YouthBridge Hosts Guests from Russia through Open World Program

Russian Leaders Learn about Creative Solutions to Helping Youth in Need

YouthBridge Campus , November 06, 2007 -

Ten Russian leaders met with St. Louis non-profit organizations to learn more about strategies to aid youth in need.  On November 6, they were hosted by Rex Reed and Norm Moenkhaus, Co-Executive Directors of the YouthBridge Association, to learn more about social entrepreneurship initiatives, including the Social Entrepreneurship Innovation Competition with Washington University.  

In addition, Dick Matt, President and CEO of the Missouri Alliance for Children and Families (MACF), presented its strategy for success in private foster care.  MACF has developed foster care programs, returning more than 70 percent of residents to normal and productive lives.  Attendees also heard from Yuriy Kudinov, Director of Humanitarian Aid of Children’s Hope International, a local agency that supports children in Russia and other countries by providing assistance to adoption agencies within each country.   Mr. Kudinov presented to the group in their native Russian language.         

“We were so excited to be a part of this program,” said Rex Reed, Executive Director of Community Relations at YouthBridge. “We hope that we were able to provide information that will help better the lives of youth in need in Russia, as we continue to strive for the same here.”

Friendship Force hosts the Open World programs here in St. Louis, providing accommodations for guests with local residents.  Home hospitality is at the center of Friendship Force’s mission. Friendship Force International is a non-profit organization dedicated to the principle that each person can make a contribution to global goodwill.

“The presentations made by YouthBridge and other non-profit organizations here in St. Louis were extremely helpful to our Russian guests,” said Bob Hoffmann, Friendship Force.  “Most programs for youth in need in Russia are run by the government.  The information they’ve learned here will help them organize non-profits and work with non governmental agencies.”

Made possible through a partnership between the United States and the Russian governments, Open World has hosted more than 11,100 current and future leaders from all of the Russian Federation’s 86 regions.  This initiative’s Russian attendees included:

·         Vadim Abrashev – Regional Coordinator, Chuvash Republic Youth Association

·         Yuriy Kolesnichenko – Head of Culture & Youth Policy Department, Vladivostok City Administration

·         Sergey Zelenin – Director, Youth Employment Center, Yekaterinburg

·         Inna Kotova – Director of Municipal Education Institution Youth Center, Rossosh

·         Oksana Sobchenko – Head of the Administrative Department of the Orenburg Region Council, Russian Youth Union

·         Tatyana Gozenko – Department Head of Youth Affairs, Ressoshansk District

·         Yelena Sharvarko – Senior Specialist on Youth Issues, Rostov Regional Executive Committee, "United Russia" Political Party

·         Yekaterina Kirillova – Head of Dept of Culture, Sergievsky Municipal District Administration, Samara Region.    

About the Open World Program

The Open World Program strives to expose emerging leaders from Russia and other Eurasian countries to American democratic practices and civil society in action. Since its inception in 1999, Open World has introduced more than 10,000 current and future Russian decision makers to American political and civic life.