AZERBAIJANI LEADERS EXAMINE CIVIL RULE OF LAW IN OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
November, 2016, Oklahoma City—Five Azerbaijani legal experts participating in the Open World Program will spend November 11 through November 19, 2016, in Oklahoma City examining civic rule of law issues. Rotary Club 29 will host the delegation. Managed by the independent Open World Leadership Center, Open World introduces rising leaders of emerging democracies to legislative functions essential to democracy. Open World maintains a network of leaders who have gained significant, firsthand exposure to America’s democratic, accountable government and free-market system. Funded almost entirely by the U.S. Congress, Open World links Members to their counterparts and is an instrument for Americans engaged in citizen diplomacy.
While in Oklahoma City, the delegates will meet local federal and state judges and practitioners, observe courtroom proceedings, engage with United States experts in the field of criminal defense and prosecution and civil rights litigation. They will visit the State Capitol, the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Oklahoma Supreme Court Judicial Center, and partake in a roundtable hosted by the Williams J. Holloway, Jr. American Inn of Court. The delegates will also meet with Senator James Lankford’s Field Representative. Dean Valerie Couch, also a member of Club 29, will welcome them for a tour of the Oklahoma City School of Law and the Oklahoma Innocence Project. They will visit the University of Central Oklahoma for a tour with Dr. Dwight Adams, Director of the Forensic Science Institute, and observe a Naturalization Ceremony at the William J. Holloway, Jr. Courthouse.
The visiting delegates are Aytan Alizamanli, Aynura Gozalova, Ziya Guliyev, Rasul Jafarov, and Samad Rahimli. Huseyn Panahov from Azerbaijan accompanies them as a facilitator.
Homestays will allow the Open World delegates to experience American family life. They will also take part in several cultural and community activities, including dinners hosted by Club 29 members that will feature speakers including prominent American Indian artist Benjamin Harjo, Jr., to talk about his art processes, and Catholic Charities’ Patrick Raglow, who will speak about the challenges resettlement issues present. An acapella group from Oklahoma City University will entertain the delegates during a dinner hosted by fellow Rotarian Robert Henry (who serves as the University’s President) and his wife Jan at their home on the school’s campus.
Open World has introduced more than 24,000 current and future decision makers from Eurasia and other countries to American political and civic life, and to their American counterparts. Open World delegates range from first-time mayors to veteran journalists, from nonprofit directors to small-business advocates, and from political activists to judges at all levels.
Open World supports Congressional outreach to their counterparts abroad. 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. The U.S. Congress established Open World in 1999.
For more information contact Maura Shelden at mshelden@openworld.gov or visit our website at www.openworld.gov. Follow us on Twitter @OWprogram and Facebook.