Contents:

Volume 41 spring-summer 2008

F U T U R E L E A D E R S E X C HAN G E A L U M N I N E W S L E T T E R

Natalia Graur ’00Chisinau, Moldova/Laurel, MDnataliagraur@hotmail.com

All happy families are alike, but an unhappy family is unhappy after its own fashion.1

Most of you would recognize this quote from Leo Tolstoy in Anna Karenina. Some of you would probably wonder why I cite it here. I found that there is a similarity between Tolstoy’s thought on unhappiness and the phenomenon of corruption around the world. Corruption is present in every society, be it in a developed or developing country. And all coun-tries are alike in as much as each has at least one law or rule against corruption. The difference comes into play when one analyzes the causes of corruption, every country having “its own fashion” of them.Corruption – we have all encountered it at some point, in one way or another. Some of us refused to accept that it is a necessary evil which you can’t avoid. I remember reading the foreword to the Transparency International (TI) Source Book 2000, when the following lines grabbed my attention:

“Whose is the greater blame in a shared evil?She who sins for pay, or he who pays for sin.”2

It is obvious that “it takes two to tango” in the cases where corruption is involved one corrupts and the other one lets himself/herself be cor-rupted. Nonetheless, which side is at greater fault?To translate my genuine interest into learn-ing more about the worldwide fight against corruption, I applied for an internship at TI

Secretariat in Berlin and was accepted for a six-month full-time internship in the Europe and Central Asia Department (ECA). After four months at the TI Secretariat, I can clearly say this internship has met all my expectations and even exceeded some of them. At this point I won’t list all the key responsibilities of my internship at ECA, but rather use the space wisely and tell you about lessons learned and impressions gained.

What do I know about corruption now that I didn't know before starting the internship?

Although I have been here for only four months as I write this, there are three lessons which I have learned both from the people I worked with and from the feedback of some events and projects at the TI Secretariat.1. Even the greatest ideas and anti-corruption

projects would take years if not decades to bear visible results.

2. It is very hard, if not impossible, to measure corruption and its costs.

3. The approaches such as “one size fits all,” “top down” or “bottom up” are absent in the anti-corruption discourse and that is not an accident.

Overall, one thing became clear to me: the suc-cess of the anti-corruption movement is due to the dedication and hard work of those people locally and worldwide, who are not satisfied with the mere existence of anti-corruption strategies and conventions, but who work hard

Learning to Fight Corruption as an Intern at the Transparency International Secretariat

1 Introduction sentence in Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy2 Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a 17th century Mexican poet, cited by Oscar Arias Sanchez (president of Costa Rica 1986-1990; Nobel Price Laureate 1987; founding supporter of TI) in the Foreword to the TI Source Book 2000, p.xii

continued on p. 2

17 Theme: Challenges in Young Democracies

Learning to Fight Corruption at the Transparency International Secretariat

Words of Appreciation for Diana Aronson

Climate Change – the Challenge for Everyone

Armenia Moving Forward with Limited Rights and Multiplied Responsibilities

From Ukraine to Maine

89 Alumni Beat

1011 Bradley Bits

1214 News and Essays

FLEX Family News

Sevastopol Christmas Miracle

Philanthropy: The Next Step for Volunteers

Internet – Great Invention of the 20th Century

Alumni Coordinators Wanted

Running for President

15 Profiles

Omina Sanginova ’07 Khujand, Tajikistan

Rozaliya Nigmatullina ’98 Sterlitamak, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia

Suzanna Shamakhyan ’07 Yerevan, Armenia

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Dear FLEX Alumni,

The Bradley Herald FLEX Alumni Newsletter serves many purposes. In addition to reporting on alumni projects, opportunities, and achievements, an important task is to keep the ever growing alumni community up to date on program milestones. As 2008 marks the 15th anniversary of the FLEX program, we will dedicate the next issue of this publication to that anniversary. We invite you to share your thoughts on this secondary school exchange program, which began as the FREEDOM Support Act (FSA) and today is known as FLEX, a brand name in its own right! The newsletter will provide a forum to discuss how this program has impacted you and your coun-tries since 1993. We ask ourselves: to what degree has it achieved its original goals of exposing the post-Soviet youth generation to the principles of a democratic society and a market economy? How have the processes of globalization and technological advancement affected your lives? What can you say about how your life, your val-ues have changed as a result of your FLEX experience? And finally, is the FLEX program still relevant in 2008? Send your thoughts to bradleyherald@actr.ru.As FLEX alumni you share a commitment to contributing to the social, political and economic development of your countries. The theme for this issue of the newsletter, Challenges Faced by Young Democracies, offers you a chance to consider the developments of the young nations of Eurasia, as seen through the eyes of alumni. Your comments are welcome.In May and June we welcomed home our newest ’08 FLEX alumni! We invite you to participate in summer re-entry seminars which will take place across Eurasia, and the FLEX Welcome Home Forum. Be sure to contact the nearest American Councils representative for all the details! And who is that FLEX representative, you might ask. In most cases it is the FLEX Alumni Coordinator. As you read this issue of The Bradley Herald, we call your attention to the work of these coordinators. Each year American Councils hires about 20 alumni leaders to work part-time for the alumni community in their region and/or country. This tradition continues from the return of the very first alumni in 1994. Read what Alumni Coordinator Vlodymyr Bilay (Sevastopol) has to say about this exciting opportunity on page 13. And as a testimony to the wonderful activities and projects alumni are conducting, we invite you to take a look at this year’s Faces of FLEX Alumni Photo Contest at www.flexphotocontest.org for which alumni submitted 374 photos. That was a fabulous response, espe-cially given the technological glitches that resulted in a slow start for the contest! Many thanks to all who participated. You’ll find this year’s winning photo on page 6. Finally, in closing, I ask you to join me in saluting our friend and colleague Diana (Dee) Aronson, who retired this spring from the Bureau of Educational And Cultural Affairs after 16 years of dedi-cated service to the FLEX program. Dee has successfully lobbied for continued FLEX program funding all these 15 years. She speaks eloquently about the impact of the FLEX program on you as alumni, on the people you've met during your year in the United States and on the countless lives you've touched on your return to your home countries. We bid her farewell with our warmest wishes and thanks for all that she has done to propel the FLEX program forward. We’ve included a few of the many letters of thanks to Dee from alumni on page 3. Enjoy the summer and keep in touch!

Mary SheaEditor

Letter from the Editorin seeing them also implemented and respected. TI would not enjoy the same successes and would not make the same impact on both the national and international arena, if it was not driven by people who com-mit to fighting corruption in their country. I admire and respect these people. They want to make a change for the better and do not get dis-couraged by comments they hear everyday and everywhere: corruption can not be out-rooted. I have come to believe that it can and it will be, though maybe not tomorrow.

Why am I interested in fighting corruption?I offer just one example of an ad that I saw on Moldovan TV a year ago. A student in his final year at the medical university does not study well enough to pass the exams. He is not worried, because he knows he can pay the professor. He does so and gets his diploma. He is a surgeon now. Of course he gets a job. A year later the professor who accepted the money gets sick and needs an operation. He is brought to the hospital and he faces the “doctor” who would operate on him – the student who paid for the exams. You can only imagine what that professor thought at that moment about the upcoming “quality” of the operation. It was his life at stake. I think this example portrays the seriousness of the issue, and it also helps me articulate my interest in fighting corruption.

What can you do if you care about this issue?First of all, never accept and never offer a bribe. In many cases cor-ruption happens because it is the easiest path to take, even if it’s not right or legal. Do not accept this way of dealing with this phenomenon. It is not a necessary evil and it is not a way of “doing business in my country.” There are many tools and instruments at your disposal, if you decide to fight corruption, depending on the country in which you live or work. Transparency International is one of the leading organizations fighting against corruption, and by visiting its web site http://www.transparency.org. You can learn more about the work it does, countries with National Chapters, and various useful tools and instruments at citizens’ disposal. You can take a look at TI’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centers (ALACs) worldwide, centers that empower cit-izens in the fight against corruption by providing victims of corruption with practical assistance to pursue complaints and address their griev-ances. Currently there are 20 TI’s ALACs in 16 countries worldwide. TI will be organizing in 2008 its 13th International Anti-corruption Conference (IACC), which will take place October 30 - November 2, 2008 in Athens, Greece. To learn more you can write to: info@13iacc.org.

Remembering the celebration of the FLEX Program 10th anniversary in Kyiv, Ukraine, I recall Senator Bradley telling us how this exchange pro-gram came about and mentioning that his wife gave him this idea. Well, Transparency International’s conception is what you would call a pro-verbial “kitchen NGO.” Dr. Peter Eigen, Jeremy Pope and Fritz Heimann among others, decided together to set up an international organization fighting corruption and in the first stage most of the meetings of TI Secretariat actually took place in Dr. Eigen’s kitchen. As in the case of Senator Bradley, Peter Eigen’s wife was also involved at the conceptual stage of TI. These examples show that if you have a great idea, a plan to implement it, the unbending will to make it happen, and a group of like-minded people, you can succeed in making this world a better place. Due to the Peter Eigens and Senator Bradleys in the world the next steps towards democratization have been made.

Is it futile to fight corruption? Will corruption ever be eradicated? I don’t hold the answers to such questions. But I can offer you the following quote - “Our earth is degenerating in these days: bribery and corruption are common, children no longer obey their parents, and the end of the world is evidently approaching.” This was an inscription on an Assyrian clay tablet in the year 2800 B.C. I still believe there is hope for us in the year 2008.

Transparency International from p. 1

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Words of Appreciation to Diana Aronson as She Retires

Dearest Diana!So sad to hear you’re leaving FLEX... on the other hand, so great you worked for so long, with such dedication to each of us who have ever participated in it. I just wanted to say THANK YOU! My husband Pavlo Demchuk (who is also FLEX) joins me. There are many life experiences, youth activities, trainings, conferences, social work, and so on and so forth I have enjoyed and still enjoy thanks to FLEX in either direct or indirect ways. But I doubt I dare take your time to describe ALL OF IT, as honestly it would have taken pages and pages. When I look back what had hap-pened to me since 2000 I cannot believe it myself that SO MUCH could happen at all! I am so grateful I have so much to give and share. And of course I was always crazy even before FLEX but this life school helps so much to appreci-ate things and take them easy which enables people to go further on, as far as they want, the world becomes very small and easy. One thing I definitely want to THANK YOU and FLEX for in this message is my family. My husband and I met during the FLEX 10th Anniversary Summit in Kyiv back in 2003. In fact, this was already our third chance to meet thanks to FLEX: first was when President Clinton came to visit Kyiv in 2000, second was when we both were participants (among other 10 people!!!) of a seminar organized by and for FLEX alumni in 2001, yet none of the chances made us meet and make friends. So we were selected to the Summit and made friends. Two years later we started dating and two more years later we got mar-ried :) I am attaching our wedding photo (us wearing Ukrainian embroidered shirts “vyshyvanky”). So far, this is our biggest achievement in life :)What is most precious about FLEX are people! My hus-band Pavlo has got a scholarship and is doing his PhD in Economic Theory at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and I came recently to stay with him. My FLEX experience happened also here in Texas, in the Dallas area, a nice lit-tle town called The Colony. It was so warm and so great to spend this Christmas with my host family with whom I am always in touch and who are people I cherish like my real family. We are going to return home to Ukraine after Pavlo completes his PhD program, as we do feel we belong home and we are able to make good things there to enjoy, to help others and to be real Ukrainians, proud and happy to be who we are. I remember very well that national pride came to me in the course of the FLEX year. THANK YOU for that too!!! Wishing you joy, peace and many many happy years!!!Warmest hugs from Natalya Voynarovska ‘00 and Pavlo Demchuk ‘97

Is there anything more valuable than human relations? Don’t we admire those you gave us an inspiration and a positive sparkle? Don’t we treasure all the opportunities for professional and personal growth, which we were fortunate enough to have in our life?... I can continue this list of questions and thoughts that appear in my head when I think about my experience with FLEX. I was among the pioneers who participated in the Program and spent my ’94-’95 year in the States. At that time the FLEX program was a new-born baby of Dee Aronson that grew and matured very fast and successfully. This program gave so much to me and many others and has so much to offer to other members of our global community.I am grateful to Dee Aronson for organizing and leading the program that gave me a chance to have two families – my Russian and my American families. Some 12 - 13 years after we still keep in touch and value our relations in spite of distance and time. I am thankful for such a treasure as friends, whom I have in many places around the world and with whom I am able to communicate in English that I learnt during my exchange year. I am happy to realize that I have done a lot and have so many things to do in the future. I have started as a volunteer with a women’s NGO in Barnaul, Russia and have worked my way to the position of an executive director of “Women’s Alliance” performing activities on prevention of violence and discrimination against women in Russia. I have traveled around the world and at the moment study at the University of Melbourne (Australia) for my MA in Gender and Development. All these events have their start from that one amazing year that I’ve spent in Joliet, Illinois, as an exchange student. This year helped me to mature, to gain a thirst for knowledge, justice, development and equality. I really hope that the FLEX program will continue to bring difference in this world by providing opportunities to future leaders to grow professionally and personally.I would like to express my words of appreciation to Dee Aronson for lobbying, supporting, leading, managing and loving the FLEX program. THANK YOU! Yours sincerely,Elena Schitova ’95Barnaul, Russia/Joliet, IL

Many of you have come to know and love Diana (Dee) Aronson! Some of you have had the pleasure of meeting her personally at Civic Education Week in Washington, D.C. or during the FLEX 10th Anniversary Summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, at FLEX training conferences or during her trips to your coun-tries. She has been nicknamed "FLEX Mama" and she is proud as can be of her FLEX alums!For those of you who haven't heard, Dee Aronson, Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) program manager at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, United States Department of State, retired this spring. She has led the FLEX program since funding was appropriated in 1992 and the first group of students traveled to the United States in 1993 on the NIS Secondary School Academic Year Program. In spring 1995, Dee was a key player in launching the initia-tive to include more disabled teenagers in the FLEX program, and she has been a strong advocate for recruiting disabled students across Eurasia for the FLEX program. We’ve reprinted several of the many wonderful letters of thanks that alumni wrote to Dee this spring.

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Armenia Moving Forward with Limited Rights and Multiplied ResponsibilitiesTatevik Davtyan '00Yerevan, Armenia/Saline, MItatev83@yahoo.comOn February 19, 2008, presidential elections were held in Armenia. These elections were probably one of the most important, as well as the most controversial and most contested elections in the history of independent Armenia. They were important, as they were to reinforce Armenia’s commitment to democratic development and signal the country’s genuine efforts to integrate further into the European fam-ily. The controversy is noteworthy, not only because the outcome of the elections was contested - which has become a usual practice for many countries in the world - but also because the contested results led to what were for Armenia unprecedented measures undertaken by the authorities, which led to bloodshed and restricted rights and freedoms. As I write, more than a month has passed since Election Day, and the name of Armenia’s next president is known. If one is to believe the official public discourse, it may seem that the post-election reality in Armenia is no different from the pre-election reality. However a closer look at the alternative public discourse (which is not hidden, but exists in a kind of parallel reality) would reveal that life in Armenia after the presidential elections is not like life before the elections. Something important has happened, which has altered the public life. Just like there are two parallel and contradictory public discourses in Armenia nowadays, Armenian society is split into groups of citizen who seem to live in parallel and disconnected realities. As a citizen of Armenia I find myself in one of those realities and con-tribute to one of those discourses. As a person who believes in basic democratic values, as probably many of you also do, I would like to share with fellow FLEX alumni my thoughts about the recent developments in my country. But before sharing my perceptions let me summarize the election-related events that have taken place in Armenia. A month before Election Day the official campaign kicked off with nine candidates contesting to become the next president, among them Acting Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan and Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Serge Sargsyan’s victory had been foreseen by many since the very beginning of the campaign, as it seemed there was no real alternative to his candidacy. He was the leader of the Republican Party, which held the majority of seats in the National Assembly; he enjoyed the support of other main parties and had con-trol of the administrative resources. Two other candidates who during the campaign positioned themselves in the opposition field, Artur Baghdasaryan (Rule of Law Party) and Vahan Hovhannisyan (Armenian Revolutionary Federation), were considered potential first runner-ups, who could have taken part in the second round of elections if none of the candidates received more than 50% of the votes. On the contrary, all public opinion polls, analysts and ordinary citizens, some of whom were later to attend protest rallies, considered Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s victory very unlikely. Making a comeback after his 1998 resignation and 10 years of silence, Ter-Petrosyan faced the challenge of transforming his negative reputation, as his name was and is still for many people associated with economic and social hardships, abuse of power, falsi-fied elections, and political violence. During those 30 campaign days, elections and the candidates were the hottest topics in Armenia. From the outset of the campaign the Armenian public discourse was split. There was the official discourse mainly channeled through the majority of mass media outlets (except

several opposition newspapers) in which the coverage of the cam-paign of the ruling party was extensive and favorable, as opposed to the coverage of opposition candidates, who were more often presented in a bad light. There was the radical opposition discourse channeled through opposition press doing the same as the official discourse only in the reverse. Despite all its shortcomings, during the month-long campaign the majority of the citizens made up their minds and headed to voting stations on February 19. There are two stories in the two parallel public discourses telling what happened on Election Day and the days that followed. In the official discourse Serge Sargsyan emerged as the clear winner with about 53% of the votes, leaving Levon Ter-Petrosyan with 21% and the other presi-dential hopefuls far behind. The elections were largely democratic and as assessed by the International Election Observation Mission (OSCE/ODIHR, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Parliamentary Assemble of CoE, and European Parliament). They were mostly in line with Armenia’s international commitments. Claims made by the opposition about seri-ous violations and falsification of election results did not correspond to reality. Moreover, the opposition forces chose unlawful means of contesting the election results and held unsanctioned events disturb-ing the normal course of life in Yerevan. It was the authorities’ duty to restore order and punish people engaged in unlawful activities. Few people participated in those demonstrations, among them many alcoholics and drug addicts. According to the alternative discourse the real winner of the elections was Levon Ter-Petrosyan who received 65% of the votes. The results of the elections were falsified, as numerous violations took place on Election Day, which was reported to a lesser extent by the international observers and to a greater extent by the members of election com-missions, journalists, etc. Violations included voter intimidation, open voting, multiple voting, ballot stuffing, and violence against proxies and election commission members. That is why Levon Ter-Petrosyan denounced the results of the elections, appealed to the Constitutional Court to annul the results, and called his supporters to start a long-term sit-in strike in Liberty Square to protest peacefully against the falsification of election results. Every day at least 100,000 people attended those rallies, among them many young people and middle-aged professionals.The official discourse stated that demonstrators planned a coup d’etat. When police received operative information about possession of illegal weapons by the participants of the strike the police went to Liberty Square to search the area. They were attacked by demonstrators, armed with explosives and metal and wooden poles. Many of them fled to a different square, where about 7,000 people gathered. Police were forced to act in self-defense, though they were armed only with poles, helmets and shields. As a result of those clashes eight people died: one police officer and seven civilians. Taking into account the unstable situation, the President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan was forced to declare a state of emergency in Yerevan, which was to last for 20 days and was to restore constitutional order in the country. Opposition forces were responsible for all violence and they were to be held responsible. According to the alternative discourse on the morning of March 1 the participants of the peaceful sit-in strike in Liberty Square were attacked by the police without any warning. Police beat, arrested, and later chased the demonstrators. People fled Liberty Square and gathered in a different square, where more and more outraged citizens joined them. They were planning to continue the peaceful demonstra-tions in the new square, already barricaded in the area, as they did not have any guarantees for their security. However, in order to disperse the demonstrators from the square the police provoked a clash with the demonstrators, and as a result seven innocent civilians were killed by the police forces, at least some of them from gun wounds.

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The authorities in Armenia are to bear the entire responsibility for what happened on March 1, and the mass arrests of the supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan are nothing more than political persecution. The declaration of a State of Emergency was an unlawful undertaking and reinforced Armenia as an authoritarian country. As you can see, those two discourses are at times so contradictory that people find it difficult to believe one or the other. While it is very difficult to assess which narrates the true story, as an observer of all the events that occurred in Armenia during the last months, I can state that such post-election developments that resulted in the death of eight people, hundreds of arrests, and significant restric-tions of freedom of media and freedom of assembly came as a shock to Armenians. Holding elections with significant violations was expected by most people. There was a lot of hope that these elec-tions would be better than the ones Armenia had held previously. For many their vote meant deciding whether they would stay in Armenia and join in the country’s development or leave the country for places where the future would be more predictable and brighter. That is why people went out onto the streets to rally. I know thousands of angry, frustrated, disappointed, and offended people who attended the opposition rallies. Very few among them were genuine supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosyan. More of those people were supporters of a more free and democratic future for Armenia, of a just political system, where the authorities would be accountable to citizens, where people would not be prosecuted for their political beliefs, where measures would be undertaken to tackle social polarization and unemploy-

ment and economic growth would not largely rely on remittances. I have seen thousands of people standing in Liberty Square, and for the first time youth made up a significant part of the crowd. I have seen young, very well-educated and successful men and women - a number of FLEX alumni among them - willing to defend their right to live in Armenia. I have seen middle-aged professionals willing to defend their right to live with dignity and security for their families. I have seen elderly people with their grandchildren willing to defend the right of the upcoming generations to live without the hardships that they have lived through. Few of them thought that all problems would be solved if an opposition candidate came to power; most of them clearly understood that it takes time for things to change. They wanted to exercise their basic constitutional right to elect their authorities. There are no more demonstrations in the center of Yerevan, but there was a lot of bitterness and frustration, which cannot simply disappear. There are now political walks in Liberty Square, from which people are taken to the police station to be identified and released. But despite this, people walk around Liberty Square, and they will keep walking, because despite all the official claims, people feel there is something wrong in their country and with their future. They walk in the gray present to make the future brighter for the upcoming generations. They walk to take “Armenia forward” - this was the campaign slogan of Serge Sargsyan - not with limited but with extended freedoms and rights.

From Ukraine to Maine: One LEAP Fellow’s Experience

Kateryna Tyminska ’01Kyiv, Ukraine/The Colony, TXtyminska_k@yahoo.comIt took me awhile to get adjusted to the thought that I’m a Legislative Education And Practice (LEAP) Program fellow. I have the great honor and tremendous responsibility of being the only Ukrainian to participate in this new U.S. Department of State-funded program, representing my country and culture abroad, trying my diplomatic skills along with the other fellows, as we share our views and ideas on the futures our countries face. It’s definitely a unique chance for young pro-fessionals in the field of local and state gov-ernment, business or political studies from Ukraine, Russia and Georgia to work in state legislatures all around the United States and become a part of their state legislature com-munity for five months.Being a PhD student, having earned my BA and MA degrees in international relations, having participated in the Future Leaders Exchange Program and experiencing an unforgettable high school year in the United States, I’m glad to have joined the Senate President’s staff at the Maine State Legislature, where I have the chance of learning firsthand about the work of the offices and agencies of the

state legislature, as well as the role of citi-zens’ initiatives in the bill drafting and leg-islative processes. Moreover, it’s a wonderful and interesting time to be in the United States, when the country is focused on the presidential election campaign. Working in the Democratic majority office for Senate President The Hon. Beth Edmonds, a Democrat, I had the incredible chance of volunteering at the Democratic Party caucus in Augusta (state capitol), where I could see how democracy works in the electoral process. I’m sure this knowledge can’t be found in any political encyclopedia or book on political theory. Moreover, my friends and I also trav-eled to nearby Nashua, New Hampshire, for Barack Obama’s rally, and later, to Lewiston, Maine, where Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy were campaigning. I’m sure those days will stay in my heart forever. It really is a historic time to be in the United States, the cradle of democracy and beacon of liberty, seeing what citizens expect and how they see the future of their country, and its place and role in the world. Representing the young Ukrainian democ-racy, I value such moments when you feel a little part of a big mosaic called the World, when you may learn more and implement skills and knowledge in your home coun-try. I’m glad to admit my generation feels responsible for the choices we make, for the paths we choose for ourselves and our coun-tries; programs like LEAP give us the impetus needed to evaluate what we as citizens may contribute to democracy, civil society, and freedom.

Kateryna Tyminska talks with Senator Ted Kennedy at Obama Rally at Bates College.

The Legislative Education And Practice (LEAP) Program offers young profession-als from Georgia, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine the opportunity to compete for five-month fellowships in U.S. state legis-latures in 2009. This program is designed to expand young leaders’ knowledge of the day-to-day work of U.S. legislative bodies and the legislative process. Participants learn first-hand how U.S. state-level legislatures address such issues as healthcare, educa-tion, environment, social services, security, and transportation. Duties vary, but might include drafting, analyzing and tracking leg-islative bills, spot and in-depth research, drafting of news releases and speeches, liai-son work, constituent casework, and routine administrative duties. To learn more about how to apply for this program, please contact American Councils Program Officer RaeJean Stokes at RStokes@americancouncils.org.

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Global Challenges

Climate Change – the Challenge for EveryoneAngelina Korsunova ‘99Ulan Ude, Russia/Medora, ILlinavk@gmail.com

The discussion revolving around energy and climate change has gained much momentum since those days when global warming was still a question mark. Year 2007 reflected the urgency of the issue on a truly global level in at least two ways. First, the Nobel Peace Prize 2007 was split between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore for his efforts “to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change” through a series of lectures and the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Second, the United Nations’ annual World Environment Day proclaimed its 2007 slogan to be: “Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?”At this point in my class, I usually stop to ask the students if they know anything about World Environment Day. As a researcher and a teaching assistant in corporate environmental management at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland), I truly enjoy teaching. Business, economics and marketing students are a tough crowd to lecture about the social good and environmental justice, but even they raise an interested brow at the sight of receding snow cover in the Alps and at the sound of familiar corporate brands making daring green statements. Did you know that BP now stands for “Beyond Petroleum”? How and why companies choose to become environmentally respon-sible, what kind of instruments exist to facilitate the change, what kind of barriers are there to be overcome, but also what kind of competitive advantages and benefits can be reaped - in essence, these are the main areas of research in the field of corporate envi-ronmental management. Today’s corporate environmental strategies are sophisticated and often quite extraordinary – because this is what it takes to remain in a leading position while balancing the pressures from stringent legislation, a watchful public eye and cre-ative competitors. Finland is one of the world’s leading countries when it comes to sustainable development and respect for nature and human devel-opment. However, it is also a leader in high-tech innovation and creative technology – being the native land of Nokia. This means that businesses operating in Finland are subject to intense compe-tition, as well as to compliance with high environmental standards and rather strict legislation. Moreover, the European Union has recently proclaimed its ambitious goal to improve energy efficiency by at least 20% by the year 2020, which assumes tightening and adjustment of national legislation in order to reach the common EU-level goal. Thus, it is quite a challenge for Finland – a country with energy-intensive economy, high standards of living and yet with external energy dependency. The challenge is indeed as powerful and overwhelming, as it is uni-versal. Universal in a sense that it includes nations, transnational and national corporations, organizations, but also us – individu-als. Energy consumption is an integral part of our everyday lives, and thus there is a lot of room for change. This is where my Ph.D. research interests took their root: in the area of rational and responsible energy consumption. As I went deeper into the subject, I discovered the angle that interested me most – namely, what kind of strategies are applied when coping with the challenge of climate change, both on individual and on corporate levels. The findings of my research are extensive and would require much patience from the reader, so instead I would like to draw attention

to the part that challenges our current ways of thinking and sensi-tizes to the new reality of living through climate change. It appears that this is precisely what Finnish energy companies are doing for conventional consumers. Under the pressure of climate change they have taken up the role of change agents to help people reduce their energy consumption and promote responsible ways to consume. Wouldn’t that mean cutting down their own profits? A skeptical reader is left to wonder whether it is a demonstration of long-term thinking on the part of energy companies or a skillful PR trick. By answering that question through my research I hope to contribute to the field of corporate environmental management.However, at this point I would simply like to challenge the reader to think of the change agents that are around us, and break through the sad phenomenon of social nonparticipation when it comes to climate change. The slogan for UN’s World Environment Day, June 5, 2008 was “CO2 – Kick the habit!” and the aim of that day was to empower people through simple ideas on how to become active in environmen-tal improvement in their lives. Check out the information on World Environment Day to take the first step to kick your CO2 habit!

Alina Korsunova ’99 searches through marketing materials of Finnish energy providers for her doctoral thesis research analysis.

Faces of FLEX Photo Contest First Place Photo

“Where I’ve Been” taken by Anastasiya Zyevakova '03. Alumni in photo: Yevgen Fedorenko '04 and Volodymyr Stupenchuk '04.

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Attending Conferences

Anastasia Zievakova ’03Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine/ Benton, WIa.zievakova31@gmail.com

Last spring I was lucky to attend an interna-tional youth conference in Krzyzowa, Poland. Four teams from Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Russia communicated, organized work-shops and presented their cultures. It all started with a cultural quest around a village of Krzyzowa, which is an important historical site. This village in lower Silesia is special because the German resistance group, the Kreisau Circle, held secret meetings in this village during World War II, giving an exam-ple of civil courage and co-operation despite political and religious differences. Helmuth James von Moltke, to whom the entire estate belonged at that time, was one of the leaders of the group. In November 1989, Krzyzowa was chosen for the Polish-German Mass of Reconciliation, a symbolic turning point in Polish-German relations after Poland rejoined the family of democratic countries. During a challenging quest (not a boring excursion) we got to know the Count Moltke family, which used to live at the site.

In addition there were non-stop workshops-seminars-problem-solving-team-building- activities. We discussed the problems and opportunities for youth in our countries, as well as gender and multicultural issues. For instance, the German group did an eye-opening workshop on national heroes. It is hard to be a hero, harder still to decide who can or who cannot be called a hero. During the conference the cultural stereotypes were definitely broken, and we were all inspired to act locally pursuing global goals. Another highlight was a photography workshop made by my fellow countryman Alex Baranov. We learned the secrets of successful photogra-phy and then improved our skills on prac-tice – in groups of 3-4 people we wandered around the magnificent village of Krzyzowa and later – city of many cultures Wroclaw, looking for great shots. Our conference ended with a bonfire and barbeques – oppor-tunities for more communication!

Kseniya Shilina ’06Taraz, Kazakhstan/Finksburg, MDsheepylvslexusgs@yahoo.com

Roman Lushakov ’06Uralsk, Kazakhstan/Hawley, MNlushakov77@yandex.ruThe Internet is one of the 20th century’s greatest inventions, as it lets you stay updat-ed on events around the globe. It was an ordinary snowy foggy November morning. As usual I decided to check my email and found an interesting newsletter about a “Try out the Portfolio for European Youth Leaders and Youth Workers” conference in Belgium. I thought it would be an interesting experience and without any doubts dialed the number of my best friend Roman Lushakov (alumnus ’06 from Uralsk). Two months later with the help of the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan, from which we received travel grants, Roman and I stepped out of the plane and found ourselves in a beautiful European country famous for its breathtaking architecture, and more than 100 kinds of beer - Belgium. When we finally arrived at the conference, we were nicely surprised with the diversity of participants. There were people from Canada, Scotland, Russia, Portugal and Hungary. Roman Lushakov and I were the only ones from Central Asia, which was good and bad at the same time. We had to keep in mind all the time that other people’s impression of us would be an impression of the country in gen-eral. I think we did a good job on that. At the first session we were given information about the main aims of the Conference. We were to discuss the European Portfolio, which is an initiative of the Council of Europe that was developed as a concrete illustration of the commitment of the governments of the member states to promote the recognition of non-formal education and learning of young people, and of competencies acquired through the practice of youth work. The portfolio for youth leaders and youth workers is to serve as a model for other organizations and to provide a concrete example of recognition of non-formal education and learning. In my opinion, it was a great idea to bring people from all over the world together to discuss the compe-tencies that a youth leader and youth worker should possess. During all conference ses-sions, we were to rank various competencies and skills, dividing them into three categories: important, less important or nice to have. The portfolio could easily become the world stan-dard of how youth work should be organized as people from all over the world took part in the creation and evaluation of it. The top organizers of the event were two European non-governmental organizations

that work closely with youth groups: “Top vacancieas” and “Vacance Vivante.” Each part of the conference was well organized, nothing was overlooked. The conference consisted of five working sessions and a cultural trip around the city. As the outcome of the five sessions we highlighted the main competen-cies of a youth leader/animator that would be later included into the portfolio. Some of these are:• A good youth leader is ready to have his or

her ideas challenged;• He or she knows how to motivate and

interest young people;• He or she works towards a positive learning

environment, based on active participa-tion, creativity and joy;

• He or she should welcome feedback;• He or she keeps up-to-date with research

about young people and youth work and puts it into practice.

As the conference was coming to a close, we all felt a bit sad to leave as the event was very informative and interesting. Roman and I didn’t forget to make an impression and we dressed the organizers of the conference in the national Kazakh hat-tubeteika. That was the funniest part. We took a picture of our organizers wearing tubeteikas, but unfortu-nately our camera was stolen. Such events are always useful for personal growth and intercultural learning. Principles we learned at the conference have helped Roman and me a lot in our work, as we daily interact with youth groups as FLEX city rep-resentatives and volunteers. So, to all the alumni: if you find some interesting informa-tion about events around the world in your mail, take advantage of it, participate and have fun! www.europeanevc.eu

Eurovision Song Contest NewsMarina Skomorokhova '99 (left), employed at CFC Consulting in Kyiv, was proud to serve as head of press for Ukraine's Eurovision Song Contest star Ani Lorak. www.eurovision.tv/page/interviews-2008 ?id=1097--Marina

Anastasia Zievakova '03 discusses gender issues with Polish colleagues.

The Bradley Herald Page 8

Alumni Beat

Armenia

On December 6 and 8, 2007, FLEX alumni teamed up with representatives of international orga-nizations working in Yerevan and American University of Armenia (AUA) English teacher Melissa Brown to put on the English language drama production of She Stoops to Conquer, written by Oliver Goldsmith. Approximately 700 community members, including over 100 FLEX alumni, attended the play. Through ticket sales to this comedy theater performance, alumni raised $1,350 to support the International Child Development Center and the Department of English Programs Experimental English Classes at AUA. Starting last October, FLEX alumni and other local and international talent took part in rehearsals, led by director Melissa Brown and stage manager Sonya Armaghanyan ’04. Actors included Tatevik Baghdasaryan ’03, Hovhannes Harutyunyan ’07 (Vanadzor), Ani Khudaverdyan ’06 (Sisian), and Arshak Papazyan ’07. Narek Amirkhanyan ’06 (Gumri) and Nane Sahakyan ’06 were crewmembers and Eduard Kankanyan ’04 volunteered to create posters and tickets for the event.

AzerbaijanStarting in November 2007, American Councils and the FLEX Alumni Association organized a

conversation club for alumni and community members. Azer Abasaliyev ’06, Rza Aghasiyev ’06, Nijat Garayev ’06, Maral Qurbanzadekh ’07, Ayten Mammadli ’06, Javid Mammadov ’06, Tatyana Rodina ’06, and Vusal Babayev ’07 volunteered to lead the club, which meets weekly. Community members between the ages of 13 and 30 have the opportunity to practice their conversational English with alumni. When asked how she likes this new project, Tatyana Rodina reported, “Club mem-bers are really improving their English and we can see the progress in these three months… I come to the Conversation Club with a big pleasure because I feel the group really values our language skills. They listen to us atten-tively when we correct their mistakes, give them advice or just tell about our previous experiences in United States.”

GeorgiaAt the end of February, a team of Georgian FLEX alumni Teona Khabeishvili ’04, Shalva Tevdoradze ’05, Guram Sulakvelidze ’05, Ana Kurdgelashvili ’07, Nata Gibradze ’07, Ia Okhanashvili ’05, Kristi Milorava ’07, Davit Shevashidze ’06, and Irakli Baiadze ’06 par-ticipated in the World Parliament Experience (WPE) in Bonn, Germany. They showed their enthusiasm and motivation during the festival

by getting involved in debating, exchanging and presenting their ideas and experiences. They met professors and experts from Bonn University as well as students from all over the world. The event was unique in that it was the first attempt to organize such an inter-national event which focused exclusively on the World Parliament Experiment with its own structure and organization. Debates were held on topics such as world democracy, Sudan, climate, conflicts, human rights, and how WPE should work and involve students.

Kazakhstan The photo collage “My USA and My KZ” linked 15 alumni in Almaty on February 28. This creative project introduced older and younger alumni and revitalized the commu-nity. Everyone shared pictures that portrayed

their lives in the United States as well as in Kazakhstan. The event turned out to be a lot of fun and it definitely brought alumni together: by looking at the pictures from past events and bringing back memories of old successes, the Almaty alumni team came up with fresh ideas for new spring events. They discussed continuing a tree-planting initia-tive “Alley of FLEX” for Global Youth Service Day, as well as a charity event for the elderly to coincide with May 9 celebrations and a June 1 International Children’s Day event at a local orphanage, to which they planned to invite FLEX finalists. At an informal senior alumni reunion held earlier in February, the group of young professionals shared strategies on get-ting their companies to give financial support to FLEX alumni charity projects.

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan FLEX alumni worked with Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program alumni to bring Elvis Presley impersonator Narek Markaryan from Yerevan, Armenia to perform at a charity concert in Bishkek on April 21. Over 150 community members and U.S. gov-ernment program alumni attended the con-cert, coordinated to give participants a chance to raise money for medicine at the children's department of the Bishkek Oncological Center, while enjoying some of the finest music ever produced. During the concert, Narek

Markaryan introduced the audience to the biography of Elvis Presley before singing his most popular songs. Two days later, Gulnisa Asymova ’05, Jyldyz Beknazarova ’99, Daniyar Chambylov ’07, and Keneshbek Sainazarov took 71 packs of medicine that they were able to purchase with the proceeds of the charity concert to the Oncological Center. Children and their parents, overflowing with gratitude to these youth, welcomed and thanked alumni for their efforts and the medicine.

MoldovaThis spring FLEX alumni organized the Business for Youth training program for young people in Chisinau, Moldova. In March they advertised

In 2008, there’s been an increase in the number of alumni events and these events are taking place in even more cities. How do we explain it? In large part, it is the great work of active volunteer City Representatives across Eurasia. This spring CRs have participated in trainings in Russian Siberia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. In the coming months we plan to announce more oppor-tunities to support city reps who want to orga-nize events in their cities and regions. Contact your alumni coordinator for details. In the next issue, you'll read about the April 2008 Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) events. Nineteen GYSD projects received matching grants from American Councils and many more events were conducted with the help of local supporters.

Hovhannes Harutyunyan ’07 as Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops to Conquer.

FLEX alumni organizers pose with Elvis impersonator.

Georgian alumni attend World Parliament Experience.

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Alumni Beat

the training program in universities and high schools. Forty-one people completed applica-tions, and after English language testing and interviews, 32 were selected. In addition to the university students, three outstanding high school students were selected. Trainers,

including Fulbright scholars, local business-man and several U.S. government alumni with business expertise, held sessions twice a week for a five-week period in April and May. Trainees learned to prepare business plans, and those who presented the top five business plans were offered internships. All who com-pleted the course successfully received books and certificates. The alumni involved in this innovative project include Natalia Andreev '07 (Straseni), Olesea Brinza '06 (Tiraspol), Elena Plesco '06, Cristina Poleacovschi '05, and Ecaterina Rusnac '07 (Cricova).

RussiaWith advance planning Vladivostok FLEX alum-ni made the holidays brighter for the children at the Noviy Orphanage. On November 25 and again on December 2, Alumni Coordinator Maxim Matyunin ’06 and a team of recently returned and senior alumni held charity con-certs for music fans in Vladivostok. The first event, which took place at the prestigious Yellow Submarine Club, included performanc-es by three well-known bands on the rock-stage. U.S. Consul General Tom Armbruster opened the event and introduced the band

Chesnochok, featuring Maxim Matyunin ’06 on bass. Yevgeniya Gorovaya ’02 and Matyunin found the venue and advertised the event, while Anastasiya Aleshkina ’04 and Alexandra Korneyeva ’05 organized decorations and found sponsors. Dariya Yurchenko ’04, master of ceremonies, welcomed guests and led the clothing auction. Polina Zavyalova ’00, who owns a stylish clothing store in Vladivostok, donated fashion wear for the auction. Alumni raised over $1,000, which has been used to buy athletic equipment for the Noviy Orphanage. Again on December 2, the same great group of alumni joined forces with the local Rotoract club to hold a similar event at the BSB Club. At this performance, more FLEX alumni tal-ent was on stage with the debut of Izyum a group from the city of Chita, featuring Dmitry Mahmudov ’03. Event proceeds were donated to the Vladivostok Library for the Blind.

TajikistanOn November 3, seven FLEX alumni joined representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan and other volunteers to rebuild six homes in Chal-Chal village as part of a Habitat for Humanity (HFH) project. On January 23, 1989 the Nurek region where the Chal-Chal village is located was hit by an earthquake and subsequent landslide. With over 1,400 lives lost in Nurek and surrounding regions, the tragedy of the event has been felt for almost 20 years. Volunteer teams were given specific tasks, such as collecting wood, carrying bricks and stones, and mixing cement. On-site radio and television reporters and HFH’s PR

staff interviewed alumni and took pictures for promotional materials. Between mixing and hauling, alumni talked to journalists about the need for volunteerism and the projects that the FLEX Alumni Association has con-ducted. After eight hours of hard work, alumni and volunteers completed six houses.

TurkmenistanFLEX alumni in cities across Turkmenistan work closely with American Corner staff and volunteers to share their U.S. experiences and

educate visitors. During dozens of club meet-ings each month, they always find new ways to show the richness of American culture. To honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Narmina Gasanova ’06 showed a PowerPoint presentation about this U.S. civil rights leader at the Mary American Corner on January 19. The 19 visitors learned more about the civil rights movement in the United States and discussed the impact of such mass movements in the development of modern history. To share knowledge of new technolo-gies, Serdar Mommadov ’06 of Murgap gave members of the Computer-based Music Club a chance to explore their talent for composing music, using the newly installed music-making program beginning in January. Then to cele-brate Valentine’s Day FLEX Alumni Coordinator Ekaterina Sultanova ’06 led a celebration for the attendees of the Ashgabat American Center. She invited them to participate in contests, including the “Best Love Poem”, “Best Love Story”, and “Best Declaration of Love”. Students had a chance to present their public speaking and writing skills by writing, telling poems and stories. At the end of the celebration, organizer opened the “Love Box” in which visitors had put their congratulation cards for their special people and friends.

UkraineOn April 6, Eastern Ukraine Alumni Coordinator Artem Sokolskyy ’05 and FLEX Program Associate Brad Miller held a meeting for the City Representatives in eastern Ukraine at the Economic Studio in Kharkiv. The event was conducted to congratulate the CRs for their good work, determine the problems that the CRs have encountered since they were appointed in November 2007, and work together to find solutions. These bright minds also shared ideas for future events, espe-cially April Global Youth Service Day proj-ects and took part in a conflict management seminar. Finally, Anastasiya Zyevakova ’03 (Zaporizhzhya City Representative), winner of the Faces of FLEX Photo Contest, received her prize of a Sony DSC-W80 digital camera. Anastasiya, who took the winning picture on her cellular phone because she did not have a camera of her own, was also the amateur photographer for the event in celebration of her achievement! At the end of the day, the CRs agreed to compete among themselves in a Social Network Rally, where they will search for "lost" alumni on various social networks (www.vkontakte.ru and www.facebook.com, for example), encourage them to take part in events, and update their contact information. The CR who is most successful in updating contact information in his or her city will win a bowling night for the alumni in his or her city.

Cristina Poleacovschi '05 monitors participants tak-ing selection test for Business Skills Seminars.

Yevgeniya Gorovaya ’02 collects money for the Vladivostok charity concerts.

Alumni head home after helping to build a house in Chal-Chal village, Tajikistan.

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Bradley Bits

When was the last time you shared your news with fellow alumni? Contact your FLEX alumni coordinator today!

Class of ’94KyrgyzstanBermet Tursunkulova was appointed chair of the International and Comparative Politics Department at American University of Central Asia. She completed her PhD dissertation on “The Development Perspectives of the Post-Soviet Central Asian States in the Globalizing World.” tursunkulova_b@mail.auca.kg

RussiaDmitriy Galkin (Smolensk) is completing his doctorate dissertation on infection control and optimization of antimicrobial therapy of hospital-acquired infections. galkin@antibiotic.ru

Sergey Lourie works for the Russian State Corporation of Nanotechnologies (RCNT). The Corporation, established in July 2007 by the decree of the president of the Russian Federation, is rapidly developing to achieve the challenging goal of making Russia one of the world's leading nanotechnological coun-tries. RCNT aims to consolidate the coun-try’s scientific and technical potential and concentrate efforts on key strategic direc-tions for possible scientific and technical breakthroughs and their commercialization. Sergey holds the position of PR expert. www.rusnano.com, archont@newmail.ru

Andrey Slyadnev (Irkutsk) after several career changes, including work in the Khabarovsk regional administration, and as a Samsung Regional representative and a Caterpillar equipment salesman, has become a techni-cal translator in the oil and gas industry in Siberia. Last summer he took his FLEX host parents, Marty and Charma Wenck from Iowa City, IA, on a tour of Moscow, Irkutsk, and Lake Baikal during their visit to Russia. andrey.slyadnev@gmail.com

UkraineYaroslava Tytarenko (Kyiv) is senior program officer for the organization Pact in Ukraine. Pact was founded in 1971 as a membership organization of U.S. private and voluntary organizations (PVOs) to facilitate the distribu-tion of small USAID grants to PVOs working in relief and development assistance. The orga-nization aims to empower local organizations in order to attain sustainable development.

Class of ’95RussiaDougla Bochayeva is the parts logistics man-ager at the Zeppelin Company in Moscow.dougla@yandex.ru

Andrey Yakovlev (St. Petersburg) is a man-ager in the mergers and acquisitions depart-ment of FinStar Investment Fund. andrew_yakovlev@yahoo.com

UkraineMarina Kopteltseva (Borozna) (Odesa) is working for Accenture, a management con-sultancy firm, as a finance strategy consul-tant in London. Marina is looking forward to getting back in touch with the FLEX alumni.mborozna05@yahoo.com

Class of ’96AzerbaijanIsmail Rafiyev was recently promoted to the position of associate at Booz Allen Hamilton in Baku. He also serves on the board of the Azerbaijan Alumni Association. iraf99@hotmail.com

GeorgiaArchil Lezhava is working as the director of the Marketing Department in the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia which is under the Ministry of Economic Development of Georgia. Lezhaval.Archil@gmail.com

Class of ’97GeorgiaSopho Chaava is the producer of DROEBA at Imedi TV in Tbilisi. sopo19@hotmail.comchaava@gmail.com

Nino Meladze is a human resources advisor for Onshore Operations at Beyond Petroleum (BP) in Baku, Azerbaijan. meladzen@bp.com

Teona Mikadze is the head of the marketing department at TBC bank in Tbilisi. teomika@hotmail.com

Class of ’98RussiaVladimir Gordeev received a Kootstra fellowship at Maastricht University, the Netherlands, and works as a research assistant at the department of Health Organization, Policy and Economics. gordihou@mail.ru

UkraineDmytro Shurov is the keyboardist of the famous Ukrainian band Esthetic Education. The band was formed in 2004 after the alumnus left his former band Okean Elzy. More information about the success of the band can be found at www.estheticeducation.com.

Rostyslav Semikov completed a one-year Master’s degree in Global Health Science from the University of Oxford and has begun

work as a researcher at the Public Health Department of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China. He plans to write a Master’s thesis on health economics in China. semikovmd@gmail.com

Class of ’99MoldovaTiberiu Scutaru works in the International Finance division of the Mobiasbanca-Groupe Societe Generale Bank. tscutaru@gmail.com

Class of ’00ArmeniaLusine Danielyan and Ani Hakobyan were chosen to be long-term interpreters for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe during presidential elections.

BelarusMaryia Shatskaya Trimailova completed a Master’s thesis at Royal Technological University and works as an analyst at Aberdeen Property Investors, a company focused on property funds investment man-agement, in Stockholm, Sweden. maria.trimailova@gmail.com

GeorgiaGiorgi Tsaia is a senior specialist at the National Bank of Georgia in the depart-ment of Foreign Exchange and Monetary Operations. giorgitsaia@hotmail.com

Class of ’01

KazakhstanAsem Zhumakhmetova (Almaty) returned home with a Master’s degree in Financial Economics from Ohio University and works as a senior consultant at Deloitte.

UkraineIlya Dyadyk is currently working as a pro-gram coordinator for the International Film Festival “Molodist.” In January he traveled to Amsterdam and Paris to negotiate for the International Documentary Film Festival that will take place in Kyiv later this year.

Andrey Poteryakhyn (Sevastopol) developed and implemented a project to improve the entrepreneurial skills of university students. The International NGO Junior Chamber International (JCI) supported the project financially. The alumnus is also considering opening a JCI branch in Sevastopol.

Natalka Voynarovska worked at the HIV/AIDS International Alliance in Ukraine for more than three years, and today continues to work as a consultant, while she completes her second Master's program at the Academy

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of Advocacy of Ukraine. She was in charge of the highly successful Young Art against AIDS charity project, which reached wide audi-ences across Ukraine. natalka.voynarovska@gmail.com

Class of ’02RussiaYuri Mukhin (Volgograd) graduated from the Volgograd State Technical University and went for post-graduate studies in found-ry production of metals and alloys. Yuri is currently employed as an assistant in the Technology of Construction Materials Department. yuramukhin@rambler.ru

UkraineValerіya Melnikova (Konotop) became a part of Stock Market On-Line team for the UNIAN news agency in Kyiv. lerunda@rambler.ru

Class of ’03RussiaKamilla Nizamova (Ufa) received a second scholarship from the Potanin Foundation for outstanding academics and leadership. She was also a finalist for the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, which was held in Russia in 2007. drsl@mail.ru

UkraineYevhen Bobyk (Pokotilivka) recently became the newest associate at the Kharkiv branch of the DLA Piper international law firm. eugenebobyk@yahoo.com

Olena Fomina received a travel grant from the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv to attend the first ever organized Students for Liberty Conference in New York City, February 22-24. After the conference, Olena became an international representative of the newly established Students for Liberty organization. ofo-mina@msn.com

Olha Tsar (Lviv) spent three months in Germany, working as doctors’ assistant in the Johanniter clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She also spent two weeks in Frankfurt, translating for the German com-pany KCH, during professional training for a company representing staff from Belarus.

Class of ’04AzerbaijanKamran Aliyev acted in the original play Fly, Gumru at a disabilities awareness festival orga-nized by the Mushvig, Independent Life, and Origami Rehabilitation Centers of Azerbaijan. The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan

and the Bakcell Operator have sponsored this event for the second year in a row.

GeorgiaMaka Meshveliani was accepted to attend a year-long lecture series on international relations, political economy analysis, and national security at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.

KazakhstanMarzhan Serekova was chosen as Kazakhstan Student of the Year 2007 in the Social Development nomination. This national award is offered by the Ministry of Education, and the decision is made by a board of uni-versity presidents and Ministry of Education representatives in cooperation with the Student Alliance of Kazakhstan.

UkraineNatalia Kovylkina (Odesa) presented her St. Valentine’s Day photo exhibition in the Odesa club Exit on February 14. Recently she cre-ated a website www.zalda.com.ua where she posts her photographs.

Oleksandra Tsymbal (Lyubotyn) was selected to participate in 2008 World Youth Congress in Quebec, Canada. sasha_tsymbal@yahoo.com

Class of ’05ArmeniaAni Hakobyan works at American University of Armenia (AUA) as an administrative assistant. During the election period (from February 17-20) she worked as an interpreter for OSCE.

GeorgiaVakhtang Imnaishvili started a job at OSCE/ODHIR as an election observation mission media assistant.

TajikistanIlhom Aliev was accepted to study International Relations for the spring semester in Changchung, China. In his free time, he teaches English lan-guage at local Chinese schools.

Class of ’06AzerbaijanJavid Aslanov participated in the World Parliament Experiment in Germany. Participants discussed global issues and current problems.

BelarusKatsiaryna Kartiuk, a second year student at Belarusian State Economic University, after passing the first tour of the nation-al Belarusian competition "Melnica Mody" among young couturiers, presented her col-lection in round two in February. katareign@gmail.com

Kazakhstan Dinara Musabalina was hired as a manager at the DARA foundation, which is a charity orga-nization in Almaty that focuses on working with and for children with special needs.

Class of ’07AzerbaijanMaral Qurbanzadeh is a translator and web-site design assistant for The Laboratory of Open Telecommunications and Systems (LOTOS) organization.margosha_sleepwalker@yahoo.com

KyrgyzstanGuzal Abdirazakova (Shamaldusai), while on the FLEX program, won a Mobility International USA (MIUSA) essay competi-tion. Her article was recently published in the MIUSA newsletter. guzal_89@list.ru

MoldovaNatalia Andreev (Straseni), together with mem-bers of the Catch the Wave English Club, held tri-weekly English and computer skills classes for the children at the Prometeu Facility for orphaned and underprivileged children. natasha_louisiana@yahoo.com

TurkmenistanMaysa Amanova (Mary) won the All-Turkmenistan English Language Olympiad for high school students. mamanova_06@yahoo.com

UkraineYevhen Hetmanets (Kryvyy Rih) together with students of Krivyi Rig universities organized a visit to the local orphanage to celebrate International Orphans Day on December 13. Yevhen found in-kind support to pay for the event. Local television stations broadcast the event. zhenya.ua@mail.ru

All ClassesUkraineEvhen Chernenko, Ruslan Tikholaz and Hanna Zubko were selected through the Parliamentary Internship Program to work as interns in the Ukrainian government. The U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress in conjunction with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine founded the program in 1995. Since 2000, the Indiana University Parliamentary Development Project for Ukraine has administered the program with the aim of providing young Ukrainians with the chance to take direct part in the law-making process and give them a head start in their future political, legislative and public careers. Over 650 Ukrainian students applied to date. www.pdp.org.uayevgen.chernenko@gmail.com, rus@webride.net, hannakiev@hotmail.com

The Bradley Herald Page 12

Philanthropy: The Next Step for Volunteers

Nathan Truittntruitt@americancouncils.orgAs all FLEX alumni know, volunteerism is an important part of American culture. Almost all FLEX alumni engaged in volunteer projects of one kind or another while on the FLEX pro-gram, and most continued to volunteer when they returned to their home country. When I worked with American Councils in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, I had the great pleasure of working with FLEX alumni on lots of volunteer projects, including charity balls, clothing drives for local orphanages, earth day park cleanups, and many others. These projects were not only fun and rewarding, they also made significant and posi-tive impacts on the community.One thing I noticed while working with alumni was that mainly the younger alumni – the ones who had returned in the past four or five years – were interested in volunteer projects. Older FLEX alumni were often too busy to spend significant time volunteering. They had career and family obligations to juggle. I completely empathize. Four years after leav-ing Uzbekistan, I have a family with two chil-dren. The time I used to spend volunteering I now spend making dinner, helping with home-work, or changing diapers! I still try to stay involved in the causes I care about, however, through a different mechanism: philanthropy.The word philanthropy, and another similar word, charity, have similar roots. Philanthropy comes from the Greek philo, meaning “to love,” and anthropos, meaning “mankind.” “Charity” comes from the Latin, caritas, itself a trans-lation of another Greek word, agape, which means “love” in the sense of “love for one’s fellow human.” Both philanthropy and charity, therefore, are about showing care and devotion for others – much like volunteerism. But there is a big difference. When we volunteer, we give our time. When we practice philanthropy, we donate our resources – usually money, but sometimes other possessions. In the United States, it’s common for individu-als who were volunteers early in life to become heavily involved in philanthropy as they grow older, as the time they can devote to volunteer-ing diminishes. Philanthropy, like volunteer-ism, is a way to use what’s valuable to you to make a positive impact for others.Philanthropy comes in many forms. You can donate money to a charitable organization in your community, or an organization that does work on the other side of the world. Most non-profits now offer supporters the chance to support their efforts with a donation, so you

can choose an issue that is important to you and support an organization doing work in that area. With the development of the Internet, it’s easier than ever to support charities all over the world in simple, electronic transac-tions. What’s more, most governments offer citizens tax benefits on the contributions they make to charitable causes. As you grow in your careers and in your families, and as you have less time for traditional volun-teer projects, I hope that you’ll consider phi-lanthropy as a way to continue to be involved in the causes you care about. The amount you can give isn’t important – any organization is very happy to receive any donation, no matter how small. What’s important is that you’re sharing something of yours, and something of value, to make your world and your community a better place.

FLEX Family NewsAmerican Councils FLEX program staff mem-bers Ray Nayler and Anna Kuznetsova were married in Moscow on April 26. Ray, who worked until recently as the Moscow FLEX Program Hub director, has accepted the posi-tion of senior program officer at American Councils in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Anna, who previously worked as a program specialist in the FLEX Eurasia Alumni office in Moscow, will be joining Ray in Dushanbe, and plans to seek new opportunities. Both look forward to working with FLEX alumni in Tajikistan. They’ll be missed in Moscow.

Natalka Voynarovska ‘00 and Pavlo Demchuk ’97 first met at the FLEX 10th Anniversary Summit in Kyiv back in 2003. That was their third chance meeting, thanks to FLEX. They first met when President Clinton visited Kyiv in 2000, then they both participated in a seminar organized by and for FLEX alumni in 2001, though as Nataliya reports, “yet none of those chances made us friends; but we were selected to the Summit and became friends. Two years later we started dating and in 2007 we got married." In this wedding photo, they are wearing Ukrainian embroidered shirts "vyshyvanky."

American Councils fundraiser Nathan Truitt leads alumni pilot project in Ukraine.

Did you know that American Councils for International Education is a chari-table organization to which individuals donate? Each year American Councils receives thousands of dollars from indi-vidual donors. This year, as part of a pilot project, FLEX alumni in Ukraine are being asked to help support the creation of an alumni fund for travel grants and other activities specifically for Ukraine alumni. As part of a longer term strategy, we hope to build an alumni endowment, which will grow from year to year. We also hope to attract matching funds from compa-nies with an interest in Ukraine. In the future, American Councils will ask FLEX alumni from all countries to help contribute to the FLEX program and the organization as a whole. Are you willing to consider contribut-ing to an alumni endowment fund? Do you have ideas about projects that FLEX alumni can help American Councils develop and fund? And please remem-ber, you can always support the organi-zation that administers FLEX by going to www.americancouncils.org.

Page 13 The Bradley Herald

Sevastopol Christmas Miracle Volodymyr Bilay ’03Sevastopol, Ukraine/ Lanark, ILvladimir-bilay@yandex.ruI first learned about the Miraculous Christmas Tree Project idea in 2006 when a guest speak-er presented it during the annual Alumni Coordinator Conference in Moscow. I imme-diately fell in love with the creative idea of decorating Christmas trees in public places with pictures of orphans to collect donations for them. I realized then that a project with such an original approach must be imple-mented in Sevastopol.Unfortunately I didn’t manage to plan the Sevastopol version of the Miraculous Christmas Tree in time for New Year’s 2007 and I didn’t want to rush with something so meaningful and more importantly, something that had to do with orphans’ expectations. To tell you the truth, the pressure of not fulfill-ing the orphans’ expectations in the event if something went wrong was the major restraint in the planning stage even a year later, when I decided the project would be implemented. However, all my concerns vanished when I introduced the project to our alumni team in September 2007. They responded with total enthusiasm and positive motivation. We immediately started planning what was to become the most meaningful and rewarding Sevastopol alumni project of 2007. With only three months’ lead time, the alumni team of Volodymyr Bilay ’03, Valeriya Fedosova ’06, Olha Kalyuzhna ’05, Viktoriya Kovalenko ’07, Irina Ogay ’04, Andrey Poteryakhyn ’01, and Dmytro Savchenko ’03 got to work quickly.Time was on our side. On the very first try we found an excellent venue for the project: the largest supermarket chain in Sevastopol, “Alen,” supported the plan. As soon as we thought of inviting sev-eral local NGOs to join us, the Sevastopol Student Council, Sevastopol Mothers and the Sevastopol Department of Education imme-diately signed on to the project. With each next step it felt like the positive idea’s driving force was so powerful that all we had to do was just ask and we would receive what we needed with no negotiations involved. It seemed that nothing could make the project fail. Still we agreed not to shoot too high and selected just three beneficiaries from among 15 Sevastopol institutions for children with no parental support. From the beginning it was clear that the innovative project approach would need extensive media promotion. Alumni sought in-kind advertising support from media com-panies in all advertising fields.

Each media company we approached agreed to our conditions. When we launched the project on December 5, it was promoted by four of the most popular local radio stations, five television channels, five local newspapers, and digital screens in 90 buses and supermar-kets throughout the city. Shoppers of the Alen grocery and department store chain also received informational flyers about the char-ity event, which were created by a member of the Sevastopol Mothers NGO and printed free of charge by the TellMe Advertising Company. Overall the project attracted more than $1,100 in gratis advertising.

And though the project immediately caught the attention of Sevastopol citizens, custom-ers at first were cautious about the project and for the first week didn’t donate much at all. But once we began to worry about collecting enough gifts, we started getting brand-new presents at a rate of up to 300 items per day.

Originally the project was divided into three consecutive stages: presents collection December 5 – 25; present sorting December 25 – 27; and distribution of presents directly to orphans, avoiding supervisors and directors, December 27 – January 14.

However, by the last week of the first stage it was clear that we would gather too many presents to sort in two days. Immediately we called upon all the volunteers we had at our disposal through partner organizations. It meant that volunteers who previously col-lected presents next to the decorated trees in supermarkets and communicated the needs of orphans to customers each evening and on weekends now also had to take shifts to help sort presents – an activity that took up to 16 hours a day in different shifts and con-tinued for almost a week. At the end of phase one, we had collected over 3000 brand new presents, as well as over 7000 quality used items (mostly stuffed toys). We increased the number of target institutions to 15. Now the list included not only orphanages but also a children’s home (an institution for orphans

ages 1-4), specialized schools for children with disabilities, specialized institutions for minors who committed petty crimes and a refuge for orphans with HIV/AIDS. Over 900 kids each received brand new gifts. Each institution also received bags of used toys to fill the orphans’ play rooms. The project exceeded all of our initial expec-tations, not only because it reached all of the goals we set, but because it turned out to be the most rewarding and stimulating effort in which we organizers and volunteers had ever taken part. Members of the Sevastopol Student Council commented that they had never experienced anything even close to the feeling of reward as when looking into the eyes of the 900 children who received gifts. The project received two thumbs up from community members, the Department of Education, City Council, and local NGOs and accomplished the goals alumni initially proposed. “We did it!” Valeria Fedosova ’06 exclaimed. “What we’ve done here is truly a miracle. I'm so happy to be an alumna and to be a part of such an awesome project.”P.S. The fact that we cooperated closely with local authorities (Department of Education and Sevastopol City Council) on the project, as well as with local TV channels, prompted the state channel Narodnyy Kanal to create a TV show devoted to orphans. Its idea is to show orphans’ everyday lives and in turn encourage the adoption of these orphans. Recently a friend of mine, a journalist work-ing on creating the show, called to report that when talking to representatives of the children’s home she learned that all of the 17 orphans there had been adopted since the Christmas holidays and currently the official papers were being processed. My friend also told me that 10 out of 17 were adopted by local families. Of course it might be a coincidence, but I tend to think that the promotional campaign to draw attention to the needs of orphans within the Miraculous Christmas Tree project in Sevastopol played its role in this adoption boom.

The Bradley Herald Page 14

Seeking Alumni Coordinators

Apply Now for 2008-2009Volodymyr Bilay ’03Sevastopol, Ukraine/ Lanark, ILvladimir-bilay@yandex.ru

Are you a successful FLEX alum? Are you interested in mastering your leadership and organizational skills? Have you ever considered a job that enables you to be in charge of youth activity in several cities at a time or even in the whole country? And that while being just a part time job?

My name is Volodymyr Bilay ’03 and I’m pleased to tell you about the Alumni Coordinator’s position at American Councils.This is my second year as Alumni Coordinator in Southern Ukraine. I love every single day at my job! I never dreamed that one could turn implementation of important community action projects, alumni-organizing events and professional development seminars into a job. It’s not only about getting positive feedback and the feeling of reward after every event but also about attending once-in-a-lifetime meet-ings and making contacts with outstanding people, about personal development and about mastering true leadership skills through com-munity development and development of your fellow alumni. Being an Alumni Coordinator I sometimes tend to forget that I work for an NGO in a position that requires just as much strategic planning and flexibility as a position in a serious multinational business insti-tution. And my experience looks just as serious on my resume. There’s nothing to be afraid of. It might be strange at first but the more you’re in, the more you fall in love with what you do and see how

your experience and growing number of contacts enable you to imple-ment progressively more complex projects with increasing ease. But most importantly you’re not alone out there. You have the whole alumni community on your side: fellow alums with similar experi-ences and goals, alumni that you work with, alumni that you work for, alumni whom you can definitely rely on. It’s fascinating and it’s fun!BUT THE BEST NEWS IN IT FOR YOU: my term is almost over. Soon I’m stepping down just like the Alumni Coordinators in your countries. Now it’s your time to shine!Hold your breath and get ready for:

developing and practicing your creativity and organizational • skills to empower yourself and others;gaining valuable professional experience in project management • and leadership development; meeting high-ranking and interesting people from the U.S. • Embassy, leading Russian and U.S. companies, international organizations;becoming a center of communication in the large and diverse • Eurasia FLEX alumni community;enjoying FLEXible hours, combining work and study;• becoming a team member in a recognized international organi-• zation committed to international exchange and cross-cultural education - an impressive addition to your resume, isn't it?!

To learn more about this opportunity, contact the Alumni Coordinator in your region or contact the FLEX Eurasia Alumni Office in Moscow at fsaalumni@actr.ru. Do it today!

Running for PresidentDavid Shervashidze ’06Batumi, Georgia/ West Branch, MIdavidsh06@yahoo.comThe U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, initiated the project Mock Presidential Debates in cooperation with Kedeli TV program on Georgian Public Broadcasting and American Councils. Public Affairs colleagues at the Embassy arranged a meeting at which all four of the presidential candidates, the TV show producer and Embassy staff members discussed the format of the TV show and debates.As one of the presidential candidates, my role was to prepare a presi-dential program and introduce my platform to the voters. All of the candidates were asked to prepare mock platform speeches and talk about their plans for their presidency. Each of the presidential candi-dates prepared a short movie clip as a commercial for TV advertising, which was viewed by the TV show audience prior to the candidates’ live speeches.During my thirty-second movie clip I told voters why they should support me and why they should vote. It went something like this, “Poverty, high taxes, social protection system problems: these are the main and most painful problems that Georgia faces. Vote for me and let’s solve them together. We can do it together and only with your support.” My motto was “Together for Georgia’s Victory! Your vote today defines your future.” This clip was shown before my speech. Each of the presidential candidates was given one minute and asked to address three different issues during the platform speeches. We chose our topics beforehand to make sure that everyone had different subjects to talk about. My speech was about poverty, taxes and social problems. I presented my way of solving problems in these areas. I gave suggestions on ways to create jobs, reduce taxes, etc.After all of the candidates made their speeches, the TV show host and audience asked us questions. The questions I was asked were

not any different than questions people would ask real presidential candidates. Some questions were difficult and really got me thinking about the root problems in our country. When they counted the votes and announced that I had won, everyone was congratulating me and my supporters were calling out my name. I felt so energized! People were calling me Mr. President, and all of that made it feel real. I think people voted for me because I showed them that I was serious about it, and I prepared my speech well. Also my answers to their questions were clear and my point of view on solving problems was acceptable to them.I personally think that the main problem we have to deal with is citi-zens’ ignorance of their rights. If people don’t know what their rights are, then they don’t demand that those privileges be granted to them. In the case of the Georgian elections, voters didn’t know how the process of elections and pre-election campaigns were supposed to be run. So the goal of this project was to increase citizens’ awareness about presidential campaigns and elections. This issue is considered very important because Georgia is a young democratic country and nowadays government and civil society are trying to implement core democratic values. This is not an easy thing to do when people have not realized the whole idea of democratic principles.

As a FLEX alumnus I am glad that I contributed to this project and to tell you the truth, the show turned out to be very realistic and I felt like a real presidential candi-date running for the presidency.

Profiles

Rozaliya Nigmatullina

Home town: Sterlitamak, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia U.S. City and State: Los Angeles, CAYear returned home: 1998Email: Rozaliyan@gmail.com

Education: Bashkir State University, Department of Romano-Germanic Philology.

Current place of work and title: The owner of the private enterprise Center for

International Youth Programs "STARWAY" in Sterlitamak

Highlights of your work: Educational programs for studying foreign languages abroad for children and adults; summer language schools abroad

Educational, professional, and/or personal goals: I still think of completing a graduate degree and at the same time have serious professional plans like working with world-famous educational organizations. The details are to be kept secret for now.

A personal achievement I'm proud of: My participation in the FLEX program and in Washington D.C. Civic Education Week Program in 1998 when Mrs. Clinton welcomed us to The White House

How I feel about the future of my country: Russia is becoming strong and suc-cessful and the most important fact is that the people are becoming happier.

The global issue of greatest concern to me and why: The greatest concern to me is how the elder generation can interact with youth. It's important to combine experience of older people and fresh ideas of the young people. It's like a fashion-able beautiful woman who also has a wise and confident inner self.

The local issue of greatest concern to me and why: There are thousands of villages and small towns in our republic and thousands of youth living there. Living in a big city is not the only way out to build one's future. I want youth to be able to build their future even living in a village.

A volunteer/community service activity in which I take part: I lead "English World," a language club at one of the local universities once a week.

Right now I'm reading: Zair by Paulo Coelho.

How I have made use of my U.S. experience: It was the pushing start for my whole life.

The FLEX program is important because: It's as important as oxygen.

Omina Sanginova Home town: Khujand, TajikistanU.S. City and State: Onalaska, WIYear returned home: 2007Email: omina_89@yahoo.com

Education: Khujand Branch of Technological University of Tajikistan, first year student, major: banking admin-istration, area: economy.

Current place of work and title: vol-unteering as a city representative for American Councils

Educational, professional, and/or personal goals: I want to study interna-tional relations and peace reconstruction at the university with English lan-guage. I also want to learn Spanish and Arabic. In the future I want to create an NGO that will help children in need with education and health.

A personal achievement I’m proud of: Became FLEX alumna and got to know that so many people in the world are working to make this world a better place to live in!

How I feel about the future of my country: I’m sure everything will change for the better if youth will act seriously. And happily it is happening. Maybe it will take a little while, but for sure good changes will take place.

The global issue of greatest concern to me and why: Poverty, I see that everyday with my every step.

The local issue of greatest concern to me and why: Women’s rights and pov-erty. I’m living in this community and I don’t like unfairness toward women.

An interesting FLEX alumni activity in which I took part/organized: Very recently we FLEX alumni and Our Kids members brought the deaf and mute stu-dents from the rural area to the movie theatre at our town. It was amazing to watch the excited faces of the students who hadn't been out of the rural area for almost eight months.

A volunteer/community service activity in which I take part: Helping poor people.

Right now I’m reading: Me to We by Craig Kielburger.

How I have made use of my U.S. experience: Created an initiative group “Our Kids” that is actively helping our community by spreading volunteerism and fight-ing against poverty and education limitations.

The FLEX program is important because: It showed me the real meaning of life and gave me the proof and confidence that a person can change the world for better if he/she wants!

What I’d like to say to fellow alumni: If you have any goal that you want to achieve go only FORWARD. If you are scared to make the first step, still do it and just remember that there will always be a person who will support you.

Suzanna ShamakhyanHome town: Yerevan, ArmeniaU.S. City and State: Colorado Springs, COYear returned home: 2007Email: Suzanna_Shamakhyan@yahoo.com

Education: Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University, Department of Law, Bachelor degree program, 2007-2011

Educational, professional, and/or personal goals: After the FLEX program I entered the

university. Currently I am the president of my class, and a member of our Scientific Student Council. I participated in a Scientific Student Council conference dedicated to the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms, and had the honor to read a report during that conference. That experience was very important for me as I was just 16 and it was the first conference of our university in which I took part. I also participate in an international competition called “OSCE Model,” which is being held in 56 OSCE member states for the first time in the history of this organization. Each state presents only one team. It is not clear yet which team will represent Armenia, but the one that wins in Armenia will go to Vienna for the next stage of the game. Hopefully I'll make the team.

A volunteer/community service activity in which I take part: In 2007 I became a member of the NGO The Future is Open (FIO) or Help the Children, which gath-ers volunteers who want to help children living in Armenian orphanages. This

work is one of the most important experiences of my life. As a volunteer of FIO, I give lessons of English to children ages 3-7 years every week. There are two groups of students: one of them consists of 14 children from 3-5 years old, the other one – of 17 children from 5-7 years old. Those children are my new family, they mean a lot to me. Officially I am their teacher, but they have taught me a lot too. I have learnt what patience, indulgence and love means. I can’t imagine what I would do if I could not be their teacher anymore.

How I have made use of my U.S. experience: My life in the U.S. wasn’t easy. I was a member of five clubs, and as a volunteer I worked with teenagers who had mental disorders. I also taught Spanish to second graders and English to ESL students at the elementary school. Besides I was on a synchronized swimming team. I was really overloaded and I have seen a lot of good and bad things. But even though I had some hard times in the U.S., my life there made me under-stand that I am the master of my life. I have learned how to be responsible for my decisions, actions, and life in general. Even though there are people around us that will always help us, we have to rely only on ourselves. I’ve learned to appreciate people when they just make you happy or sad, asked or thanked, loved or noticed…life isn’t very long and we have to value each second of it, live each second of it.

What I’d like to say to fellow alumni: Don’t ever forget that you are one of those few lucky people to participate in this program and you should be proud of it. I am sure each one of you learned a lot in the U.S., so spread that infor-mation; help other who haven't seen anything beyond their homes. Appreciate every single day of your life!

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Future Leaders Exchange Offices in Eurasia

Alumni OfficeRussia, 119049, Moscow, a/ia 1 (for mail) Leninsky prospect, 2, k.503 (for visits) +7(495) 230-4582, 230-4544, 956-7806(fax) fsaalumni@actr.rumoscowflex@gmail.com www.americancouncils.org

AlmatyKazakhstan, 480091 Almatyul. Seifullina 531, k. 604+7 (3272) 72-08-03, 79-80-96 (fax)alumcoord@yahoo.comkazakhstanflex@gmail.com http://www.actr.org/eic/astana/http://www.actr.org/eic/uralsk/http://www.actr.org/eic/ust-kamenogorsk/http://www.actr.org/eic/shymkent/

AshgabatTurkmenistan, 744000, Ashgabat48a Gorogly Street+993 (12) 33-10-15/16, 33-10-21/22, 33-06-96flexalumni@mail.ru turkmenistanflex@gmail.com http://americancornerstm.org

BakuAzerbaijan AZ1065 BakuAmerican CouncilsCaspian Plaza44 Jafar Jabbarli Street 6th FloorTel: +994.50.225.8178flexalumni@americancouncils.azazerbaijanflex@gmail.com

BishkekKyrgyzstan, 720040, Bishkekul. Tynastanova 98, apt. 1+996 (312) 66-48-38 (fax/phone) flexalumni@accels.elcat.kgkyrgyzstanflex@gmail.com http://flex.freenet.kg

ChisinauMoldova, MD 2012, Chisinau37 B Tricolorului Str.+373 (22) 22-58-60; 21 12-53 (fax)flexalumni@americancouncils.md moldovaflex@gmail.com http://www.iatp.md/accels/

DushanbeTajikistan, 734003, Dushanbe86 Tolstoy Street+992 (372) 21-21-03; 21-17-95, 24-14-57 (phone/fax)flexalum@americancouncils.tjtajikistanflex@gmail.com http://www.actr.org/eic/dushanbe

Kazan – Upper Volga Region uppervolgaflex@mail.rukazanflex@gmail.com

Kharkiv – Easten Ukraineflexaa_kharkiv@americancouncilskyiv.org.ua easternflex@gmail.com

Kyiv – Central UkraineUkraine, 04050, Kyivvul. Melnykova 63+380 (44) 482-0221, 482-0222482-0220 (fax)flexalumni@americancouncilskyiv.org.uakyivflex@gmail.com http://www.americancouncilskyiv.org.ua

Lviv – Western Ukraineflexaa_lviv@americancouncilskyiv.org.uaflexaa_lviv@yahoo.comwesternflex@gmail.com

MinskBelarus, Minskflexalumni@amcenter.bywww.amcenter.by

NovosibirskRussia, 630090, NovosibirskProspect Lavrentieva 17,1st floor, 4th entrance, rooms 1-3+7 (383) 330-39-43 (phone/fax)alumniki@gmail.comflexnovosibirsk@yahoo.comnovosibirskflex@gmail.com http://actr.nsk.ru

Sevastopol – Southern Ukraineflexaa_odesa@americancouncilskyiv.org.ua southernflex@gmail.com

St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg 199004Tuchkov Pereulok, 4. Tel (General): 812-323-43-80Tel (FLEX): 812-323-12-99Fax: 812-321-70-26flexalum@americancouncils.spb.rust.petersburgflex@gmail.comwww.americancouncils.spb.ru

TbilisiGeorgia, 380079, Tbilisi2 Arakishvilli str.,+995 (32) 25-21-06 (phone/fax)flex_alumni@amcouncils.ge georgiaflex@gmail.com www.americancouncils.ge

VladivostokRussia, 690091, Vladivostok Okeanskiy prospekt, 15a +7 (4232) 40-82-13 (fax/phone) flexalum@vlad.ru vladivostokflex@gmail.com

Volgogradsouthrussiaflex@mail.ru volgogradflex@gmail.com

Yekaterinburgyekaterinburgflex@gmail.com

YerevanArmenia, 375037, Yerevan Zeitun Street No. 2, House No. 38Tel./Fax: (374-10) 23-13-77; 24-60-23; 23-14-01f_alumni@americancouncils.am armeniaflex@gmail.com www.yfa.am

The Bradley Herald FLEX Alumni Newsletter sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State is produced and edited by American Councils for International Education:ACTR/ACCELS.

Email: bradleyherald@actr.ru

Editor Mary Shea

Design and Printing Production – Comline Groupul. Poteshnaya 6, Moscow, RussiaTel.: (+7 495) 221-67-76Email: sales@comline.ruwww.comline.ru