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ALBANY SISTER CITY PROGRAM HOSTS OPEN WORLD PROGRAM RUSSIAN DELEGATES Delegates from Russia to learn about school library programs in the United States FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 30, 2006 Local Contact Information: Barbara Webster, 518.494.4442, bjancar@frontiernet.net Sister Cities International Contact Information: Ami Neiberger-Miller, 202.347.8630 ext. 8251, amiller@sister-cities.org Sheryl Thomas, 202.347.8630, sthomas@sister-cities.org ALBANY, NY - Delegates from Tula, Russia arrived in Albany on October 27 to participate in the Open World Program. They will spend the majority of their 10 day visit in Albany learning about many of the city's local school library programs and experiencing Albany's culture. Members of the Albany/Tula Alliance are hosting the delegates during their stay. The eight delegates are Yevgeniya Golovina, Yevgeniya Makarochkina, Yelena Pchelina, Yevgeniya Raykhlina, Olga Glukhova, Yuliya Gridchina, Nina Gruzdevskaya, Svetlana Trubnikova and facilitators Sergey Pukhanov and Vladimir Andreyev. The Russian delegates will visit the Video and Journalism School, the Department of Information Studies at SUNY Albany, the College of Saint Rose, and the New York State Library. They will also experience some of Albany's more unique sights including Howe's Cavern and the Iroquois Indian Museum. They will also visit New York City, the NYS Museum, and attend a blues performance at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Sixteen years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation is well into the post-Soviet Russia transition. The delegates hope their visit to Albany will provide them with valuable tools to learn about reading and education promotion programs in the United States in order to use this knowledge in their own communities at home. Barbara Webster, of Albany Sister Cities, noted that their partnership with Tula grew out of a mutual understanding that "one of the main challenges in the modern world is to get children to read." Officially granted sister city status in 1992, Albany and Tula have had various interactions including student exchanges, art shows, teacher exchanges, the Family-To-Family program, and the Young Writers Competition. Tula is an industrial city located in western Russia and is also known for its chocolate. The Open World Program focuses on bringing young political and civic leaders from Russia and Ukraine to the United States for a hands-on introduction to American democracy and free enterprise. It is sponsored by the Open World Leadership Center, an independent agency established and funded by the U.S. Congress and housed at Library of Congress. Sister Cities International and the Academy for Educational Development (AED) are partners in supporting the Open World Program. Themes for visits may encompass a wide range of issues, including health care, education, environment, women as leaders, and youth issues. Each Open World community in the United States hosts a ten day visit for four delegates and one facilitator. Before the trip to their host city, the delegates attend a pre--departure program in Moscow or Kiev and then an orientation in Washington, D. C. to learn about basic United States government relationships, the balance of power and the rule of law. About Sister Cities International Representing more than 2,500 communities in 137 countries, Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org) is a citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between the U.S. and communities abroad. Begun in 1956 after a White House summit where U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for people-to-people exchanges, sister city partnerships are tailored to local interests and increase global cooperation at the grassroots level. Sister Cities International promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation by focusing on sustainable development, youth and education, arts and culture, humanitarian assistance and economic growth programs. ### |
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