Open World

The Northern Nevada International Center at the University of Nevada, Reno is proud to host multiple week-long Open World programs annually. The Open World program is administered by the Congressional Office for International Leadership (COIL) and is proven to be one of the most effective U.S. exchange programs for former Soviet Bloc countries in the post-Soviet era.

The program has enabled more than 29,000 current and future leaders from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have traveled to the U.S. to engage and interact with Members of Congress, Congressional staff and thousands of other Americans, many of whom are the delegates' direct professional counterparts.

Open World delegations consist of committed leaders who experience in-depth programming in themes of interest to Congress and of transnational import, including human-trafficking prevention, government and court transparency, nuclear nonproliferation and environmental protection. The goal of the Open World program is to assist Congress in its domestic and international oversight responsibilities and to establish lasting professional relationships between up-and-coming leaders of Open World countries and U.S. citizens. Participant delegations create Congressional and other legislative relationships, and begin creating foreign partnerships with American government officials, jurists, nongovernmental organizations and universities. In this way, Open World supports Eurasian-related interests and projects, and helps establish partnerships with American citizens. While all countries in the Open World program are strategically important to U.S. interests, many have growing economies with increasing opportunities for foreign investment and trade.

Program partners or funding

The Open World program is funded by the Congressional Office for International Leadership and supported in its implementation by FHI360.

Program lead

For more information about Open World, please contact Dr. Carina Black at cblack@unr.edu.

Apply to be a home host

Open World delegations participate in an eight-night homestay with members of the community as part of the program. We are currently accepting applications for home hosts for 2023 Open World programs.

For more information or to apply, please visit our Home Host page.