Open World is a ten-day program which brings emerging leaders from Eurasia to the United States to engage with professional counterparts. The program was established in 1999 to foster cultural and political ties with Russia but has since expanded outreach to other countries of the post-Soviet region. Since its inception the program has brought over 24,000 delegates to 2,300 communities throughout all 50 states.
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Program Structure
Open World provides programming in areas such as Rule of Law, Accountable Governance and Social Services. Delegates have a one-day orientation in Washington D.C. before travelling to a hosting community. The delegates home-stay with local families and participate in a series of meetings, interviews, presentations, and panel discussions with experts in their fields.
Open World Leadership Center
The Open World Leadership Center administers the Open World Program. The agency is part of the U.S. legislative branch and is housed in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.
Every year, through the Senate and House Subcommittees on Legislative Branch Appropriations, U.S. Congress decides upon funding for Open World. The agency then confers grants to a variety of national organizations including Rotary clubs and other service organizations, community colleges and universities, sister-city associations, and international visitor councils.
The Open World Leadership Center has a Board of Directors with eleven members. The founding chairman of the Board is James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress. There are three members from the House of Representatives and three members from the Senate. In addition, there are four individuals outside of the government who have an interest in improving relations between Open World’s focus countries and the United States.