 15 315 (Norway), +7 921 720 16 78 (Russia)
E-mail: roman.koposov@uit.no, bufetat.barents@gmail.com  

Anna Afanasyeva
Senior Executive Officer
Regional Office for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufetat), Northern Norway
Mob: +47 466 15 739 (Norway) 
E-mail: anna.afanasyeva@bufetat.no

Useful links

www.cbss.org Child centre for children at risk in the Baltic Sea region
www.ndphs.org The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being

Please find other documents related to CYAR in the searchable archive .