The Open World Leadership Center, an agency of the U.S. Congress, sent a delegation of Russian professionals to Pensacola, Florida, from February 14-22, 2020. The delegation consisted of five professionals and was accompanied by a bicultural facilitator and an interpreter. FHI-360 in Washington, D.C., facilitated their national project while Gulf Coast Diplomacy crafted their local one. Prior to their arrival in Northwest Florida, the participants completed an orientation in Washington, D.C., where they had policy meetings with Members of Congress.
In Pensacola, the group collaborated on best practices for entrepreneurship and looked at the role incubators and accountability in providing an atmosphere conducive to business growth and community success. They attended a Pensacola Young Professionals Meeting, met with local entrepreneurs, and explored business school teaching methods and the Small Business Development Center at the University of West Florida (UWF). A community coffee introduced them to a dozen local business and community leaders. They explored the 1 Million Cups Program, Co:Lab, and the Booker T. Washington High School Marketing & Entrepreneurship Academy. The group met with city leaders in Pensacola as well as with the UWF Russian Club. Other activities included site visits to the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and to the Pensacola MESS Hall, a conversation about TechFarms Capital, and a discussion about local software company Cognitive Big Data Systems.
In addition to unstructured time at Historic Pensacola Village and lunches in downtown Pensacola, the visitors spent time with their respective host families. Leigh & Kent DeSantis, Karen & Mike Jurkowich, Wendy & Chris McCullar, and Megan & Jerry Pratt made the exchange possible by inviting the visitors into their homes for their time in the area.
More than 27,000 current and future leaders from post-Soviet era countries have participated in the Open World program. Open World offers one of the most effective U.S. exchange programs to promote mutually beneficial options for depolarized engagement between future national leaders. Open World supports legislative diplomacy efforts for Members of Congress by conducting exchanges that establish lasting professional relationships between emerging leaders and their U.S. counterparts. Program participants are provided with extensive exposure to American politics, accountable governance, and citizen diplomacy, while being home hosted by American families.
