Open World Welcomes The Senator Ben Nelson Fellows

Senator Ben Nelson

Open World Welcomes The Senator Ben Nelson Fellows

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Open World Leadership Center welcomes its fourth group of Senator Ben Nelson Fellows, six medical researchers from Russia, on October 26. The Board of Trustees of the Open World Leadership Center created the Senator Ben Nelson Fellows program to honor Senator Nelson's contribution to Open World and to improving ties between the U.S. and countries of the former Soviet Union. After an orientation in Washington, DC, the delegation will be hosted in Senator Nelson’s home state of Nebraska from October 28 – November 5.

The delegation arrived in Washington on October 26. On October 27, the researchers will meet with Dr. Eugene Miknowski, a rheumatologist affiliated with George Washington University Hospital. Dr. Miknowski immigrated to the United States in 1979 from Moscow in what was then the USSR, and will share his insights into the United States medical system with the Russian fellows.

In Omaha, the group will take part in programming designed by the Friendship Force of Greater Omaha. The evening of October 28 the delegation and their local hosts are invited to a Welcome Dinner held by Mr. Walter Scott, Jr. and Mr. Michael B. Yanney at the Omaha Country Club. Mr. Scott and Mr. Yanney are leading businessmen and philanthropists in Omaha; Mr. Scott is Open World’s former chairman and Mr. Yanney a former Trustee. Open World’s executive director Ambassador John O’Keefe will also attend the Welcome Dinner.

In Omaha much of the researchers’ agenda will involve meetings with medical professionals at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), including those with expertise in genetics, microbiology, infectious diseases, and nanomedicine. The Director of the Douglas County Health Department, Dr. Adi Pour, will meet with the fellows on November 3.

Open World supports Congressional outreach to countries in Eurasia and Eastern Europe. It conducts exchanges that establish lasting professional relationships between the up-and-coming leaders of Open World countries and Americans dedicated to showcasing U.S. values and democratic institutions. Open World has introduced more than 26,000 current and future decision makers from Russia and other countries in post-Soviet Eurasia to American political and civic life, and to their American counterparts. The U.S. Congress established Open World in 1999.

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