The Open World Leadership Center welcomed its 2003 Russia Civic Program national host organizations to its Washington, DC headquarters on June 19 for a full day of briefings and to share expertise and information on the hosting process.

All of Open World 2003’s 16 national host organizations possess considerable expertise in implementing professionally oriented exchange programs, and all were chosen through a competitive grants process.

This year, past grantees such as Chicago-based Rotary International, Friendship Force International of Atlanta, and World Services of La Crosse (WI) return as national host organizations for the program, and first-time hosts include: the Minneapolis-based CONNECT/US-RUSSIA, Duke University’s DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism, and Pacific Environment in Oakland, CA. Grantees either are nonprofits or operate under government auspices.

Open World’s national host organizations either conduct programming for delegations themselves, or recruit and coordinate local organizations that fulfill this role. This network gives Open World the capacity to host in nearly every corner of every state. Since 1999, over 900 communities have welcomed Open World’s Russian participants.

“Open World’s hosts are responsible for the high-quality professional and educational experience enjoyed by our Russian visitors,” said Open World Executive Director Geraldine Otremba. “They represent the best of America’s volunteer spirit.”

The host organization’s responsibilities include planning and carrying out a delegation’s professional program; locating families for home-stays; and arranging meals, interpretation, local transportation, and cultural outings. Professional activities, forming the core of an Open World visit, vary from accompanying a political candidate campaigning door-to-door to joining a newspaper editorial staff meeting, and from sitting in on a corporate planning session to discussing a sentence in a criminal case with the judge who just imposed it.

Many Open World local hosts find their experience lasts long after their delegates have left. One local host from Toccoa, GA, described her experience as “one of the most tiring, interesting, humorous and heartwarming things I have ever done and I will do it again the first chance I get.” Another, from Davenport, IA, said, “We have learned a great deal from this experience…promises were made to keep in touch, come visit, return visit, and most of all, to share our experience with other people in our worlds.” And Tooele, Utah Mayor Charlie Roberts said, “Tooele City’s experience with the Open World delegation proved to be enlightening to our entire community and helped all those involved gain a greater appreciation for a different culture and people.”

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.