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Exchange Programs

Programs for Professionals

 

International Visitor Leadership Program

This program brings mid- to senior-level individuals from Russia to the U.S. for two to four weeks, to meet with their counterparts and examine issues related to democratic and economic reform, as well as other topics of interest in the U.S.-Russian relationship. The IV Program affords a unique opportunity for established or potential foreign leaders in government, politics, media, education, labor relations, the arts and other key fields to confer with their professional counterparts and to experience the U.S. first-hand.

Unlike some other programs, the American Embassy nominates the visitors, who come to the United States from Russia to meet with their U.S. counterparts in various cities around the country. Candidates do not "apply" or nominate themselves. Cultural and geographic diversity play a large role in these programs. The decision whether to accept and fund each person rests with the Department of State in Washington and the Public Affairs Section in Moscow.

IVL projects last three weeks and provide an in-depth look at a particular subject area. Participants travel in groups and generally visit three or four U.S. cities. Participants are typically in their 30s or 40s, and are mid-career professionals with a long career track ahead of them.

The following are among the topics that have been addressed in recent visits:

  • Civic Education
  • American Studies
  • The US Political Process
  • HIV Prevention Strategies
  • The Role of Media, the Policy Community and NGOs from a Government Perspective
  • Journalism Education in the U.S.
  • Teaching English as a Foreign Language
  • Aviation Safety Programs and Procedures
  • Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Commercialization
  • The Role of Citizen's Watchdog Groups
  • Terrorism Preparedness Programs
  • Nonproliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
  • Using Public-Private Partnerships for Local Economic Development
  • International Adoption

 

The Community Connections Program

This program, formerly managed by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), and now funded through the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at USAID, is designed to promote public diplomacy through the exchange of cultural ideas and values between participants, U.S. families and local community host organizations. The goals of the Community Connections program are to:

  • Provide participants with professional training and exposure to day-to-day functioning of a free market system;
  • Encourage public-private partnerships in Europe/Eurasia by including private sector and government participants on U.S. visits;
  • Create links between U.S. and Europe/Eurasia regions and communities.


Professionals are recruited on a list of themes from across Russia - one region, one theme. The goal behind recruiting is to assemble a team of experts in their field who can work together across sectors to improve the work being done in their field. Community Connections typically recruits in the social and development sectors such as nonprofit development, women's rights, poverty alleviation, rights of the disabled, and others. Themes that we've recruited in the past can be found here.

Each Community Connections group is comprised of members from private, governmental, and the nonprofit sectors as well as media, forming a local team that can approach problem solving more effectively while working for greater sustainability. Alumni from previous trainings have gone on to found nonprofit organizations, develop training programs themselves, win grants for social projects, and other great successes.

Partnerships in Addressing Environmental Issues

Primorsky Krai
Application deadline - March 7, 2008
Travel Dates: June 26 – July 18, 2008 
Application Form

Contact: 

E-mail: laletina@projectharmony.ru
Тел.: (4232) 76-90-62
Site: www.ccfrussia.ru 

 

The Open World Program

This program, authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1999 as the Russian Leadership Program, brings young political and civic leaders from Russia to the United States for short-term stays. The program aims to forge better understanding between the two nations by giving emerging Russian leaders unique opportunities to observe and experience American political, business, and community life firsthand. Since the inception of Open World, over 4,500 participants have been hosted in more than 700 communities across the United States. Open World is now administered by the Center for Russian Leadership Development. The Center has its own board of trustees, an expanded, year-round program of exchanges, and a permanent home at the U.S. Library of Congress.

The Open World Program targets for participation public policy decision-makers, as well as those who influence the policy arena and public opinion. The most appropriate nominees are talented leaders who are relatively young but have already demonstrated leadership skills and a commitment to building democracy, free markets, and the rule of law in the Russian Federation.

Contact:
U.S. Embassy
Tel: (495) 728-5000 x5806
American Councils for International Education
Tel: (495) 956-7817
Site: http://www.openworld.gov

The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. TEA will provide 156 secondary school teachers from around the world with opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge about the United States. The international participants will travel to the United States in two groups of about 75 teachers each in spring or fall 2010. Their program will include coursework and intensive training in teaching methodologies, lesson planning, and teaching strategies for the participants’ home environment, as well as the use of computers for Internet, word processing, and as teaching tools. The 6-week program will also include a 2-week internship at a secondary school to actively engage participants with American teachers and students. Trips to U.S. cultural sites and academic support will be provided for participants throughout the program.

In spring and summer 2011, a cohort of 78 U.S. teachers will reciprocate the visits of the international teachers. Each U.S. teacher will be hosted by a TEA alumni school in the participating country where they will team-teach, discuss best teaching practices, curriculum, and educational issues in the host country. The trip will include visits to local schools and parent committees, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and local government offices. TEA will provide follow-on grants to Russian finalists to purchase essential materials for their schools, to offer follow-on training for other teachers, and to conduct other activities that will build on their exchange experience.

The TEA fellowship is fully funded and provides J-1 visa support; a pre-departure orientation; round-trip airfare to and within the U.S.; academic program fees; housing (generally shared with other program fellows) and meals; accident and sickness coverage; book/professional development allowance; welcome orientation in Washington, D.C.; transportation to the internship school (if necessary);  closing seminar; the opportunity to host a U.S. teacher for two weeks; the opportunity to apply for follow-on grants.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 5PM (Moscow Time) April 27, 2009
Applications can be downloaded at: http://russian.moscow.usembassy.gov/exchanges/tea.html
Send your completed application to: USGExchanges@gmail.com
There are places for Math, Science, Social Studies, AND English Teachers!
 

The SABIT (Special American Business Internship Training) Program

The program provides participants with substantive experience in the workings of the American market economy, so that they will return to their home countries with practical knowledge necessary to contribute to the economic transformation process. There are two types of internship training. The first is for individual, English-speaking Russian business executives and scientists who are placed with U.S. firms for a period of two to six months. The second is for groups focussed on a particular industry. In the group programs, participants from around the CIS travel together to meet with companies in one industry. Russian interpreters are provided. Interested persons with at least five years' experience in their specialty should contact the SABIT Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy's Foreign Commercial Service in Moscow.

Contact:

U.S. Commercial Service - American Consulate General, Vladivostok
32 Pushkinskaya Ul., Vladivostok 69001, Russia
Tel: 7-4232-49-93-81 (Vladivostok is 15 hours ahead of Washington)
Fax:7-4232-300092
Email the Vladivostok Office
 

The Cochran Fellowship Program of the United States Department of Agriculture

The programsends specialists from Russia to the U.S. for training in agricultural and agribusiness issues. The objectives of the program are to develop agricultural systems, which will satisfy food requirements in Russia, and to strengthen and enhance trade linkages with the United States. The program consists of short-term training for two to four weeks designed to address the specific interests of the participants. Selection is based on an application and an interview. There is no age limit or language requirement. Interested persons should contact the U.S. Embassy's Agricultural Section.

Contact:

Agricultural Trade Office
U.S. Consulate General, Vladivostok
Tel/Fax: (7-4232) 300-089
E-mail Oksana.Lubentsova@fas.usda.gov

 

Programs in the Arts and Humanities

A limited number of United States government programs exist in the arts and humanities. Selection is highly competitive. Participants should be up and coming artists, performers, or writers. Programs in museum management are dependent upon a cooperative relationship with an American museum.

The Iowa Writers' Workshop of the University of Iowa in Iowa City has played host to many of America's most important contemporary writers. Each year the Workshop requests nominations from U.S. embassies for young, English-speaking writers for a program that includes a three-month residency in Iowa City and the opportunity to travel within the United States.

American Dance Festival Choreographers Competition, part of the summer American Dance Festival at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, requests nominations from U.S. embassies for young choreographers. A minimum level of English proficiency is required for participation in the program.

International Partnership among Museums is a program offered by the American Association of Museums for museum administrators and curators who wish to strengthen ties to American museums and galleries.

Contact:

Cultural Affairs Office
U.S. Embassy, Moscow
Tel: (095) 728-52-42, fax: (095) 728-52-62
E-mail: MoscowWebM@state.gov