Azerbaijani-American Council successfully hosted the US-Congress-funded open world delegation from Azerbaijan - PHOTOS

On May 6 - 14, 2011, Azerbaijani-American Council (AAC) hosted a delegation of six Azerbaijani non-governmental-organization (NGO) representatives visiting Orange County, California on the Open World program  funded by the United States Congress and themed after rule of law in application to domestic violence as well as local governance.

Open World program is a unique, nonpartisan initiative of the U.S. Congress designed to build mutual understanding between the United States and Eurasia. Over 16,000 Open World participants have been hosted in all 50 U.S. states since the program’s inception in 1999. Managed by the independent Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, Open World enables emerging Eurasian political and civic leaders to work with their U.S. counterparts and experience American-style democracy at the local level.

The Open World Leadership Center has awarded a grant to the Academy for Educational Development (AED), to administer the program in 2011, and AED has chosen AAC as a recipient of Azerbaijani-American organization's first-ever U.S.-Congress-funded grant to host an Open World delegation from Azerbaijan.

The six Open World delegates hosted by AAC were Shafa Jamalzada of the Bar Association of Azerbaijan, Shahla Humbatova of the Transparency International - Azerbaijan, Bahruz Babayev of the Azerbaijani Human Rights Foundation, Asima Nasirli of the Women's Bar Association of Azerbaijan, Afig Malikov of the MAGIYA  Youth Public Union, and Vusala Mustafayeva of Shaki Tourism Information Center. They were accompanied by the program facilitator, Abbas Guliyev, an associate of Baker McKenzie Law Firm in Azerbaijan. Emin Hasanov, a New York-based activist of Azerbaijan Society of America (ASA), served as a professional interpreter for the program.

During their visit, the delegates joined a number of meetings and presentation sessions on the rule of law, domestic violence, and local governance set up for them by AAC.

On Monday, May 9, the delegates visited the Lamoreaux Justice Center of the Superior Court of California - Orange County, where they attended a presentation by the Domestic Violence Prevention Program and joined  the case hearings in a court room. The delegation was also received by Judge Cheri Pham of the Court, who provided the delegates with information and additional materials on prosecution and judgment of domestic violence cases. Later on that day, the delegates met with the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner's Department. The district Commander Mike Krueger and other associates provided an overview of the OCSD investigative unit and conducted a tour of the Orange County Jail facility with the delegation.
 
On Tuesday, May 10, the Open World delegates from Azerbaijan were received by the Mayor of Irvine, Sukhee Kang, who welcomed them to the host city and emphasized the importance of their program. Furthermore, Irvine Police Department representatives talked about the enforcement of domestic violence laws in the city. Later on Tuesday, the delegates visited the offices of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), where they were informed about the work of Congresswoman Sanchez in federal legislature and were familiarized with the operation of her district office.

On Wednesday, May 11, the Azerbaijani delegation held meetings at the Orange County chapter of the American Jewish Committee (AJC). In the meeting hosted by the AJC-OC executive director, Rabbi Marc Dworkin, the delegates talked about the history of tolerance towards Jews in Azerbaijan,  exchanged views on Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. The delegates were also informed about the ongoing cooperation between AAC and AJC, which pioneered the first-ever intercultural dialog between the Azeri- and Jewish-American organizations.  On Wednesday afternoon, the delegates visited the Human Options shelter in Orange County to learn more about the treatment of domestic violence victims. In the evening,  the delegates met with the social sciences students and faculty at the University of California Irvine, and participated in the OIive Tree Initiative group meeting.

On Thursday, May 12, the delegates visited the Anaheim Family Justice Center (AFJC), and were greeted by the Chief of Anaheim Police John Welter. They further given a tour of AFJC  facility by Sgt Mark Brucks and Lt. David Flutts of the Anaheim Police Department, and a presentation by Ms. Kerith Dilley of the AFJC Foundation. Later in the afternoon, the delegates visited the headquarters of the OC Board of Supervisors and were received by the Supervisor Janet Nguyen. Orange County Social Services officer, Angela Santos, conducted a comprehensive presentation on the social aspects of family violence. On Thursday evening, the delegates joined the Azerbaijani concert at Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles which featured the National Dance Ensemble from Azerbaijan and a number of other music performers.
 
On Friday, May 13, the delegation met with the Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles, Elin Suleymanov, and shared experiences about the Open World program and AAC hosting in Orange County.
 
In the course of their visit, the Open World delegates from Azerbaijan also had a chance to visit Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego county landmark areas, including Hollywood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Laguna Beach, La Jolla,  Coronado Island, Downtown Los Angeles, and Downtown San Diego.

AAC is pleased with the success of 2011 Open World program in Orange County, and is looking forward for continued cooperation with the Open World Leadership Center and the AED. We extend our special gratitude to the Orange County Chief of Protocol, Joanne Sokolski, and the City of Irvine Multicultural Affairs Officer, Emma Green, for their great assistance in arranging topical meetings for the Azerbaijani delegation. AAC would also like to recognize Abbas Guliyev for his leadership of the delegation and Emin Hasanov for his exceptional role as an interpreter for the Open World program.


/Today.Az/

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