Albany, NY (4/8/2011) – The Albany-Tula Alliance, under the sponsorship of the Open World Leadership Program of the United States Library of Congress, is hosting an impressive delegation of leading Russian educators from Tula’s two universities and Educational Research Institute from April 9-16. This marks the tenth year that the Alliance has hosted such groups. Previous programs have brought delegations to the Capital Region to explore collaboration opportunities in health, the environment, economic development, business, and education for the 21st century.
The Open World Programs bring to this country professionals under 40 who have never been to the United States before. The delegates spend 10 days in a designated city. They may all come from one city in Russia or from all over the country. Since Albany has a sister city relationship with Tula, all of the delegates come from Tula. This year is the 20th Anniversary for the Tula-Albany Alliance and celebrations are scheduled throughout the year including the Tricentennial Statue Dedication on May 20 and the World Premiere of “Road to Paradise” set for May 21-22.
Dr. Barbara J. Webster, Chair of the Albany Tula Alliance Education and Culture Committee, and organizer of the Open World Program this year, is Distinguished SUNY Professor Emerita from the SUNY system and a 25-year veteran of teaching international relations, and Eurasian and East European politics at SUNY Brockport. She has published widely on environmental and feminist issues in Eurasia. She has served on the Albany-Tula Alliance Board of Directors since 2000 and has chaired the group’s Education and Culture Committee since 2003.
Dr. Webster is enthusiastic about the Open World Program. “The Open World programs have served as catalysts for deepening and widening the 20 years of cooperation that has existed between the city of Tula and the Capital Region. The Alliance is most appreciate of the work the Leadership Program is doing and honored and privileged to be part of it. World peace is built by individuals meeting individual one on one. Open World helps initiate this kind of partnership.”
The theme of this year’s program is “New Modalities in Education” and features meetings with area higher education professors and administrators, as well as county and state legislative leaders. The itinerary includes visits and discussions with educational leaders at Union University, Schenectady Community College, Hudson Valley Community College, Empire State College, and SUNY Central Administration. The program gets off to a challenging start with a visit to the State Capitol where the group will have a chance to learn about public support of education directly on site and to be welcomed into a session of the New York State Assembly.
The Open World Program is the brainchild of Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian Of Congress and a noted scholar on Russia and Eurasia. The program is administered3by the Open World Leadership Center, an independent legislative branch entity headquartered at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Its goal is to enable emerging leaders from Russia and other Eurasian countries to experience American democracy and civil society in action. It is the first and only exchange program in the U.S. legislative branch. Congress established the program in 1999 following discussions initiated by Dr. Billington with members of Congress led by Senator Ted Stevens (AK) on ways to increase U.S.-Russian understanding and to expose Russian leaders to American democratic and economic institutions. Open World has brought more than 13,000 Russian and Eastern European citizens to the United States since its inception.
