Kaliningrad Region Alumni Join Forces
In December 2002, a three-day training program entitled “Modern
Practices in Change Management” took place in Kaliningrad,
Russia. This program is part of USAID’s effort to support
alumni of U.S. government training programs in the Russian
regions. Conducted by the Academy of Management and the Market,
a Russian NGO based in Moscow, the training was attended
by 42 participants, all of whom had taken part in earlier
U.S. training and exchange programs such as Training for
Development, Business for Russia, Community Connections,
the International Visitors Program, and the Special American
Business Internship Training Program (SABIT).
The major aims of the training included assisting the participants
with promoting innovative ideas in their organizations; brushing
up on and applying their leadership skills; and mastering
new skills and knowledge developed via modern managerial
science. The event was also designed to provide the participants
the opportunity to enhance professional linkages between
alumni of the Kaliningrad region, as well as to help the
alumni understand the benefits of networking.
The training was intended to facilitate the development
of alumni organizations in the region. During the seminar,
the participants decided to create a more formal way to stay
in touch by meeting weekly to discuss issues of common interest.
They also formed an initiative group to explore the possibilities
of creating an association to promote their common interests.
Two months after the completion of the workshop, “The
Association of Kaliningrad Alumni of USG -sponsored Training,
Cultural and Professional Programs” was founded and
registered as a formal organization in Kaliningrad. Among
the goals of the association are to:
- Promote the concepts of social stability, economic transformation,
democratic liberties, and human rights and freedoms;
- Develop a system of legal and civil control on business
structures, governmental bodies and self-government institutions;
- Provide public support to citizens interested in the
adoption of consistent market reforms aimed to improve
the living standards of society;
- Establish an information and business forum and to implement
public development projects; and
- Build a constructive dialogue between the government
and municipal institutions, businesses and non-profit organizations.
The new association provides the alumni with an excellent
opportunity to learn from each other, as well as further
professional and personal linkages between its members and
the government, business, and NGOs. It will also contribute
to the ongoing process of democratic and economic transition
within the Kaliningrad region.
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| Kaliningrad Region Alumni Training, December 2002, Russia. |
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