Chairman Ryan, Ranking Member Herrera-Beutler, distinguished Members of the Subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the Open World Leadership Center’s fiscal year 2022 budget request. The budget request is for level funding in 2022 that will provide for continued support of staff, program costs, and operating expenses of the Center. There is an additional item of note in the budget request: the Board of Trustees’ vote to change the name of the Center to the Congressional Office for International Leadership, a name that more accurately reflects the mission and Congressional affiliation of the agency.

As a unique congressional center and resource, Open World is the dynamic catalyst for hundreds of international projects and partnerships that constituents have developed with emerging leaders throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union.

More than 8,000 volunteer American families in all 50 states have hosted more than 29,000 young professionals. Our American hosts immersed these professionals in American life, values and practices, while contributing an estimated $1.5 to $2.0 million in cost shares annually. Even now, the demand for Open World delegations is three times the number of slots we have.

Obviously, Americans from all walks of life have had to adjust the way they conduct business because of the pandemic. The Open World Leadership Center had to answer the question: how does an exchange
program re-invent itself in the time of COVID when there is no international travel?
The Open World program came to a complete halt due to travel restrictions and sent us all home on March 18, 2020. However, the challenges brought on by the pandemic, created an opportunity to bring delegates into the homes of Americans across the country virtually.

As we settled into teleworking, it was only a matter of days before the staff rallied to create a vibrant and extensive virtual Open World program. Using Zoom because of its unique ability to accommodate interpretation, each tele-delegation was introduced to their future program organizers and the local families that would host them. Every tele-delegation was custom-designed as if the group was meeting in person. The hosting organization and American host families participate in order to meet their future guests. It is not a replacement for face-to-face meetings, but it is at least the beginning of a dialogue.

In less than a year, staff has designed, developed, implemented and managed 110 virtual programs with nearly 8,000 people participating from all OW countries. This programming engaged Members of Congress and their staff as well as hundreds of American host families and program speakers/presenters.

Unexpected benefits emerged from our virtual programming as our efforts to utilize teleconferencing revealed the strength of the relationships Open World has helped to form. From every country, every region, every walk of life, alumni from all OW countries joined in virtual reunions with their host families. Many of the programs included speakers/presenters and Members of Congress. The impact of Congressional participation was both significant and memorable, especially for the many American hosts who joined. Constituents throughout the country are proud to be part of the Open World brand of citizen diplomacy. They know that they are building bridges between Main Street America and countries in transition.

In Fiscal Year 2022 we hope to make up for lost time and increase the number of visiting delegations substantially. The demand remains and we are planning new delegations to follow the pre-existing groups delayed by the pandemic. To the extent recovery from the pandemic and any travel restrictions remain, we plan to increase the depth and breadth of our programs including pilot programs in Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria. As always, we welcome any and all congressional member or staff involvement.

And, finally, in our efforts to stay up to date organizationally, the Center embarked on a project that involves the digitization of our records. I will close with the Vision Statement that describes the project in meaningful terms.

As the Open World Leadership Center enters its third decade, it seeks to honor its history, to evaluate its performance, and to improve its outcomes. It is, therefore, imperative to collect and organize its papers into an archive for scholars to study and assess what has been learned. The archive will demonstrate the important role Congress has had, and retains, in promoting positive change at the grass roots in participating countries.

A digital archive will allow the Center to demonstrate its effectiveness and tell its success story. With advanced analytics, the Center will leverage data to make a more modern and effective agency.

The archive will not only showcase this unique example of cooperation between the Congress—the branch of government closest to its citizens—and the countless American communities that have partnered with the Center, but also document the Center’s nimble, peer-to-peer approach to exchanges.

Ultimately, the archive will clearly demonstrate to all Americans the extraordinary value of the transnational relationships formed as former Europe and Eurasian countries emerged as independent states and explored democratic practices.

On behalf of all the staff of the Center, thank you for this opportunity to testify before you today. Your continued support and interest in the OWLC is paramount for our continued success.