The University of Missouri–St. Louis has coordinated a visit by 27 Russian civic and political leaders, who will spend April 24 through May 1 in the St. Louis area. Through the Open World Program, the delegates will examine how government at all levels works with each other and with the business and nonprofit sectors under the United States’ system of government. They will meet with many local civic and political leaders, including St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, St. Louis Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed and Civic Progress Executive Director Tom Irwin.
The Russian officials also will meet with representatives from city, county and regional public policy agencies, the media, local businesses and the nonprofit sector, as well as former Missouri state legislators and UMSL faculty and students. In addition, they will take part in several cultural and community activities during their stay, including a group meeting and exchange with FOCUS St. Louis community leaders.
For this effort, UMSL received national backing from Supporters of Civil Society in Russia, a nonprofit organization committed to promoting the development of a free and open society in Russia, and its Russian program partner, the Moscow School of Political Studies, which since 1992 has trained and supported more than 6,000 Russian civic and political leaders around the issues of good governance, transparent public policy development and human rights.
Thomas R. Pickering, a former ambassador to Russia, chairs the SCSR board.
“Programs such as this are critical to building important bridges of understanding and cooperation between our two countries,” Pickering said.
This will be the fifth visit of Russian civic and political leaders to St. Louis in partnership with SCSR and UMSL.
Since its founding by Congress in 1999, the Open World Program has enabled more than 14,000 current and future European and Asian leaders to experience American democracy, civil society and community life; work with their American counterparts; stay in American homes; and gain new ideas and inspiration for implementing change back home.
Call UMSL’s Jerol Enoch at 314-560-0969 or SCSR’s Tom Rhodenbaugh at 202-549-6366 for more information.
More information:
http://www.openworld.gov
http://eng.msps.su/
