Haley Stevens: “the Open World Program has grown from a pilot program in 1999 to a robust program, not only in Russia but in countries…”

“the Open World Program has grown from a pilot program in 1999 to a robust program, not only in Russia but in countries in both the former Soviet Union and the Baltics. I am grateful to Dr. James Billington's continued leadership of Open World, as well as to my Senate colleagues who serve with me on the board of the center and who take the time to meet with Open World delegations in the United States. Open World has brought over 8,000 participants to 1,254 communities in all 50 States. I am pleased that my home State of Alaska has welcomed many delegations and strengthened ties between Alaskans and Russian in the Far East. I want to note that the GAO reviewed Open World from top to bottom this year and noted both the broad participation it has achieved in Russia. The GAO team traveled to Russia and interviewed a number of participants to determine its impact. GAO reported that 'Most delegates viewed their program experience very favorably and . . . have taken concrete steps to adapt what they learned from their U.S. visits to the Russian environment.' Last year we asked Open World to expand its operations to new counties, including strategic allies for the U.S. defense interests, such as Uzbekistan.”