Sam Brownback: “In May 2000, a delegation from Georgia attended a five-day seminar in western Sicily to help further a culture of…”

“In May 2000, a delegation from Georgia attended a five-day seminar in western Sicily to help further a culture of lawfulness in Georgia. The delegation consisted of government officials as well as senior educators, representatives from the Orthodox Church, and the media. The program was organized by two non-governmental organizations--the National Strategy Information Center in Washington, D.C. and the Sicilian Renaissance Institute in Palermo, Sicily--with financial assistance from the City of Palermo and the U.S. Department of State. The seminar featured presentations on key aspects of the Sicilian Renaissance as well as one-on-one meetings between Georgians and their Sicilian counterparts to discuss specific programs that could be implemented in Georgia. The focus was on how in recent decades cultural change in Palermo and other parts of Sicily helped reduce crime and corruption, the lessons from the Sicilian experience that may have applicability to Georgia, and how the Sicilian experience can be modified or replicated in Georgia. The consensus of the Georgian delegation was that the achievements of the Sicilians were remarkable and that many of the practices that have been effective in Sicily are applicable to the prevention of crime and corruption in Georgia.”