- OPEN WORLD EDUCATION/GOVERNMENT DELEGATION VISITS MAINE AND
NEW HAMPSHIRE
In December 2009, our Archangel Committee hosted a six person
"Education/Accountable Government" delegation from Archangel and from the
Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea. This visit continues a series of
delegations that we have received that have been funded by the "Open World
Program" based at the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington DC. Delegation
members were Archangel School Number 6 Principal Vladimir Utkin, Pomor State
University Professor Andrei Yurkin, Solovki State Museum Curator Olga
Rubtsova, and Archangel City Legal Department Deputy Directors Andrei Markov
and Kirill Vitkov. The Facilitator was our long-time friend Victoria
Podolskaya from Archangel. The delegation was hosted for two days in
Washington DC by the Open World Program prior to their flight to Maine. The
highlight of their Washington visit was a lengthy meeting with Maine
Representative Chellie Pingree in her Congressional Office that was followed
by an invitation to the House Chamber to observe a vote.
Their first weekend in Maine (December 12 and 13) included visits to
Portland Head Light, the Liberty Ship Memorial, the Arctic Convoy Memorial,
the Victorian Mansion and the Longfellow House. The delegation divided on
Monday, December 13 to start their professional programs. Committee member
Denis Marrotte took Andrei Yurkin and Olga Rubtsova off to Plymouth State
University (PSU) in New Hampshire for two and a half days of intensive
meetings and presentations. Other Committee members including Ed Suslovic,
Carol Lord, Ray Pelletier and Neale Duffett helped with the professional
program in Maine for the other delegates.
The professional program at PSU built upon a number of prior visits,
including Open World delegates and alumni visiting PSU in 2005, 2007 and
2008 and PSU professors visiting Archangel on a reciprocal visit in June
2009. Good relationships have been established between PSU and institutions
in Archangel, including Pomor State University, the Kenozero National Park,
the Solovki Meteorological Station and the Solovki State Museum. Plymouth
State President Sara Jayne Steen calls this new partnership endeavor "The
White Mountains Meet the White Sea". Both Andrei Yurkin and Olga Rubtsova
pledged to support this strong partnership in the future; we hope to
continue to engage the Open World Program in this effort.
The professional program in Maine was also intense as it strengthened
existing partnerships and formed new ones. Mr. Utkin met with many Portland
School Department officials (including Superintendant James Morse) and met
with principals and teachers at many individual Portland schools. In
addition, Mr. Utkin spoke for the delegation at a televised meeting of the
Portland School Committee on December 16th; he indicated his strong support
for an on¬going reciprocal relationship between the Portland and Archangel
school departments involving student and teacher exchanges. Archangel City
lawyers Andrei Markov and Kirill Vitkov were also busy. They met with
Portland Corporation Counsel Gary Wood, Portland Police Chief James Craig,
Deputy Chief Joe Loughlin (who visited Archangel on a reciprocal visit in
April 2008) and professors Christopher Northrop and James Burke at the
University of Maine School of Law and Legal Clinic. A highlight of the
lawyers' program was a roundtable discussion with Maine Superior Court
Justices Roland Cole (who visited Archangel on a reciprocal visit in 2001)
and Thomas Warren (who visited Archangel on a reciprocal visit in September
2009). The topic of this roundtable was "Bench/Bar relations". The Maine
judges explained the structure of such programs here in Maine and how
beneficial formalized relations between the Bench and Bar can be; Mr. Markov
and Mr. Vitkov discussed similar issues in the Russian judicial system and
agreed to help promote Bench/Bar relations in Archangel. Interestingly, it
was discovered during this meeting that Mr. Vitkov was one of the
role-players in a mock jury trial that Justice Cole had presided over in
Archangel in March 2001. Mr. Utkin, Mr. Markov and Mr. Vitkov also had an
intense day at the Muskie School of Public Policy hosted by Dean William
Foster. The day focused on public/private collaboration to support community
progress, international professor and student exchanges, and future
cooperation involving the Muskie School, institutions of higher learning in
Archangel, the municipal governments in Maine and in Archangel, and our own
Archangel Committee.
On Thursday December 17, the entire delegation was reunited for a trip to
our Capitol Complex in Augusta. They were hosted for the day by Maine
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap (who visited Archangel on reciprocal visits
in 2003 and 2006). Their Augusta day included tours of the House and Senate
Chambers, special looks at the Maine State Archives and Maine State Museum,
and a visit with Maine Governor John Baldacci (the Governor is a former
member of the U.S. Congress and he has graciously met with many prior Open
World delegations). Interestingly, Matt Dunlap will soon be the President of
the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS); in this position he
hopes that NASS and the Open World Program can form a good partnership.
Friday, December 18 was also busy day for the delegates as it included the
United Way Legislative Breakfast, a visit to Portland's Peaks Island School,
a visit to the Osher Map Library and Center for Cartographic Education and a
tour of a regional solid waster recycling and electricity generation
facility. The day concluded with an exciting Portland Pirates Hockey Game at
the Cumberland County Civic Center complete with photographs with some
Russian players after the game!
Again, Victoria Podolskaya was a wonderful Facilitator and ambassador from
Archangel. After returning to Archangel in December, she has worked with the
City of Archangel to establish an Alumni Organization that includes many
people who have visited Maine on Open World and other delegations. We all
look forward to seeing her again!
Since 2001, one of Portland's sister cities has been Cap-Haitien on the
north coast of Haiti (the recent earthquake was felt in Cap-Haitien but no
damage was done). The Portland group is called "Konbit Sante" and it is
focused on improving a hospital and the health care system in Cap-Haitien
(the second largest city in Haiti). Many Portland volunteers are in Cap-Haitien
right now as critical care patients from Port-au-Prince are arriving.
Obviously, the need is great. Please join our Archangel Committee in
supporting our brothers and sisters by sending a check payable to "Konbit
Sante" to: Konbit Sante, P.O. Box 11281, Portland, Maine 04104. Please write
"Earthquake Response Fund" on the check's memo line.
- JUDGES AND LAWYERS VISIT ARCHANGEL
A five person Rule of Law Delegation funded by USAID through the Russian
American Rule of Law Consortium visited Archangel in September 2009. The
delegates were Federal Bankruptcy Judge Michael Deasy, Maine Superior Court
Justice Thomas Warren, Maine District Court Judge Joseph Field, New
Hampshire lawyer Steven Notinger and Maine lawyer Jennifer Ferguson. The
professional program with their Archangel counterparts focused on judicial
ethics, court administration, tax law and Bench/Bar relations. More than a
dozen Open World Alumni either helped to organize or participated in these
professional programs.
- SEVERODVINSK ENVIRONMENTALISTS VISIT MAINE
In October 2009, an Open World Delegation of four environmentalists from
Severodvinsk (20 miles west of Archangel) visited their Sister City
Portsmouth NH. Their facilitator was, of course, our good friend Victoria
Podolskaya. Despite a very busy week in New Hampshire, the delegation found
time to visit with Archangel Committee members here in Maine for a day of
coastal sightseeing, a visit to an NGO that recycles and reuses school
supplies, and an evening cookout complete with marshmallows! Special thanks
to Portsmouth Chair Alex Herlihy!
