Community Connections (CC)

Community Connections, a program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, offers homestay-based practical training opportunities in the U.S. for entrepreneurs, local government officials, legal professionals, non-governmental organization leaders and other professionals from 12 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

American Councils manages the promotion, recruitment and selection process, oversees English language tests (when necessary), and manages all necessary pre-departure arrangements (visa procurement, medical examination, travel arrangements, pre-departure orientation) in 4 countries, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmentistan and Tajikistan. Once participants are in the U.S. their programs are run by various host organizations throughout the country. World Learning for International Development oversees the entire program.

American Councils also works closely with the USAID missions and the Department of State Public Affairs Officers in those 4 countries, to identify the themes and regions from which the visitors will be selected. There are a wide range of sectors covered under this program, from human trafficking to arts administration and local government, and from small-scale manufacturers to bankers and librarians. These professional programs average 3 weeks in length and use interpretation. One of the public diplomacy goals of the program is to develop community-to-community linkages between the US communities in which the visitors are placed and their communities back home.

Program Resources

• Documents
• News