The USAID funded Community Connections Program provides an important opportunity for Americans and people from across Eurasia to work together to address common professional challenges while expanding their social and cultural understanding. It is designed to promote public diplomacy through the exchange of cultural ideas and values between participants, U.S. families and local community host organizations.
As business and professional communities of both countries rapidly become integrated, opportunities for positive relations between Americans and the people from Eurasia are increasingly important. This program offers home stay-based, three-to-five week practical training opportunities in the United States for business and professional organization leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The goals of the program are: • provide participants with professional training and exposure to day-to-day functioning of a free market system;
• encourage public-private partnerships in the NIS by including private sector
and government participants;
• create links between U.S. and NIS regions and communities. Community Connections provides two types of training: Business Groups will consist of 10 entrepreneurs from small and medium sized businesses who participate in individualized internships at US firms matched with participants based on their interests and experience. Due to the nature of the business programs, participants must have a strong command of the English language. Professional groups will consist of 10 professionals sharing a common professional background in their respective fields. These participants will attend seminars, lectures, round-tables, meet with their professional colleagues and visit US institutions specific to their field of interest. As these are more group- oriented internships, interpreters will be provided during the program, and these participants are not required to know English. |
