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About Us [about.html] Support Programs Materials FAQ Links Events óêð Ukraine Civic Training Program UCHI Chosen as a Host for the Ukraine Civic Training Program! The Ukrainian Cultural and Humanitarian Institute (UCHI) was chosen in 2004 to host a delegation from the Open World Leadership Program. The Academy for Educational Development (AED), a Washington DC-based training and development agency, has received funds from the US Department of State and has sub-contracted with UCHI to plan an eight-day training/exchange program for a group of four representatives of the legal community from various cities in Ukraine. The intent of the Open World Leadership Program is to provide an opportunity for elected and emerging political and civic leaders from Eurasia to observe the American political system and effective, responsive government at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels. Principles of accountability, transparency, and citizen involvement are emphasized. The American Council for International Education (ACIE) is primarily responsible for the selection of participants. Program participants live with American host families during their stay in the US in order to appreciate the diversity of family life in the US. While the group was originally scheduled to visit Pittsburgh from December 3 – 11, 2004, events surrounding the “Orange Revolution” caused a delay. A group of three judges and a facilitator from the cities of Kyiv, Khartsyzk, and Simferopol, Ukraine visited Pittsburgh during the week of March 5 – 12, 2005. During their time in Pittsburgh, the group met with colleagues from local courts and the legal community to discuss issues relating to the Rule of Law. The group had a comprehensive cultural program, and spent a good deal of time interacting with home stay hosts and other group members in social settings. Professional hosts, home stay hosts, and participants voiced a high level of satisfaction with the program on several occasions. The group’s professional program was structured to accommodate as many professional meetings as possible, in light of the needs and requests of group members and UCHI’s knowledge of the Pittsburgh legal community. The program began with a session on cross-cultural understanding, led by Rhonda Coast of International Development Resources, which proved to be one of the highest-rated of the group’s meetings. Its inclusion at the beginning of the program helped the group transition to American work-styles and values. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappalla and Pennsylvania Superior Court Justice Patrick Tamilia were quite generous with the time they spent with the group. Visits to the Allegheny County Jail and Pittsburgh Police were described as “eye-openers” to the American attitude towards prisoners and the overall respect for the rule of law in the US. Participant Olga Shapovalova commented that “in Ukraine, the general public or a group such as ours would never be allowed to meet with prisoners. Certainly, we would not be allowed to come in such close physical proximity to prisoners. I can see how deeply ingrained the rule of law is among Americans in general. Your prisons also look much better than ours, and I’m sure that this has a great impact on the psychological well-being of the prisoners.” The group visited the Senator John Heinz Regional History Center and the Carnegie Museums of Natural History, Art, and Architecture – two cultural institutions, which provide deep insight into the history and culture of Pittsburgh and the Western Pennsylvania region. The group greatly enjoyed its excursion to a bowling alley as three of the four group members had the opportunity to play the sport for the first time in their lives. A meeting with representatives of the local Ukrainian-American community provided the group an opportunity to discuss current events in Ukraine, and also allowed the group to interact with another Open World Rule of Law group visiting Pittsburgh at the time, which was comprised of journalists. A trip to Dave and Buster’s arcade rounded out the cultural program, giving program participants an opportunity to see Americans at play in a “vacation” frame of mind. Program participants expressed general satisfaction with their host families. All host families were located within a ten-minute drive of each other. Dinner with the host family was arranged on the first work-day evening, and an interpreter accompanied the program participant to this dinner for those hosts, who did not speak Ukrainian. A host-family pot-luck dinner was held on Wednesday evening in order to provide a greater opportunity for guests and hosts to interact and get the most out of the hosting experience. Host families were invited to a closing reception, which was held at a local restaurant, and gave guests and hosts the opportunity to exchange their thoughts and thanks. UCHI has also worked with Magee WomanCare International to find home hosts for a group of non-governmental organization leaders from Ukraine during their August 27-September 5, 2004 stay in Pittsburgh. UCHI looks forward to hosting more Ukrainian groups through the Open World Program, possibly as soon as Autumn, 2005. © Ukrainian Cultural and Humanitarian Institute, 2002-2005 Webmaster