Gorbachev Foundation’s Representatives Meet Ambassadors of PPTI and Students from Norway

On April 21, 2004, a delegation from the People to People International (PTPI) Ambassador Programs visited the Gorbachev Foundation. Founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the program has since had eight United States presidents serve as honorary chairmen. The People to People Ambassador Program provides foreign educational travel experiences for professionals in the following main areas: education, medical, science & technology, social sciences, law, arts & humanity, agriculture, business and culture. You can find more about the PTPI and its Ambassador Program at the organization’s official web-sites at http://www.ptpi.org/ and http://www.ambassadorprograms.org/aboutus.asp.

The ambassadors led by Mary J. Eisenhower, Chief Executive Officer of People to People International, and President Eisenhower’s granddaughter, were greeted in the Gorbachev Foundation’s conference hall by the Foundation’s representatives -- Vladimir A. Polyakov, Consultant, International and Media Relations, and Sergey R. Kozlov, Deputy Director, Center to Assist Humanitarian Programs. They gave the delegates an insight into the history of the Foundation, the areas of scientific and humanitarian activities pursued by it and the programs and projects implemented with participation of the Foundation and its President Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

The presentations were followed by Q&A session, during which the ambassadors asked questions concerning the aspects of funding of the Foundation’s activities, the procedure for selecting themes for research, and the HIV/AIDS situation in Russia. At the end of the meeting Mary J. Eisenhower gave the Foundation’s representatives the PTPI’s Certificate of Acknowledgement for the organization’s efforts in the public sphere.

Later in the day, a group of students and teachers from Norway, trained under the Russian politics master program at the Moscow State Institute of Foreign Relations (MGIMO) met Vladimir A. Polyakov, Olga M. Zdravomyslova, Head of the Foundation’s Public Affairs Center, and Professor Viktor B. Kouvaldin, Head of the Foundation’s Expertise Round Table standing seminar. The students were briefed on the history of establishment and current activities of the Foundation, as well as efforts taken by Mikhail S. Gorbachev both domestically and abroad. The Norwegians were asking questions about the projects and publications by the Foundation, President Gorbachev’s participation in the public and political life of Russia, and the prospects for democracy in the country. The meeting was followed by a brief tour of the Foundation’s library and archive facilities. The visitors also saw the Historical and Cultural Heritage of Perestroika display being currently prepared for official opening at the Foundation’s premises.