Moscow authorities call for "ethno-psychologists" to calm the Internet
Vladislav Mikheev, Webplanet.ru
28 May 2010 Inter-Regional and National Politics Moscow Committee announced a tender for ethnopsychology and conflictology specialists. Forum and social network monitoring, in terms of interethnic conflicts, and also online consulting arrangement, will be among of responsibilities of those specialists, who will get the contract.
The contract initial price is 1.33 million rubles. Besides paper and organizational work, specialists will have to monitor for a year popular social networks. The most popular, such as “VKontakte” and “Odnoklassniki”, are of high priority. The main objectives are (terms of reference quotation):
- organization and implementation of counseling on the Internet, forums, interethnic relationship web-conferences.
- determination of ethnocultural public organizations impact on prevention of ethnoconflict situations in Moscow; […] inter-confessional tolerance level estimation, and interreligious contradictions rise potential; indication of how religious factors impact on different spheres of Moscovite lives.
In other words, they will have to read messages on forums and social networks, and also leave messages warning about liabilities for racism and discremination.
Far not everyone considers such actions to be useful and effective. For instance, Galina Kozhevnikova, Deputy Director of an “Owl” center, specializing in nationalism and xenophobia problem researches, is sure, that there is no use in this contract. “To understand what people write on the Internet, you don’t need to be a professional ethnopsychology or conflictology specialist. Any person, applying common sense, can comprehend what is what. I don’t understand why we need a professional ethnopsychologist here. Galina also notes that nationalistic and ultra-right groups on social networks are frequently closed, and it is hard for a stranger to get in there.
The first attempt to hold a tender failed, for there simply was no one willing to take part in. Second attempt results will be summed up on 5 July.
