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"PREPARING FOR THE NEXT DECADE OF U.S. EXCHANGES WITH RUSSIA" SYMPOSIUM

Open Plenary Session Remarks by
Assistant Secretary of State Patricia S. Harrison
Radisson Hotel, Moscow
March 25, 2004

Good morning, Ambassador Vershbow, ladies and gentlemen.

I am truly pleased to be here at this timely and vital symposium focusing on the next decade of exchanges between the United States and Russia. I am particularly pleased to be sharing this podium with Ambassador Vershbow, a man who represents the best of American diplomacy. With the Ambassador's many years of expertise in U.S.-Russian affairs, this bilateral relationship - is well served with his leadership of the U.S. Mission in Moscow.

I want to thank as well, Larry Wohlers and his team for putting this symposium together.

Even before I was sworn-in as Assistant Secretary by Secretary Powell, almost three years ago, I believed that "if you don't go, you don't know."

So I have traveled - in fact, my colleagues and I have just come to Moscow from Pakistan.

Although we live in this incredible age of technology and we are eager to use as many tools as possible to connect us with one another, it is important that we do not underestimate the continuing value and power of relationships based on face to face interaction -- the power of international exchange programs.

That's why I did not think it is appropriate to utilize the convenience of digital video conferencing in order to participate in a symposium on international exchange programs.
In fact, the benefit to me of being here is to listen to you, to incorporate into my thinking what you have to say based on your expertise and experience as together we look toward the future. For that reason, I have not come to Russia alone. I have brought with me several listeners.
I would now like to introduce Rick Ruth - Rick is the director of policy and evaluations for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs - ECA; Rick has been involved in Russian affairs since he was an exhibit guide In 1975 with the former U.S. Information Agency.

Helen Mobley, chief of our Office of International Visitors - Voluntary Visitors Division. And Elise Garfinkel, senior advisor, who helped me create and manage exchanges specifically for women in emerging democracies in the 1990s.

My bureau, ECA, comprises a team of 350 people who manage over 30,000 professional, academic and cultural exchanges worldwide every year. We work with 1500 public-private partnerships and 80,000 volunteers to help us reach younger, wider and more diverse audiences globally.

And the centerpiece of our outreach to youth is the Future Leaders Exchange Program, FLEX, in Russia and parts of Eurasia. I have met with people of all ages and from all regions, especially Russia, whose lives have been changed by the exchange experience and who In turn have changed others lives for the better as well.

So, I believe in the power of exchanges.

I also believe that this symposium represents a great opportunity as we meet in this extraordinary country in this magnificent city to focus on strengthening the bridge between Russia and the United States through these programs.

In the last decade, more than 50,000 people have participated on various exchange visits between our two countries.

· In the last ten years, more than 3,500 Russian students and scholars have come to the United States to study or conduct research.

· During the last six years, American English language fellows have lived and worked In 20 Russian cities. In just the last two years, these fellows have conducted over 1,000 workshops, providing training to over 12,000 Russian teachers of English.

· 5,000 Russian high school students have lived with American families and studied at American secondary schools through the future leaders exchange program.

These are just a few examples of the multiplier effect that occurs as American and Russians are introduced to an ever-widening group of people with whom they remain in contact over years -- ensuring positive long term and sustainable benefits on both sides.

Our exchange relationship with Russia is by far the largest we have had with another country over the past ten years.

The United States government -- with the strong support of the American people -- has made an extraordinary commitment to people-to-people diplomacy. And we are committed to a long term, people to people exchange relationship with Russia.

Last year, we had exchange programs with 180 countries in all regions of the world and funded or facilitated thousands of people - in some form of exchange, all aimed at building mutual understanding between the American people and people from other countries.

With the break up of the Soviet Union a little over a decade ago, there was a welcome opportunity to make up for the many years in which the American and Russian people had been kept in isolation from each other.

We needed to build a foundation on which a renewed Russian-American relationship could be constructed - one that would be not just political, but economic, social, educational and cultural. One based on understanding between people, not on the misunderstandings that develop out of isolation, stereotypes and propaganda.
The America-Russia exchange connection was a huge undertaking and it has been hugely successful - thanks to a great many of you sitting in this room today. The design of the programs was the result of close cooperation between Americans and Russians from many arenas.

These programs have touched lives in so many ways. For instance,

· President Putin recognized former International Visitor Aleksandr Tubelski for his work in promoting democratic values through his school here in Moscow, following his 1997 exploration of civic education In the United States.

· 34 American high school and middle school teachers described their trip to Russia to visit schools here as "life-altering." One said that she had never felt so much pride in being a teacher as when she met her Russian counterparts.

· Or the Russian high school student who taught Russian to American children and now two of those young people are studying in Russia today.

The importance of exchanges leads directly to an emphasis on the alumni of these programs. Early this year we established within ECA an Office of Alumni Affairs.
The head of that office, Merrie Blocker, is here with us today as part of our listening team.

We all believe in the constant value of exchanges, but the world continues to change. Our challenge in the face of this change is how to continue the fine work we have created with our friends in Russia while also addressing additional international priorities.

The special funding that the U.S. Congress voted to provide for U.S.-Russian exchanges through the freedom support act of 1992, was a special allocation of funding recognizing the particular need for quickly increasing our people-to-people contacts at that time.

That has happened.

Now it is time to move toward a new era in exchanges between the United States and Russia, one that builds upon our increasingly strong relationship based on mutual respect and understanding and partnership.

Government to government binational programs will be central to the relationship while at the same time, as the Ambassador said, we will work in partnership to encourage private sector initiatives and strong institutional links, academic, civic, and cultural.

Partnership is the key word as we prioritize our mutual goals, find innovative approaches and build on the best of what we have created together.

I welcome the opportunity to utilize this symposium to find ways to build on what we have collectively accomplished. Our discussions are timely and essential as we look toward the next ten years of exchanges between our two countries.

This symposium can provide a platform for continued discussion and planning. And I look forward to our dialogue today. So that we can ensure that the next ten years will continue the success of the past ten years.

Ambassador Vershbow, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here today. We have important work to do.

Thank you.

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