Ukrainian Delegations Visit Nine U.S. Communities in August

Fifty current and future Ukrainian leaders traveled to the United States on August 25 to take part in the Open World Program. The participating Ukrainian journalists, municipal and NGO officials, community leaders, and academics were organized into 10 delegations, each focused on one of the following themes: elections (two delegations), independent media (three delegations), and NGO development (five delegations). The election theme was particularly timely with Ukraine preparing to hold presidential elections this fall. Participants observed American democracy in action in nine different host communities.

The Ukrainian delegates held Q-and-A sessions with elected officials and political party representatives, visited television stations and other media outlets, and studied the operations of a range of social service agencies and advocacy organizations. Ukraine became eligible for Open World in February 2003, when Congress authorized the program to expand beyond the Russian Federation to the other countries of the former Soviet Union.

Coming Up Next:

From September 8 to 19, 54 Lithuanian participants will visit the United States on the Open World Program. The delegations include two groups of mayors and a group of district administrators (the equivalent of county executives), as well as journalists, school directors, and environmental experts. Their professional programs take place in Chicago, IL, Cleveland, OH, Decatur, GA, Middlebury, VT, Omaha, NE, Portland, OR, Reno, NV, Syracuse, NY, Tucson, AZ, and Washington, DC. The themes for these study trips are education reform, the environment, independent media, local community development, rural development, social support, and youth issues. Here is a sampling of the delegates' schedules:

• In Georgia, delegates will visit CNN studios, the Martin Luther King Center, DeKalb County Juvenile Court and Literacy Volunteers of Atlanta.
• In Nebraska, mayoral delegates are scheduled to meet with Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and Omaha City Council members, and to observe a council session.
• In Ohio, delegates will meet with representatives of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland, the Ohio Department of Youth Services and United Way Services of Greater Cleveland.

The Open World Leadership Center launched its pilot exchange program with Lithuania in early 2004.

Published by The PBN Company for the Open World Leadership Center, whose Open World Program has hosted nearly 9,000 citizens from Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan since its inception in 1999. The Center is an independent legislative branch agency that works cooperatively with the U.S. Department of State and other U.S. executive and judicial branch agencies. For additional information, please visit the Open World Leadership Center's website at www.openworld.gov or contact the office at +1 202-707-8943.