OPEN WORLD - RUSSIAN PROGRAM

The Columbus International Program - Civic Rule of Law Program - May 8 -16, 2009
 
The Open World Program was originally established by the Library of Congress.  The pilot project was developed in 1999 to give emerging Russian leaders firsthand exposure to the American system of democracy through visits to local governments and communities.  Open World today also encompasses exchanges for political and civic leaders from other post-Soviet states, and for Russian cultural leaders.  The overall program focuses primarily on developing an international leadership network through which professional counterparts with mutual interests are able to consult and cooperate with each other on issues affecting their communities. 
 
While in central Ohio, the delegates met with officials from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, the Ohio State Bar Association, the City of Columbus, the Ohio Supreme Court, Ohio Department of Administrative Services, Vorys Sater Law Firm, Union County, City of Marysville, City of Dublin, OCLC, and NorwichTownship.  We structured our program around three main themes:  interaction, coordination, and cooperation between and among various levels and branches of government; transparency and accountability from legal and budgetary perspectives; functioning and management of local government entities.  

In the picture at Norwich Township's Joint Safety Complex are (L to R)  Olga Ivanova - facilitator;  Vladimir Bashurov - Civil Service and Human Resource manager for the Omsk Region; Katerina Romanenko - Property Manager for City of Sosnovoborsk; Sergey Zykov - Municipal Property Consultant for Novosibirsk City Council;  Mariya Kopytina - Manager Kinel-Cherkasy District Administration;  Zakhar Lyashuk - Head of Local Governance Issues for the Novgorod Region.

 
This is the first Open World program administered by CIP.

SERBIAN WORLD LEARNING PROGRAM

Nine Serbian leaders participated in the U.S. Agency for International Development (US AID) - Community Connections program May 6-27, 2009, in Ohio and Michigan examining the agricultural cooperative business in the United States.  The Columbus International Program served as the host organization for the delegation.  Programs like these are offered by The Community Connections Program, managed by the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at US AID and administered by World Learning.  The program is designed to promote public diplomacy through the exchange of cultural ideas and values among participants, U.S. families and local community host organizations.   It seeks to establish and strengthen links between U.S. communities and communities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.  Programs like these are sponsored as a way to help democracy survive in parts of the world where there is no history or infrastructure in place to make a democracy work. 

The participants in this program are Serbian leaders in the agricultural cooperative sector of the economy.  They include the following; Zeljko Nimcevic, Manager of the Vocko Cooperative which specializes in fruit production; Marijana Pejak, President of the Vegetable and Fruit Growers Association; Dejan Marovic, member of the Slankamenka Cooperative of fruit growers; Milan Aleksic, President of the Village Development Center Zupa and member of the Wine Makers Association; Adam Suluburic, a Veterinarian who serves as Vice President of the Preobrazenje Cooperative which specializes in livestock and dairy production; Goran Simic, President of the Rtanj Association of Cattle Breeders; Rodoljub Zivadinovic, Director of the Union of Beekeepers; Petar Mojzes Manager of Agrocooperativa fruit and vegetables; and Slavisa Radosavljevic, Executive Manager of the Golubac Cooperative which produces grains, bakery and storage facilities.  Upon return to Serbia the group will be charged with implementing programs to improve the cooperative sector.  Additionally, the group will have developed permanent relationships with their counterparts in the United States that may lead to additional trade between the United States and Serbia.

Visits included, inter alia, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, The Ohio Farm Bureau, The Ohio Cooperative Development Center in Piketon, Ohio, Moyers Winery in Manchester, Ohio, The Ohio Grape Industry, the Towne and Country Cooperative in Ashland, Ohio, Dairy Farmers of America in Medina, Ohio, the Central Ohio Beekeepers Association in Columbus, Advanced Agri-Solutions in Botkins, Ohio, Shumaker Loop in Toledo, Ohio, MBG Marketing Inc. in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Cherry Central Cooperative in Traverse City, Michigan, the Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay, Michigan, the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station in Traverse City, Michigan, COBA/Select Sires in Plain City, and various OSU and State of Ohio facilities and programs.

The group also enjoyed several cultural experiences while in the United States.  The group participated in the Susan B. Koman "Race for the Cure" and enjoyed a day of sightseeing at Mackinaw Island, Michigan.