MISSION
To foster better international understanding and appreciation of differences through stimulating educational and cultural activities in Tula and the Capital Region. To provide opportunities for pupils, college students, and adults to educate themselves about Russian and American values and cultures. To share the best of educational practices in Tula and the Capital Region. To encourage the teaching of the Russian language in Capital Region schools. To promote cultural exchange between schools, art organizations, sports teams and the wider public with the aim of fostering greater cultural understanding of one city by the other.
ANNUAL CONTESTS
One of the most important outreach programs to the ATA is our annual Capital Region Essay/Multimedia Contest. The contest helps to foster cultural understanding between young people in Russia and the U.S. by awarding prize money or sending two winners of the Essay Contest to Russia for seven days. High school and homeschooled students from the ages of high school freshmen up to college freshmen are encouraged to enter. Topics vary every year. Judging is based on careful research and thoughtful analysis. Essay questions are posed in the winter, winners are announced in the spring and the trip usually commences in summer or fall of that same year. Be sure to check out social media sites for updates.
OLYMPIADS
Not only does the ATA send Capital Region students to Tula, we invite students from Tula to visit Albany. The idea for a contest known as the American Studies Olympiad came in 2009 when a delegation of teachers and librarians from Tula visited Tula’s sister city, Albany. The contest includes a selection round in which students pass an online test with a limited time for completion. The results are evaluated by representatives of the Tula Regional Association of English Language Teachers. If students pass, they go onto a second round concerning the history and culture of Albany. These answers are evaluated by the sister-city jury members of Albany. The tasks for the final round include an oral report and a presentation about a “Cultural Icon in the U.S.” – a person or event that has played a significant role in the history of American society. Our local Russian Olympiad is similar. Both of these programs are currently on hold.
OPEN WORLD
The ATA also hosts young adults from Tula who participate in Open World. The Open World Leadership Center, an agency of the U.S. Congress, is one of the most effective U.S. exchange programs for countries of the post-Soviet era. Open World’s original focus country, Russia, has been sending emerging leaders to the United States since July 1999. Russia’s nearly 13,000 participants have come from all of the country’s 83 regions (in relative proportion to the populations of Russia’s seven large political entities), with heavy representation from national leaders, regional and local governments, the judiciary and legal professions, and the health, education, and social services sector. The Russia program currently operates exchanges on the themes of accountable governance, rule of law, and social issues. Congress in 2003 established a separate Open World program for Russian cultural leaders. Open World visits are designed to promote professional or community partnerships that continue beyond the actual visit. (This program is currently on hold.)