Open World
The Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security manages a Russian Nonproliferation Visitors Program under contract to the Open World Leadership Center, a part of the Library of Congress. The program is designed to introduce the next generation of Russian leaders to the world of nonproliferation, with a focus on how nuclear nonproliferation is practiced in the United States. The program is managed by Dr. Mark Leek, Senior Research Scientist in the Center.
The Open World Leadership Center brings emerging political and civic leaders from Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union to the United States for two-week professional visits. Nonproliferation was added to the suite of Open World programs in 2005.
Twenty entry-level and/or mid-career professionals participate in the two-week program. Participants come from several disciplines, including nuclear science and engineering, nonproliferation, and journalism. But there are also participants from nongovernmental organizations, federal ministries, and regional governments with no nuclear background.
Participants study the U.S. nonproliferation sector as an integrated system, incorporating governmental and nongovernmental elements and how nonproliferation policy is made in the United States including the role of NGOs and the public. Through the visit the participants also have opportunities to meet and develop relationships with U.S. peers and their counterparts from other sectors of Russian government and society.
An important element of the program is providing the participants with a Russian frame of reference for what they will experience in the United States. Prior to leaving Russia, participants receive a one-day orientation from nonproliferation specialists at the PIR Center in Moscow.
Upon arriving in the United States, the participants divide into two groups. One group travels to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Washington State, and the other group travels to Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. At the laboratories, the groups learn about the science and technology foundation of U.S. nonproliferation programs. To enrich their cultural experience, the participants stay in the homes of local residents.
During these visits to host communities, the two groups visit universities and institutes involved in nonproliferation. The group visiting PNNL meets with staff at the Institute for Global and Regional Security Studies at the University of Washington. They also meet with Center for Global Security (CGS) staff to learn about the laboratory role in nonproliferation policy analysis. The group at Oak Ridge meets with staff from the Institute for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia.
During the second week of the visit, participants come together as a single group in Washington, D.C. They learn about nonproliferation policymaking by meeting with officials of the legislative and executive branches of government, along with prominent NGOs, working in the area of nonproliferation. During the 2005 visit, participants met with staff of the National Nuclear Security Administration and staff from several committees of Congress. Among NGOs, they met with nonproliferation experts from Russia America Nuclear Security Advisory Council (RANSAC) and the Monterey Institute for International Studies.
American Councils in Moscow, in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, facilitates in the distribution and processing of application materials. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is a chief sponsor of the program.