Symposium Panel Sessions

4) Joint U.S.-Russia Education and Technology Chair: J. Mitchell Johnson, President, Abamedia

The U.S. Embassy's 2005 U.S.-Russia Exchanges Symposium, held in Moscow May 26-27 drew more than 450 American and Russian participants. The two-day event was hosted by the Embassy's Public Affairs section, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. It was the largest-ever networking event for U.S. and Russian institutions involved in educational and people-to-people exchanges.

It followed two Presidential meetings this spring at which the American and Russian leaders expressed support for a major increase in bilateral educational, scientific, professional, and people-to-people exchanges.

The program began with a morning opening plenary session on May 26th, followed by multiple concurrent panel sessions, generated by participants, that encouraged open and creative discussion on ways to increase the effectiveness of existing exchanges, as well as on new opportunities for involving non-governmental organizations and corporate partners in a wide variety of exchange programs. An "exchanges fair" and a reception hosted by the U.S. Ambassador served as an additional opportunity for participants to discuss specific ideas and continue networking.