FLEX Alumni Coordinators: Trained and Ready for Action

The atmosphere was celebratory at the annual FLEX Alumni Coordinator (AC) training conference on the weekend of September 25-27 in the outskirts of Moscow. FLEX Program ACs as well as American Serbia & Montenegro Youth Leadership Exchange (A-SMYLE) national and regional coordinators celebrated the 15th anniversary of the FLEX Program, while interweaving trainings to prepare them for their work with alumni across their nations.

Following an opening of the conference by Eurasia FLEX Alumni Program Manager Mary Shea, representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow Public Affairs Section (PAS) Mike Snyder, deputy cultural attaché, and Educational Exchanges Coordinator Natalya Sirchenko welcomed the ACs and encouraged them to introduce themselves to their local PAS colleagues and work closely with their U.S. Embassies. Throughout the course of the day, the ACs were trained on how to communicate effectively with alumni in their hubs and goals of the FLEX Alumni Program. Before the start of the traditional and ever-entertaining Cultural Café where coordinators share tales and treats from their nations, the ACs learned about the Colors of FLEX 15th anniversary initiative. Colors of FLEX, a project created and organized by the 2008-2009 FLEX ACs, aimed to unite FLEX alumni under one flag in celebration of the 15th anniversary. ACs and their alumni were asked to work on various initiatives, including environmental activities, working with the disabled in their communities, holding blood drives, creating pen pal exchanges between orphanages across Eurasia, creating a portion of the FLEX flag, and documenting outstanding events on video to incorporate into a FLEX movie. ACs agreed to expand the effort and suggested new focuses for the continuation of the project. In the coming year, they will also draw more attention to working with regional alumni and local youth organizations, civic education events, and fundraising events.

During the second day of the conference, professional trainers were invited to share their expertise with the ACs and help them to formulate new project ideas and ways to make the projects thrive. Ward Howell Talent Equity Institute Project Manager Ilya Breyman began his presentation by asking the ACs to create a plan for FLEX at 35! alumni reunions in space. ACs created plans, distributed tasks, and evaluated the risks of holding reunions on the moon, Mars, and Venus. The trainer then took the participants through the steps of creating and executing a project and concluded by having them put together a plan for a large scale event with cost and time restraints. Katerina Sukhova, senior manager for social communications at Mikhailov and Partner Strategic Communication Management led a presentation on PR and working with media. ACs learned the value of including media to events and maintaining positive FLEX Alumni Program PR. Finally, Evgeny Smirnov, an associate at Ward Howell Talent Equity Institute, held a presentation on leadership styles and team roles for the ACs.

To wrap up this information-packed day, Moscow FLEX alumni invited the ACs to take part in a scavenger hunt/sight seeing tour of the city. Split into groups, the ACs with their Moscow-savvy partners, had to find landmarks, take pictures with willing Muscovites, and complete tasks to make it to the final destination of the hunt: Starbucks on famous Arbat Street! There, the ACs and Moscow alumni relaxed and talked about their ideas for future events and their experiences in the U.S.

Bright and early on Sunday, the ACs began a brainstorming process. During the Open Space session, ACs moved from group to group, depending on their interests, to discuss ideas for international events, working with senior alumni, holding charity events, effectively working with City Representatives, and how to work without the convenience of an American Councils office. Next, they worked together with American Councils staff members to start creating their hub calendars. This year, the FLEX ACs will be required to post all of their events in a combined Google calendar, with the hope of more coordinator cooperation!

The event closed up with a number of interactive and interesting sessions. Former Alumni Coordinator for Moscow Russia 2006-2007 Yelena Zuberava ’03, who currently works as an international programs and projects specialist at the National Youth Council of Russia, led an interactive session on working with youth organizations. She provided the ACs with background on real Russian youth organizations and challenged them to search for ways to collaborate. ACs created sales pitches to effectively pass on their ideas to the hypothetical representatives and argued persuasively about the benefit of collaborating with the FLEX alumni community. Coordinators also listened to a presentation by FLEX Hub Director for Urals and Siberia Regions in Russia Emily Danulyk on fundraising and yet another on time management by consulting freelancer Pavel Hegai.

Teambuilding events helped the ACs to come to think of themselves as a Eurasia team and gave them yet another activity to take back to the alumni in their counties. In teams, the ACs were asked to act out the highlights of the conference in the setting of Comedy Club, in an opera, in a popular sit-com mode, and through the eyes of American Councils staff members. Additionally, teambuilding events, which literally linked them together in a human chain, accentuated the team atmosphere.

The newest American Councils staff members will utilize the skills and knowledge from the conference to make positive change in their communities. To contact the FLEX ACs and learn about their upcoming events, feel free to contact the FLEX Alumni Office at fsaalumni@actr.ru or check out the Alumni Coordinators section of the FLEX Alumni site.