March 17, 2010
Russian Delegates Examine American Youth Programs
Five Russian delegates participating in the Open World Program met with Supreme Court of Ohio staff Tuesday as part of a week in central Ohio examining accountable governance with a focus on youth programs in America.
During their visit to the Ohio Judicial Center, the delegates discussed juveniles in the Ohio judicial system with special emphasis on the following topics: the authority of juvenile judges; the role of crime victims in judicial decision-making; how judges interact with the legislature; handling cases involving adults and juveniles; who provides, pays for and the consequences of skipping court-ordered juvenile and family services; helping drug and alcohol offenders through drug courts; and how America educates the public about the judicial branch.
The group met with Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer; Steven Hanson, manager of the Children, Families and the Courts Programs; Monica Hunyadi, Human Resources director; Christine Raffaele, Specialized Dockets Program manager; and Pickaway County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge Jan Michael Long.
“The creation of separate juvenile courts is relatively new in Russia,” said Hanson. “From the discussion it became clear that our visitors want to ensure many of the same ideals that we hold dear: the right to representation, support for crime victims, and an array of services to meet the needs of young offenders.”
The visiting delegates, accompanied by facilitator Olga Shchukina, are:
- Natalya Mamontova, executive director at the Women’s Social-Democratic Congress;
- Eduard Ovakimyan, vice president of the Moscow branch of the All-Russia Public Organization Union of Armenians of Russia Youth;
- Irina Pechkovskaya, director of the Community Initiatives Agency in the Krasnoyarsk Region;
- Aleksandr Solovyev, head of the Department of Social Policy at Kommunalnye Tekhnologii LCC;
- Aleksey Lvov, head of the Department of Youth Development for Cheboksary City Administration.
The Columbus International Program serves as host of the delegation in partnership with the Open World Program. Managed by the independent Open World Leadership Center under Congressional mandate, Open World enhances understanding and cooperation between the United States and Russia by developing a network of leaders who have gained significant firsthand exposure to America’s democratic, accountable government and free-market system.
While in central Ohio, the delegates will also meet with officials from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Ohio Department of Youth Services, Northwest Counseling Services, The Village Network and the cities of Columbus, Dublin and Wooster. Additionally, the delegates will participate in a roundtable discussion with several organizations and attend a Model United Nations meeting at Muskingum University.
Based on Open World Guidelines as well as the participants’ backgrounds and goals, the program has been structured around several main themes: interaction, coordination, and cooperation between and among various levels and branches of government; transparency and accountability from legal and budgetary perspectives; benefits and organization of separation of governmental powers; understanding the roles of American government, civil institutes, free enterprise, and voluntary organizations; promotion of American and Russian cultural awareness and understanding.
Delegates are being housed with local families in order to experience American family life. They also are taking part in several cultural and community activities that are designed to expose participants to the wide array of American culture and pastimes including visiting popular locales in the area, attending sporting events, and sampling restaurants.
The U.S. Congress established Open World in 1999 and expanded the program in 2003 to all post-Soviet states. Thanks to Open World, some 15,000 current and future Eurasian leaders have experienced American civil society and have been exposed to new ideas and practices that they can adapt for use in their own work. Open World also promotes partnerships and continued communications between delegates and their American hosts and professional counterparts. Open World currently operates exchanges for political and civic leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
For more information, please contact Mark Poeppelman, executive director of the Columbus International Program at 614.221.0034 or Maura Shelden, Open World public affairs officer at 202.707.6197. For more information on Open World, please visit http://www.openworld.gov.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow, 614.387.9250.