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Vice Mayor Ken Keechl, center, welcomes a Russian delegation to Broward County.
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DATE: December 2, 2008
FROM: Kimberly Maroe, Public Information Manager
Broward County Commission
PHONE: 954-357-8053
EMAIL: kmaroe@broward.org
Broward County Commissioners recently greeted five visitors from Russia who took part in the League of Women Voters (LWV) 2008 Russian Civic Hosting Program. The program aims to introduce Russian leaders to U.S. democracy at every level of government and provides personalized experiences of American life and culture.
Broward County Vice Mayor Ken Keechl welcomed the delegation to the Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale where a variety of County agencies provided educational presentations on the services and programs provided by County government. With the help of an interpreter, the visitors were able to converse back and forth and speak at length with their various hosts during their weeklong visit.
"This was a unique opportunity to showcase Broward County government to elected officials and business people from Russia," said Vice Mayor Keechl. "They were very inquisitive about our human services and economic development programs."
Two members of the delegation are elected officials representing Russian cities, another is an assistant to a Russian congressional member, one of the elected officials owns five drug stores in Russia, the fourth is a director of a Russian Motion Picture House and the facilitator is a regional sales manager for the Sara Lee Corporation in Russia.
The delegates experienced a whirlwind week that included meetings with elected officials, media representatives and community leaders, a swim at Hollywood Beach, shopping, an airboat ride, and a tour of Broward County government's new employee Wellness Resource Center. They ended their visit at the Supervisor of Elections office as they observed the elections process on election day.
"The LWV of Broward provided our international visitors with the invaluable experience of witnessing the U.S. electoral process first-hand," said Mary G. Wilson, national president of the League of Women Voters. "We firmly believe that citizens of all countries need to be informed and active in government, and that all governments should be open and accessible to their citizens."
"The LWV of Broward was honored to host Russian visitors during such an important election cycle," said Marcia Barham, league president. "It was an enlightening experience for everyone in our League as well as our community."
The LWV of Broward is receiving financial support from the Open World Leadership Center, a department of the Legislative Branch of the Federal Government, in partnership with the League of Women Voters Education Fund to carry out the program. The Civic Hosting Program works to increase mutual understanding between the United States and participating countries and enables leaders from Eastern Europe and Eurasian countries to experience American democracy and civil society in action.
With only four or five members in a typical civic delegation, participants can engage in hands-on experiences, direct observation, and in-depth exchanges with their counterparts in the host community.
Delegates stay in LWV's host homes. The program builds mutual understanding between the United States and Russia by opening and maintaining new avenues of dialogue between U.S. political and civic leaders and a new generation of Russian leaders.
For more information on the League of Women Voters please visit www.lwvbcfl.org. For more information on Broward County government, please visit www.broward.org.
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