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“Thanks to Open World, in regional capitals and big and small cities throughoutRussia, there are now mayors, legislators, judges, civil servants, educators, andentrepreneurs who know the real America, not the negative stereotype inheritedfrom Soviet days. And whether the ideas they take back to Russia are practical,such as publishing city council meeting times in the local paper, or moreabstract, such as understanding the importance of judicial impartiality to therule of law, the net effect of Open World is to strengthen Russia’s embrace ofdemocracy.”

—Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress and Chair of the Open World Board of Trustees

“I would just like to thank Open World for giving Russians the chance to takepart in these exchanges, which in turn help them transform the social and eco-nomic life of their regions, and this vast country as a whole. Your programtouches the lives of individuals, but their good works in turn will affect andinspire an entire generation of Russians.”

—U.S.Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow

Introduction

The Open World Russian Leadership Program, nowknown as the Open World Program, was authorizedby the U.S. Congress in 1999 as a result of discussionsbetween Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billingtonand members of Congress led by Senator Ted Stevens(AK) on ways to increase mutual understandingbetween Russia and the United States and to supportRussia’s efforts to strengthen its democratic reforms.The program is the first and only exchange programadministered by the legislative branch of the U.S.Government.

The Open World Program was designed to bringemerging federal and local Russian political leaders tothe United States to meet their American counterpartsand gain firsthand knowledge of how American civilsociety works. Program participants would experi-

ence American political life and see democracy inaction, from the workings of the U.S. Congress todebates in local city councils.

Open World has in just four short years given morethan 6,000 current and future Russian decision mak-ers an in-depth introduction to American political andcivic life.

The success of the Open World approach and thecontinued importance of its mission led Congress inDecember 2000 to establish a permanent, independ-ent center to house the program, the Center forRussian Leadership Development at the Library ofCongress, now the Open World Leadership Center.

Program Leadership

A Board of Trustees governs the Open WorldLeadership Center and its Open World Program. TheBoard held its inaugural meeting in March 2002 toapprove plans and initial grants for the program year,and to elect its leadership.

The Librarian of Congress, Dr. James H. Billington, servesas Board chairman, with Senator Ted Stevens (AK), theprincipal sponsor of the legislation creating and contin-uing Open World, as honorary chairman. The Center’sBoard members include Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist(TN), Senator Carl Levin (MI), Representative AmoHoughton (NY), Representative Robert E.“Bud” Cramer(AL), former Ambassador to Russia James F. Collins, for-mer Representative James W. Symington, and financierand philanthropist George Soros.

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The Open World Board of Trustees convenes in March 2002to elect its chairman and to plan the 2002 program

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (center) and Chief JudgeGeorge C. Paine II (far right) meet with rule of law delegation during Washington, D.C., orientation

Academician Dmitri Sergeevich Likhachev and Dr. JamesH.Billington discuss the program in 1999

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Program Objectives

Open World is designed to enable Russia’s emergingleaders to:

Observe U.S. government, business, and communi-ty leaders as they carry out their daily responsibili-ties.

Experience how the separation of powers, thesystem of checks and balances, freedom of the press,and other key elements of America’s democratic sys-tem make the government more accountable, trans-parent, and responsive.

Develop an understanding of the U.S. free enter-

prise system and its relationship to government.

Learn how U.S. citizens organize and take initia-

tive to address social and civic needs.

Build mutual understanding with their U.S. coun-

terparts.

Share Russian approaches to common challenges.

Participate in American family, community, andcultural activities.

Establish lasting personal and professional tieswith their U.S. hosts and counterparts.

Program Structure

Candidates are nominated by promi-nent U.S., Russian, and internationalorganizations and by Open World

alumni. Applications go through multistage vetting byU.S. Embassy and Open World staff.

Each Open World visit is short-term(typically ten days), including orien-tation in a major U.S. city and astudy trip to a host community in

any of the 50 U.S. states. Most Open World partici-pants are lodged at the homes of American familiesduring their stay.

Delegations are chosen and organ-ized by theme of interest andvocation, such as economic devel-

opment, health, and educational reform. This themedrives the program agenda in the United States,including decisions on federal-level meetings andlocal and state placement and experiences.

Local programs in the 50 U.S.states are overseen by U.S basededucational institutions, civicgroups, and other organizations

with experience hosting foreign leaders. Most localvisits include a home stay and opportunities to takepart in social and community activities with host fam-ilies.

Each tailored program includesextensive participation by profes-sional counterparts, an emphasison participatory, on-site experi-

ences and high-level, substantive meetings.

The delegations have supportfrom interpreters for professionalactivities, and bilingual, biculturalRussian facilitators are available for

guidance on cross-cultural issues and interpretationduring informal events.

Open World organizes numerousactivities in Russia for Open Worldalumni and encourages ongoingcommunication and cooperation

among delegates and with Open World staff.

2002: A Year of Major Milestones

Open World conducted its largest exchange ever in2002, bringing 2,531 Russian participants to theUnited States.And as of 2002 Open World has hosteddelegations in all 50 U.S. states and has drawn partici-pants from all 89 Russian political regions—fromMurmansk in the far northwest to Kamchatka in theRussian Far East. As directed in its authorizing legisla-

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Women business leaders engage in team-building exercise in Washington, D.C.

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tion, the program continued to focus on the emerginggeneration of Russian leaders. The average age of OpenWorld delegates is 38 years old.

Since the program’s inception, Open World has sought tobe as broadly based as possible, and the 2002 programfully accomplished this objective. Sixty prominentRussian and American governmental and nongovernmen-tal bodies were invited to nominate Open World dele-gates. Open World delegates who traveled to the UnitedStates were from 47 ethnic backgrounds and 86 Russianregions, including those with large Muslim populations,such as Adigei, Bashkortostan, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Tatarstan.

Approximately 50 percent of the delegates were electedand appointed leaders from the federal, regional, andlocal level—with the remaining leaders from many differ-ent areas of Russian civil society, including the media, the

nonprofit sector, the judiciary, the environmental andhuman rights movements, and private enterprise.

While Open World has ensured a high level of participa-tion by women since its inception, 2002 marked the firsttime that more than 50 percent of the delegates werewomen leaders.

2002: Participation by U.S. Organizationsand Hosts

On the American side, Open World 2002 was equallybroad-based. A total of 372 communities in 48 stateshosted Open World delegations in 2002, with more than720 American families providing home stays.

Eighty-five percent of Open World participants stayedwith American families, gaining a firsthand look at dailyAmerican life, and the availability of new American hostsites continues to expand each year.

Snapshot of 2002 Delegates and ProgramsTHEME POSITION ORGANIZATION U.S. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

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Economic Microcredit Development Manager

Education Deputy HeadReform

Environment President

Federalism Chairperson

Health Head Physician

Rule of Law Judge

Women as Legal AdvisorLeaders

Youth Issues Teacher/Psychologist

Credit Consumer Cooperative“Sodestvie,” Smolensk Region

Education Department,Ozyorsk City Administration,Chelyabinsk Region

Rostov City Public OrganizationEco-Logic

Sakhalin Regional ElectionCommittee

Izhevsk Medical PreventionCenter, Udmurtia

Supreme Court of NorthOssetia-Alaniya Republic

Center for Legal Protection ofEntrepeneurs, Khabarovsk Krai

Social Rehabilitation Center forMinors, Moscow Region

Nevada State Development Corporation officials discuss work with lending programs to help small businessowners obtain financing for business growth and expansion.

School district officials in Vancouver, Washington, conduct aworkshop on the accreditation process for administrators,teachers, and charter schools.

St. Mary’s County, Maryland county commissioner, county landplanner, and state environmental regulators share their views onenvironmental issues.

Alaska state legislators brief delegation on state election proce-dures, candidates and ballot measures for August 27 state pri-mary election.

Executive Director of the National Children’s Advocacy Center inHuntsville, Alabama, reviews strategies for preventing and treat-ing child abuse.

Russian judges visit Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they sit withdistrict court judges during court hearings, getting an insider’sview of the proceedings.

Three women mayors and a former mayor from the Tri-Citiesarea of Tennessee and Virginia discuss challenges to womenleaders in both America and Russia.

Staff and young people from a Sioux Falls, South Dakota youthcenter discuss their after-school recreation and educationopportunities, and working with homeless and runaway youth.

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Eighteen different nongovernmental and governmen-tal organizations from across the United States, eachwith expertise in conducting international visitationprograms, received grants from Open World to admin-ister the Russian delegates’ trips. These national host-ing organizations in turn carried out the Open Worldvisits with the help of a wide range of local organiza-tions and institutions, including universities, civicgroups, sister-city associations, and nonprofit educa-tion and training corporations.

American leaders at all levels—including 36 membersof Congress, five U.S. Supreme Court justices, 13 gov-ernors, mayors of more than 30 major cities, numer-ous company heads, nongovernmental organization(NGO) directors and others—were actively engagedin the program.

2002: Major Program Areas

The Center for Russian Leadership Development con-sulted extensively with U.S. and Russian governmentofficials and policy experts in various fields prior tochoosing programmatic themes for 2002.

Open World’s focus for 2002 exchanges included (par-tial list) health, rule of law, women as leaders, andNGO development. In addition, delegations visitedthe United States to explore economic development,educational reform, environmental issues, federalism,and, at the suggestion of U.S. Ambassador to theRussian Federation Alexander Vershbow, youth issues(including drug, alcohol, and HIV/AIDS interventionprograms).

The programmatic themes provided direction for theselection and composition of the delegations.Meetings and events for the visits reflected the themeof the delegation.

Program Highlights

Three Russian Supreme Court jus-tices,Yuriy I. Sidorenko,Valentin V.Kuznetsov and Vladimir V.

Demidov, reviewed ongoing Russian judicial reformsand discussed Russian and American judicial practiceswith U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H.Renquist and Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg,Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O’Connor and JohnPaul Stevens. The Russian justices also had workingmeetings with other U.S. judicial leaders and observedcourt proceedings. One visit was administered by theCenter for Democracy, the other by AmericanCouncils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELSin association with U.S. District Judge Michael M.Mihm of Illinois.

Russian delegation hosted by USDA International Instituteenjoys holiday celebration in Portland, Oregon

The National Peace Foundation hosts a delegation at a Rotary Club meeting in Asheville, North Carolina

Supreme CourtJustices

Themes Cover Wide Spectrum of Current Issues

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Justice Yuriy I. Sidorenko (center) and Judge Michael M.Mihm (right) and others in front of the U.S. Supreme Court

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A key parliamentary sponsor ofRussia’s new trademark law andthree of his fellow deputies meton intellectual property rights

issues with members of Congress and U.S. trade andconsumer officials in May 2002, while the legislationwas still pending in the Russian parliament.Organized for Open World by the Coalition forIntellectual Property Rights, this timely visit alsoenabled the deputies to attend the InternationalTrademark Association’s annual meeting and to con-sult with the U.S. Copyright Office and U.S.-RussiaBusiness Council members. The amended trademarklaw was passed and signed into law in December2002.

Three of President Vladimir Putin’slegislative aides compared noteswith President George Bush’s

chief legislative liaison during a July 2002 trip toWashington, D.C., conducted for Open World by theCenter for Democracy. During their in-depth look atthe U.S. legislative process, the Putin aides alsowatched the Senate Governmental Affairs Committeemark up the Homeland Security Department bill andexamined how laws are shaped with members ofCongress, congressional and agency staff, and some ofthe capital’s top business and organization lobbyists.

Regional legislators from theRussian Far East saw the U.S. elec-tion process in action during a

November 2002 visit to Anchorage organized by theAlaska State Legislature. The Russians followedRepublican and Democratic candidates as they cam-paigned door-to-door; visited party and candidate

headquarters; observed voting; celebrated ElectionNight with Senator Ted Stevens (AK) andCongressman Don Young (AK); and analyzed electionresults with Alaska state legislators. Russia’s parlia-mentary and local elections planned for 2003 madeOpen World’s election activities especially timely.

A Focus on Political Leadership

When arriving in the United States as one of the firstOpen World delegates in 1999, Lyudmila K.Komogortseva was having second thoughts about herrecent decision to enter the political arena. An out-spoken human rights and environmental activist, sheknew that she would face an uphill battle for officegiven the Communists’ strength in her region, and shewas not sure she was up to the challenge.

A primary emphasis of theOpen World program is to pro-vide Russia’s future politicalleaders with a firsthand look atthe American political process

and practical experience working with Americanpolitical leaders, election officials and campaign par-ticipants from strategists to volunteers. Open Worldparticipants engage in hands-on experiences, directobservation, and substantive exchange with their pro-fessional counterparts. Open World visitors cam-paigned door-to-door with political candidates, attend-ed city council meetings, met with American politicalcampaign experts and attended campaign events.

Today, Ms. Komogortseva has earned a reputation forbravely taking on the powers in the heart of Russia’s

Former U.S.Ambassador to Russia James Collins (left) shakes hands with Russian Duma Deputy Adrian G.Puzanovski, while Duma Deputy Alexander M.Yashin looks on

Senator Ted Stevens (second from left) confers with legislators from the Russian Far East in Anchorage,Alaska

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Open World 1999 Alumna Lyudmila K.Komogortseva

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Communist-dominated “Red Belt” as a high-profileUnion of Right Forces deputy in the Bryansk RegionalDuma (parliament).

Ms. Komogortseva’s 1999 Open World visit was hostedby the National Democratic Institute (NDI). NDI host-ed her and her fellow delegates in Washington, D.C., todiscuss campaign strategy with national Democraticand Republican party officials, meet with congression-al staff on constituent relations and services, andreceive briefings on the role of the media and watch-dog organizations in the U.S. political process, includ-ing one by then NBC White House correspondentClaire Shipman. A meeting with U.S. Delegate EleanorHolmes Norton (DC) was a highlight of theWashington portion of their visit.

The delegates next traveled to Michigan for hands-onmedia, government, and elections activities. A morn-ing spent following U.S. Representative (now Senator)Debbie Stabenow (MI) as she campaigned for the U.S.Senate at a county fair and an afternoon going door-to-door with a state legislator campaigning for reelectionwould prove especially useful for Ms. Komogortseva.She and her fellow delegates also met with the mayorof Lansing and visited the state legislature.

Upon her return to Bryansk, Ms. Komogortseva organ-ized a small but dedicated team of local Union ofRight Forces activists that included students and mem-bers of local human rights and environmental groups.Effective grassroots organizing and retail politickingenabled her to win election to the regional dumadespite the strength of the Communist opposition andher lack of access to local government-controlledmedia.

Ms. Komogortseva considers her successful race “thedirect result” of her participation in Open World andnotes that because of the confidence she gainedthrough her Open World experience, “I startedworking more actively with the mass media, and Iparticipate more in news conferences and events.”She uses her legislative position as a platform for call-ing attention to environmental and human rightsissues and for speaking out against abuses of power orofficial neglect. Ms. Komogortseva has chastisedBryansk officials for awarding themselves taxpayer-funded apartments; escorted trolley depot workers tothe Bryansk mayor’s office to ensure they received ahearing on their complaints about low pay; and moni-tored anti-Semitism in her region for the Union ofCouncils for Jews of the Former Soviet Union.

“I very often have to explain to people what itmeans to be aware of, fight for, and defend theirrights, respect themselves and fellow citizens, haveprivate property rights, and other things that areobvious to the U.S. citizens, but not so obvious to thepeople of Russia. My U.S. experience proves to bevery helpful in this and in other professional activi-ties,” says Ms. Komogortseva, who continues to headthe Bryansk-based Human Rights Association in addi-tion to serving in the regional duma.

A Focus on Jury-Trial Procedure

Russia adopted jury trials during the nineteenth centu-ry, but juries were banned throughout the Soviet era.The jury-trial system was reinstituted on a pilot basisin the early 1990s in nine Russian regions. The judicialreform package introduced by Russian PresidentVladimir Putin includes the nationwide expansion ofjury trials for serious criminal cases. Thousands of

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Lyudmila K. Komogortseva (left) visits the CalhounCounty Justice Center in Michigan

Lyudmila K. Komogortseva in front of the Michigan StateLegislature building

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judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys in Russia’s89 regions must quickly become familiar with juryprocedures.

In response, Open World 2002 included programmingfor three delegations of prosecuting attorneys, defenseattorneys, and judges. Local programs provided partic-ipants a hands-on introduction to how American-stylejury trials are conducted.

Judge Aleksandr A. Kozlov ofthe Moscow Region Courtvisited Minneapolis/St. Paulas an Open World delegate in

September 2001. Hosted by Judge Paul A. Magnusonof the District of Minnesota, Judge Kozlov and his twofellow delegates quizzed two federal appeals courtjudges about appeals court procedures; observedcourt proceedings in Judge Magnuson’s courtroomand in state courts; and participated in a closingroundtable with a group of federal judges.

Since his Open World visit, Judge Kozlov has aidedRussia’s adoption of the jury-trial system by sharinghis understanding of Russian and American jury-trialprocedure with his colleagues in lectures and trainingprograms. In May and September 2002, for example,he helped lead jury-trial seminars in Pskov and

Novgorod for judges, prosecutors, and defense attor-neys from across northwest Russia. The seminarswere conducted by the Connecticut-Pskov and theWestern New York–Novgorod rule of law partnerships,both of which are members of Open World’s rule oflaw implementing partner, the Russian American Ruleof Law Consortium.

Judge Kozlov had experience in conducting jury trialsbut says that his firsthand observations during hisOpen World visit gave him important insights into thepsychology of the courtroom.

“I studied the way the judge works during a jurytrial, his relations with jurors and their attitudetoward the judge, the judge’s actions in the processof examining evidence, and how the decision aboutthe sentence is made,” said Judge Kozlov.

Judge Magnuson, one of the chief architects and firsthost judges of Open World’s rule of law program,observed firsthand how Judge Kozlov put his OpenWorld experience to use. While on a trip to Russia in2002, Judge Magnuson visited Judge Kozlov andwatched as his Russian colleague presided over juryselection for a murder and robbery trial.

Speaking of the Open World experiences of JudgeKozlov and his fellow rule of law program alumni,Judge Magnuson recently noted, “Besides the knowl-edge gained about the day-to-day operations of U.S.courts, there are also profound lessons learnedabout American society, the esteemed position ofjudges, and the principles of the rule of law. It isclear to me that the judges and legal professionalsparticipating in Open World are taking these lessonshome with them and sharing them with their col-leagues, multiplying many times the effectiveness ofthe Open World rule of law exchange program.”

“Nothing holds more promise for achieving thelong-term security and prosperity of the worldcommunity than the rule of law. Nations that adhere to the rule of law share certain commonunderstandings that reach across cultural andpolitical divides. The Open World RussianLeadership Program plays a vital role in thisdynamic process.”

—Justice Sandra Day O’ConnorSupreme Court of the United States

Open World 2001Alumnus JudgeAleksandr A. Kozlov

Judge Kozlov (third from left) and rule of law delegationare greeted by Judge Paul Magnuson (second from left)and Rotary hosts in Minnesota

Judge Kozlov and delegation hold discussions in Judge Magnuson’s chambers in St. Paul, Minnesota

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A Focus on NGO Development

Thousands of Russian nongovernmental organizationscreated in the last decade provide an important vehi-cle for meeting social and civic needs and offer ordi-nary citizens opportunities to take initiative in thepublic arena independently of the state. Over the pastten years, a talented pool of Russian NGO activists andadministrators has been developed. But Russia’sNGOs face significant difficulties in securing funding,building administrative capacity, and dealing withrestrictive new laws on registration.

Open World 2002 worked to strengthen this vital seg-ment of Russia’s civil society by including more than350 NGO representatives from across Russia in itsexchanges. These participants learned firsthand howtheir U.S. counterparts manage, staff, and fundraise fortheir organizations, and how U.S. NGOs interact withgovernment at all levels. Among Open World 2002’sNGO participants were human rights activists, advo-cates for people with disabilities, heads of charities,and representatives of Russian women’s organizations.

Elena V. Perfilyeva, the dynam-ic director of the eight-year-old Information EcologicalAgency (INECA), saw her June

2002 environment-themed Open World visit to NewHaven, Connecticut, as an opportunity to examinehow U.S. policymakers obtain, analyze, and act onenvironmental information; to meet with environmen-tal experts inside and outside of the U.S. government;and to study the role public opinion plays in shaping

U.S. environmental policy.The information sheacquired would prove par-ticularly useful in her workas the Russian director ofa large public-privateproject to develop an envi-ronmental action plan forthe Kemerovo Region,located in southwestSiberia.

During their week inConnecticut, Ms. Perfilyeva

and the other Russian environmental leaders in herdelegation discussed cost-benefit analysis, pollutioncredits, and environmental monitoring at the state’s

Department of Environmental Protection; visited NewHaven to study ways in which the nonprofit regionalwater authority manages the local watershed;reviewed land-use planning with the head of aConnecticut coastal management agency; and werebriefed on local government perspectives on environ-mental issues by the mayor and first selectman of twoneighboring towns.

INECA is now at the forefront of the environmentalmovement in Kemerovo. The famous coal mines andthe chemical plants that help make Kemerovo one ofRussia’s most economically successful regions alsocontribute to persistent environmental challenges—challenges that Ms. Perfilyeva and her INECA col-leagues work to address by promoting public partici-pation in environmental decision-making and by pro-viding a wide range of technical and consulting servic-es, including environmental impact assessment andenvironmental auditing.

Ms. Perfilyeva applied the insights she gained from herOpen World experience when drafting the environ-mental action plan for Keremovo, a plan approved bythe governor. She has also been asked by the gover-nor to draft regional legislation on environmental poli-cy and monitoring. Another of her projects is theestablishment of an ecological council for the city ofKemerovo that will provide a mechanism for all inter-ested parties to develop consensus on and promoteenvironmental protection measures.

Says Ms. Perfilyeva, “I obtained the idea to createsuch an establishment while on the program, andmost of my knowledge of its principles and provi-sions I acquired from my American colleagues dur-ing my ten-day trip on Open World.”

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Open World 2002AlumnaElena V. Perfilyeva

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Elena Perfilyeva

Elena Perfilyeva in her INECA office

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A Focus on Building Healthy CommunitiesIn 2002, 17 percent of Open World visitors participat-ed in health-themed delegations. The Russian leaderswho took part in these visits included high-levelregional and municipal health officials, top hospitaladministrators, university educators, and directors ofhealth-related NGOs. Recognizing that responsibilityfor healthcare delivery in Russia is rapidly devolvingfrom the federal to the regional and community lev-els, Open World 2002 focused on exposing partici-pants to community-based health models that includegovernment, health providers, the educational system,NGOs, and the business community.

Dr. Michael I. Faerberg isthe busy chief physicianand head administrator forKurgan City Maternity

Hospital #1, considered the top maternity facility inthe region. Dr. Faerberg was one of six leaders to visitKurgan’s sister-city of Appleton,Wisconsin, on ahealth-themed Open World visit in September 2002hosted by the Washington, D.C.-based AmericanInternational Health Alliance (AIHA) and WorldServices of La Crosse,Wisconsin.

Dr. Faerberg’s delegation included the head ofKurgan’s municipal sports and youth department, aninspector with the region’s child protection services,the president of a state-owned Kurgan television sta-tion, and the chief physician of a Kurgan medical clin-ic. This mix of government, community, and health-care leaders from a single Russian city was a specialfeature of many of the health programs Open World

offered through AIHA and World Services. This“healthy communities” model involved interdiscipli-nary teams of local leaders who learned about healthpromotion programs and strategic planning princi-ples; saw examples of successful community-basedhealth promotion programs in U.S. counterpart com-munities; and then created action plans for their owncommunities.

Dr. Faerberg’s host community,Appleton, and nearbyNeenah,Wisconsin, not only have a sister-city relation-ship with Kurgan, but they are active partners inKurgan’s economic development. Delegates met withthe mayor of Neenah, the head of Neenah’s nonprofitcommunity development agency, local public healthand school officials, and representatives of an array oflocal health insurance, healthcare, and social serviceproviders.

The city of Kurgan, the capital of Kurgan Region, has apopulation of 365,000 and suffers from the same illsthat afflict many other communities in this part ofRussia—economic decline, rising drug abuse, and alco-holism. However, leaders such as Dr. Faerberg offerhope for the region.

In addition to overseeing a hospital that delivers morethan 1,500 babies annually, Dr. Faerberg, 57, is activein the Kurgan mayor’s program to prevent drug abuseamong the city’s youth and coordinates his hospital’sinnovative on-site and school-based health educationprograms for families and adolescents.

Following his return to Kurgan, Dr. Faerberg partici-pated in a follow-up conference that brought togetherthe Kurgan region’s vice-governor and other Kurganalumni of Open World health programming to discuss

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Dr. Faerberg and Dr. Montgomery Elmer (AIHA representative) during closing reception in Washington, D.C., at the Russian Embassy

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Alumnus Dr. Michael I.

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Kurgan City delegation at AIHA Moscow pre-departureprogram orientation (Dr. Faerberg is facing the camera on the left)

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their Open World experiences and their projects forimplementing “healthy communities” health promotionprograms. At the conference, Dr. Faerberg announcedplans to work with Appleton to develop new Internet-based resources on health issues. He has also becomeinvolved with a project to develop a baseline assess-ment of community health that will provide data onmany indicators, including substance abuse.

Says Dr. Faerberg of his Open World experience,“Within our interdisciplinary group we discussed allthe components of the Healthy Community model,and made a specific plan for its implementation. Noweverything depends on us, and we are determined tosucceed.”

A Focus on Legal Education

In 2002, the rule of law program launched a new legaleducation component, with 24 deans and faculty ofRussian law schools participating in visits hosted byCleveland State University College of Law, GeorgeWashington University Law School, Rutgers Law School,University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law,University of Maine School of Law, and Vermont LawSchool. Court administrators were also included in theOpen World 2002 specialized rule of law programming,with one delegation participating in a court manage-ment program hosted by the National Center for StateCourts in Portland, Oregon, where they attended theannual meeting of the National Association of CourtManagers.

Judge Sergey K. Shishkin, 38, isthe chair of the Petushki CityCourt in the Vladimir Region ofRussia and a member of the

Council of Judges. Judge Shishkin is also “Professor”Shishkin, commuting regularly to the ancient city ofVladimir, the regional capital, to teach law students atVladimir State University. Judge Shishkin visited Tucson,Arizona, in October 2002 as part of an Open Worldexchange. His visit was hosted by U.S. District JudgeJohn Roll of the District of Arizona and organized by theAcademy for Educational Development and its nonprofitlocal partner, International Training and Consulting, Inc.

A special, on-the-spot request from Judge Shishkin’sgroup to interview American prisoners resulted in theirquizzing inmates of the county jail about their living

conditions and relations with the guards. Other high-lights of Judge Shishkin’s Tucson program included par-ticipating in a judges’ roundtable hosted by Judge Roll;observing a three-judge panel of the state Court ofAppeals deliberate on two cases that had just beenargued before them; attending a University of Arizonalaw school class; and watching a tribal court trial andthen discussing the outcome with the presiding judge,the prosecutor, and the public defender.

After returning to Russia, Judge Shishkin incorporatedinformation learned during his Open World visit in hislaw-school lectures, and held several seminars for hiscolleagues and other members of the local judicial com-munity. The voluminous background materials hebrought back have proven helpful not just to him andhis fellow judges, but also to court staff. Judge Shishkinhas made changes in his own courtroom operations as aresult of his Open World trip, most notably improvinghis communications with the Pristav Service, theRussian equivalent of the U.S. Marshals Service.

“I think that one of the most important contributionsof the Open World Program is that it provides us[Russian judges] with the opportunity to directly com-municate with our American colleagues and to seethe U.S. legal system in action,” says Judge Shishkin.

In 2002, 42 U.S. judges hosted 213 of their Russiancounterparts, and dozens more—including U.S. SupremeCourt Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and AssociateJustices Sandra Day O’Connor,Anthony M. Kennedy,Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer—played anactive role in the Russian jurists’ professional programsduring the year.

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Judge Shishkin (waving) and delegation in Tucson,Arizona

Open World 2002 Alumnus Judge Sergey K. Shishkin

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A Focus on Women as Leaders

The year 2002 marked the first time that Open Worldincluded women as leaders as a theme for delega-tions. Russian delegates job shadowed their Americancounterparts; attended leadership training seminars;met with prominent American political leaders andpolicy specialists on women’s issues; and visitedwomen’s organizations to learn new strategies forfundraising, membership and volunteer recruitment,and advocacy.

Among the 294 Russian women leaders who traveledto the United States on this theme were the presidentof a regional charitable foundation, a senior specialistat the Russian Federation Ministry of Education, thedirector of a regional league of women voters, the edi-tor in chief of a major newspaper, and the head of thefamily, maternity and childhood department for one ofRussia’s largest cities.

Under ordinary circum-stances, Yelena V.Zabadykina, a consultingpsychologist for a women’s

community crisis center and a staff member of the St.Petersburg Center for Gender Problems, might nothave expected to find herself discussing legislativestrategy in Washington, D.C., with a high-level officialin the Russian Ministry of the Interior. What broughtthese two and eleven other Russian women togetheraround a Georgetown University conference table inOctober 2002 was a pioneering collaborationbetween Open World and the Vital Voices GlobalPartnership to train emerging women leaders fightinghuman trafficking in Russia. This was Open World’sfirst exchange conducted with Vital Voices, whichworks to expand women’s roles in politics, civil socie-ty, and business worldwide, and to stop human traf-ficking.

Although official statistics on human trafficking fromRussia are lacking, some estimate that as many as160,000 women are trafficked from the country eachyear, many lured by false advertisements for higher-wage jobs abroad, including in the United States.Many more women are trafficked into or throughRussia. The victims may be sexually exploited orforced into slavery-like working conditions.

Established and new NGOs within Russia are workingto address the trafficking problem; the Putin adminis-tration has set up a high-level anti-trafficking taskforce, and at the close of 2002, legislation outlawinghuman trafficking was pending in the State Duma,

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CENTER FOR RUSSIAN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Anti-trafficking delegation gives an interview at Voice of America in Washington, D.C.

Women leaders hosted by American University’s Women &Politics Institute relax at the home of Dr. Karen O’Connor (second from right), director of the Institute

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“The program makes it possible to strengthenrelations between our two countries at thelevel of interpersonal relations, and throughcontacts between ordinary citizens, who areable to see, hear and understand one another.The many meetings…gave us a lot. But themost important thing—they provided us theopportunity to change our stereotypical viewstoward American society.”

—An Open World “Women as Leaders”Participant

Open World 2002Delegation Against Human Trafficking

thanks to the efforts of a working group on the issueheaded by Duma Deputy (and Open World Alumna)Elena B. Mizulina.

The Russian delegates who gathered in Washington,D.C., for the Open World anti-trafficking program includ-ed a representative on the government anti-traffickingtask force; academics; attorneys; social service providers;human rights activists; and a municipal councilwomanwho serves on the committee that oversees family andwomen’s issues. They came from Moscow and St.Petersburg, the Russian Far East, the Urals, and more iso-lated regions near Russia’s borders with Kazakhstan andChina. Some act against trafficking by providing coun-seling or legal services to victims, or by carrying outresearch on the issue. Others fight it by conductingpublic awareness campaigns to educate young womenabout the threat, or by working with law enforcementofficials to encourage them to take the problem moreseriously.

During their Open World visit, the Russian delegatesexchanged ideas and information with top U.S. expertson trafficking, including Ambassador Nancy Ely-Raphel,then head of the U.S. State Department’s traffickingoffice, and another State Department official and formercongressional staffer who had helped draft landmarkU.S. anti-trafficking legislation. Other working sessionsprovided training in leadership skills, advocacy, legalprotections for victims, government-NGO cooperationin combating trafficking, media relations, and coalition-building.

Intensive training sessions with experts were coupledwith site visits to D.C.-based social service organiza-tions. The delegates visited the Whitman-Walker Clinicfor briefings on the hotline, counseling, and other serv-ices it offers to victims of AIDS, a disease of special con-cern to those who work with the sexually exploited.

The delegates were also the featured speakers at aforum held by the Georgetown University Institute forthe Study of International Migration and attended byfaculty, students, and counter-trafficking professionals.

Back in Russia, delegates have already made effectiveuse of their Open World training and contacts. Two

have published articles on what they learned, andanother has conducted USAID-funded seminars for offi-cials in her city on domestic violence and trafficking. Adelegate from the Russian Far East was invited by theU.S. State Department to participate in an internationalconference on stopping trafficking; and another pro-gram alumna has developed a comprehensive women’srights training program with a trafficking componentfor women leaders in the centrally located Volga FederalDistrict.

“There’s a perception that in Russia very little is beingdone to fight trafficking but here. . . are women—theparticipants in this program—who have been leadingvery courageous anti-trafficking efforts in Russia,” saidLycia Sibilla,Vital Voices Director for Europe andEurasia.

“The extensive networks and diversity of the OpenWorld participants… [are] critical to the developmentof the comprehensive strategic approach this seriousproblem requires,” noted a Vital Voices program officer.

“Right away I obtained access to effective models forfighting trafficking and providing services,” reportedone participant. Said a fellow delegate, “I found out weare not alone. I’m from so far away, but there are somany of us.”

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Women as leaders delegation hosted by Vital Voices meets with Senator Hillary Clinton (NY)

CENTER FOR RUSSIAN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

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