October 21, 2020 – I joined a Zoom meeting with host Aslan Guluev form the Rotary Club of Gronzy, Russia of District 2223. We discussed the collaboration between our two clubs and Open World. The Open World program was established in 1999 to expose emerging Russian political and civic leaders to American civil society through study visits to communities across the United States. The program is funded by the US Government. Rotary began hosting civic delegations from Russian Federation in 1999 and Rotary clubs hosted in 43 states and hosted more than 2000 delegates from Russian federation. Aslan translated for us to help bridge the language gap.
The group from Russia talked about how they viewed our court system and San Diego city government during a Open World 10 day visit. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the in person meetings and collaborations have been suspended. However, virtual meetings via Zoom like this one are continuing. The current District Governor for District 2223 Iidus Yanyshev was on the call and talked about his experiences in the US.
My Journey in Rotary 