Journalists Visit LBCC

Published in the beachcomber newspaper Aug. 3, 2007.

Russian journalists visited the Liberal Arts Campus of Long Beach City College Friday, July 27 to learn more about American journalism in a college setting and to share their experiences with a developing free press and the traces of oppression lingering back home.
Translator Olga Powell, facilitator Maria Shtilmark and co-chair of Long Beach-Sochi Sister City Association Richard Madeira accompanied the four female journalists Elena Dorofeeva, Natalia Kostitsina, Natalia Sevets-Ermolina and Valeria Stepanova into the Viking newsroom for a tour and discussion.
"We have come to see how things are done here and to learn more about democracy," Shtilmark said in a greeting with LBCC president Eloy Oakley.
The journalists are part of the Open World program, officially established by Congress in October 2001, and are here, according to www.openworld.gov, to see first hand American democracy and civil society.
Madeira said, "This delegation is called 'Women in Leadership' with an emphasis in journalism. We're trying to bring women together in international business."
Madeira also said Open World has 60-100 delegations a year.
The ten day visit was filled with activity, including a stop at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Cerritos library, KPFK radio station in Los Angeles, the port of Long Beach, Global Green U.S.A. (the U.S. branch of Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross Organization), and a visit with Congresswoman Linda Sanchez's senior aid Patrick Rodriguez who just returned from Iraq as a soldier.
Madeira said, "The discussion about Iraq was very insightful for the women; he was sincere and honest."
Congressional money, through Open World, paid the expenses for the trip and the women were picked at the American Council in Moscow.
According to Madeira, Open World reached out to the Long Beach-Sochi Sister City Association because it had already established a relationship with Russia and wanted help in finding delegates to participate in the program.
On July 4, Sochi won the bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics beating out seven other cities.
Oakley said, "This is a great program, especially in these days when the countries seem to be drifting farther apart."
Oakley asked the journalists before he departed the meeting, "Since the program is about learning democracy, do you feel Russia is leaning more to democracy and what can we do to help?"
Through the interpreter Kostitsina replied, "A lot of people believe we have an idea of American democracy and that is how America treats Iraq. People say we don't need American type of democracy, we need our own type of democracy."