The Community Connections Program, a program sponsored by USAID and administered by World Learning, offers home-stay based, three-to-five week practical training opportunities for business entrepreneurs, government officials, legal professionals, non-governmental organization leaders and other professionals from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Funding for Community Connections is provided by USAID. Grants are awarded to community-based, non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations and cover expenses such as modest per diem for participants during their U.S. stay, administrative expenses necessary for program operations, and local transportation during the program. Almost all of the funds awarded to local community organizations are spent in the local community.

Local community host organizations, such as IVCLA, arrange internships and meetings for participants based on interests and experience. The goals of the Community Connections program are to:

• Provide participants with professional training and exposure to day-to-day functioning of a free market system.
• Encourage public-private partnerships in Eurasia by including private sector and government participants;
• Create links between U.S. and regions and communities in Eurasia.

Programs are arranged for English-speaking business participants which include individual internship experiences, as well as seminars, consultancies and site visits. Programs are also arranged for professionals who do not speak English, which are more group focused, and use a variety of training methodologies. Their professional programs are implemented with the assistance of U.S.-based locally hired interpreters.

Recruitment for the Community Connections participants is carried out in Eurasia by American organizations with representation in those countries. Recruitment is a merit-based open competition, and participants must successfully complete a three stage selection process: completion of an application, a review of the application by a committee of experts in the particular field of interest and an in-person interview conducted by members of the professional community.

Selected participants are then placed with U.S. community organizations (such as IVCLA) that will prepare the program for the participants, including arranging a hands-on internship with volunteer companies and organizations of similar interest and housing with local families who volunteer to open their homes to the participants.

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