• Juvenile delinquency is decreased as youth gain a greater understanding and respect for the rule of law, legal issues, law enforcement and criminal investigation.
• Capacity of police is increased to implement effective community policing initiatives.
• Greater community awareness of legal issues are introduced addressing trafficking, domestic violence, bullying, cyber security and cybercrime.

​SCOPE is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

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The  Adjara Community Policing Initiative (ACPI)  fosters closer cooperation in 10 rural communities of the Adjara region, with particular focus on cooperation among religious groups and between the community and local police departments. The core of the program  supports building and institutionalizing positive dialogue, consultation, and joint problem solving between local police and rural communities, including religious communities and minorities. The program seeks to overcome existing communication challenges within communities and between communities and the police. Representatives of the community include school students, administration, parents and teachers, representatives of local self-government, sport groups, and religious and community leaders. 

ACPI utilizes school and community interventions to lead greater engagement of police with the members of selected communities of Adjara, hence, the two components, legal socialization in schools and building police-community relations, are key program areas of the initiative. Providing police with training and support to incorporate and improve their own personal and professional capacity to accomplish these community policing objectives are key. Activities build from classroom based components (building trust and relationship between students and police) and extend out to community based activities.

ACPI is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

 

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Initiative for Empowering Local Communities in Georgia’ Project

 

PH International leads a multi-country, multi-faceted effort to reduce the risks of radicalization of vulnerable residents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Macedonia. PH International and its key partners in each country, the Georgian Center for Strategy  and Development (GCSD) in Georgia, the Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD) in Azerbaijan, and Moonshot CVE in Macedonia are implementing this effort through a comprehensive online and offline campaign for both countering the messaging of international terrorist and violent extremist organizations in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Macedonia while acting to prevent the risks of extremist messaging through activities targeting drivers that contribute to these risks, particularly among young people. Building local capacity to sustain this effort is key to the overall success of the project. As part of the project a special training curriculum will be developed that will be used in Georgia and Azerbaijan to train community members, including influencers on what P/CVE is and how and why it is important to counter the messaging being received from violent extremist organizations. 

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The Armenia Legal Education and Active Participation (LEAP) program, Nov. 13, 2017-Oct. 12, 2018, supports community-oriented social justice models geared toward improving and establishing positive interactions between the community and law enforcement officials. Emphasis is placed on ensuring that the child's best interests are of paramount importance, bringing about a fundamental shift within law enforcement, regional Departments for Protection of Families, Women and Children under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, schools, and community toward restorative justice elements, and providing capacity support to structures within the Government of Armenia to respond to the specialized needs of juveniles with delinquent behavior and self-sustain legal socialization programs and efforts.

 

LEAP uses an integrated approach that educates juveniles on the law and the justice sector resources available to them and builds positive relationships between juveniles and law enforcement authorities; assesses problems in the case management system for juveniles and provides recommendations for addressing these problems; provides training to school multi-disciplinary teams on how to best support juveniles in difficult life situations; provides training to Abovyan prison staff on re-entry strategies for youth offenders; and increases the sustainability of legal socialization programs and efforts in Armenia by incorporating these programs into existing structures and ministries

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Ten up-and-coming young leaders from disadvantaged communities across the U.K. will travel to Vermont, Massachusetts and Washington D.C. to expand their understanding of leadership, develop greater awareness of additional models of programs and approaches to promote leadership to fellow youth and to have personal experiences in the U.S. that may offset negative images and impressions.> More

• To enhance entrepreneurship development, capacity-building of youth-led small enterprises through innovative forms of access to finance, knowledge and expertise.
• To increase employability of young people by offering relevant training, improved financial capabilities, new forms of practical on-the-job training opportunities and encouraging youth-friendly corporate practices.
• To create discourse contributing to youth economic empowerment through a nationwide media campaign as well as support to youth-led enterprise networks and connecting them to similar networks internationally.

• Development of open-source Youth Enterprises Training Manual, non-formal educational module with session guides, instructions and handouts. 600 young people from 20 regions of Georgia will take part in the Youth Enterprise two-stage Training Program, offered by MFO Crystal Branch Offices in 20 locations of Georgia. As a result, 30 youth led start-up enterprises will be financed and supported.
• Development of Employers Guide to Internship and Youth Friendly Practices tailored for the selected 20 companies. The guide will provide methods and tools for constructing effective on-the-job training programs, leading to sustainable employment of youth. 400 young people will undertake internship in selected companies.
• Creation of http://crystalcrowd.ge/en/more/video-academy, providing access to online entrepreneurial resources, employment advises access to finances and engagement opportunities with local and international networks. 

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The purpose of Armenia CALLS is to support legal socialization reform by developing creative and proactive community-based models that 1) support Armenian communities in preventing juvenile delinquency through social justice activities for Armenian youth in coordination with the Armenian Police, schools, and communities and 2) contribute to a fundamental shift within the police, institutions administering justice, and community toward the use of alternative justice approaches for juveniles.

 

As its name indicates, Armenia CALLS is a call to action with an emphasis on developing a community’s sense of responsibility for its youth, leveraging resources to sustain local planning, preparing and engaging police officers as key assets in that process, and supporting the Ministry of Justice in its efforts to develop alternatives to imprisonment – especially important in reducing recidivism among youth. 

 

PH proposes a program that will achieve this purpose and address key concerns by building upon more than a decade of Armenia experience in community policing and support for crime prevention, juvenile justice, reparative justice approaches, youth leadership and civic engagement. Armenia CALLS emphasizes local initiatives, underscoring the responsibility and assets of local communities to better meet the needs of their youth through supported partnerships, collaboration and social initiatives. CALLS also prepares law enforcement, court actors, local organizations and the general public for effective cooperation between Armenian Police, youth, families, schools and community stakeholders on initiatives that help young people develop cognitive, social and emotional competence for preventing violence.

Armenia CALLS is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

 

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The goal of Georgia CALLS is to prevent/reduce recurrence of juvenile delinquency and strengthen a fundamental shift within the police, courts, and communities toward restorative justice elements in the Republic of Georgia. Although Georgia has made remarkable progress in adopting policies that bring it closer to international practices in juvenile justice, there are also practices in the country that are founded in authoritative approaches with the potential to undermine restorative justice approaches starting up and generally alienate youth, leaving them more vulnerable to negative influences. As the name indicates, the Georgia Community Action and Linkages for Legal Socialization program focuses on building joint effort of government, communities, local NGOs, private sector and the international community for strong prevention programs and in support for the expansion of alternative justice approaches. Georgia CALLS will encourage schools and community groups to plan for and adopt new programs that reduce delinquency, providing access to training and materials that support those activities. Programs will cultivate police as positive influences in the lives of youth and reinforce community policing. Other components will strengthen the expansion of the Government’s pilot Diversion and Mediation program for juveniles throughout the country.

Georgia CALLS is funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

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The Police as Leaders in Athletics for Youth: Ukraine (UA PLAY) program is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affair’s under the SportsUnited International Sports Programming Initiative, and implemented by PH International. The program will take place from September 2015 to December 2016.

The goal of the UA PLAY Martial Arts is to inspire and strengthen Ukrainian community-based youth sports programs that bring youth and police together to promote positive growth and healthy lifestyles among youth and reinforce community policing practices.

PH will conduct a two-way sports and cultural exchange with participants (adults and youth) from Ukraine and the United States. In early 2016, twelve (12) officials and youth practitioners from Ukraine will visit the U.S. and be introduced to approaches and options for community-based youth sports programming, with special emphasis on programs models that bring youth and police together. Exchange participants will return home, to develop and execute action plans resulting in three regional community-based sports initiatives that can serve as pilot and demonstration programs for a broader effort in the future. In June 2016, twelve (12) Americans, including youth martial arts athletes, coaches, and police officers involved in sports programming will visit Ukraine to provide added technical assistance, conduct workshops, and clinics and build momentum for the new sports initiatives.

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The purpose of the Macedonia Legal Socialization Program (MAK LSP) to build cooperative partnerships between youth, educators and criminal justice sector officials in the Republic of Macedonia, complementing other ongoing projects being funded by INL, USAID, and the U.S. Embassy Skopje Public Affairs Section, through a focus on promoting a rule of law culture among RM youth. MAK LSP will develop youth as responsible citizens and agents of change by developing understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens and the role of RM criminal justice institutions through a process of positive communication between youth, police officers, and teachers. > More

The Virtual Classroom Project (VCP)  was a component of Internet and Exchange component of YIEP.  VCP was designed to connect students and teachers from Turkey and New England to develop new insights and understanding of current events, international issues, and cross-cultural perspectives. By participating in VCP, students and teachers developed transformative 21st century skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork while integrating the use of technology as part of the learning process. 

For more information about VCP, please visit the website above.

The Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program (YIEP) was implemented by the Turkish Education Association and has provided support for the development of innovation and entrepreneurism among Turkish high school students since 2008. PH’s Internet and Exchange Component served three functions. First, the component provided a means of delivering additional content and new approaches that enhance the teaching of entrepreneurism in the classroom. Second, the component established linkages between Turkish and American youth that allow them to explore how innovation, entrepreneurism, culture and their lives are similar and different in the two countries, enriching awareness and understanding. Finally, the component provided opportunities for leading young entrepreneurs and their teachers to have in-person experiences in one another’s countries, further expanding connections and understanding.

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From 2011-13, UNICEF, within its 3-year EU-funded juvenile justice program called “Reaching Critical Mass: Consolidation of Juvenile Justice Systems Reforms against Torture and other Forms of Ill-Treatment of Children in Former Soviet Countries”, partnered with PH International to provide interim funding support for Community Justice Centers (CJCs) in Armenia. Eleven CJCs, created and maintained by local Armenian groups with support from PH International, were created as part of the ZANG legal socialization program.

1. Yerevan (capital area)
2. Vanadzor (Lori region)
3. Alaverdi (Lori region)
4. Gyumri (Shirak region)
5. Ijevan (Tavush region)
6. Chambarak (Gegharkunik region)
7. Talin (Aragatsotn region)
8. Kapan (Syuniq region)
9. Echmiadzin (Armavir region)
10. Metsamor (Armavir region)
11. Artashat (Ararat region)

These centers pursue programming that is deeply rooted in alternative justice theory. While most approaches to juvenile justice focus on punishing or treating delinquent youth, this theory emphasizes restorative justice and seeks to involve the entire community in rehabilitating offenders and holding them accountable for their behavior. By bringing together victims, offenders, families, and other key stakeholders in a variety of settings, restorative justice helps offenders understand the implications of their actions and provides an opportunity for them to establish a positive reconnection to the community. The CJC specialists (usually a psychologist, a person with formal education training background, and a social worker), law enforcement officers and community members operating the CJCs constitute a Restorative Board which develops rehabilitation plans for delinquency cases referred to the centers by the community and law enforcement officers on local level partnering with the ZANG Legal Socialization Program. The CJCs have proven to be a successful and constructive strategy for combating and correcting juvenile delinquency already identified and reported on a community or police level. They have been at the center of many local and international reports and have always received positive acclaim.

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The Georgian Legal Socialization Program (GLSP), implemented by PH International and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), began in 2008, in partnership with The Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The program sought to increase public safety, juvenile crime prevention and civil society development through raising the youth awareness in juvenile justice matters, building/ promoting trust among the students, teachers and law enforcement officers, and the introduction and promotion of principles of restorative justice. 

The program included a range of components. Legal Culture Classes brought together police officers and civic education teachers in the classroom in approximately 100 public schools in 6 regions throughout Georgia, to jointly conduct specialized 7th and 9th grade GLSP curriculum. The Social Media in Schools (SMS) component taught youth basic social media skills using PH's SMS curriculum, allowing the students to transform the knowledge acquired during the classes into practical actions for juvenile crime prevention though use of social media. A third school-based component, Peer Clubs of Legal Education, encouraged a peer education approach and project-based activities. Curriculum were translated to Azeri and Armenian languages for use in schools in minority regions.

In addition to these school components, GLSP played a significant role in introducing the concepts of restorative justice to Georgia, leading to a Juvenile Diversion and Mediation Program introduced by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia in 2010. GLSP organized trainings for representatives of governmental institutions and mediators involved in the Diversion and Mediation Program and facilitated the sharing of international experience by professional exchanges to the US and Armenia as well as by bringing foreign experts to Georgia. 
 

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ZANG Program brochure

Program Final Independent Evaluation

The ZANG Armenian Legal Socialization Project,  funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), inroduced legal education to Armenian schools and established collaboration between educators and law enforcement professionals who work with youth. In and out of school, the program encouraged cooperative partnerships between law enforcement, educators and community organizations for positive change in areas of public safety, crime prevention, and civic society development. Among its outstanding achievements, ZANG introduced legal education curriculum in schools, introduced new concepts for prevention and restorative justice approaches, raised awareness of the broader community about juvenile justice issues, and helped create Community Justice Centers in Armenia.

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The UK Youth Entrepreneurship Program (summer of 2012) served to inspire the entrepreneurial spirit in UK’s diverse young people, giving them tools that will help them realize their dreams, and connecting these young people to their American counterparts and young American entrepreneurs. The program was funded by the US Embassy Public Affairs Service in London.

The Scotland Study Abroad Professionals Exchange (spring of 2014) better equiped teachers and guidance counselors in Scotland to promote and facilitate application to university level study abroad programs in the U.S.

The UK Young Leaders Program (summer of 2014)  enabled a group of ten up-and-coming young leaders from disadvantaged communities across the U.K. to expand their understanding of leadership, see new models and approaches to promoting leadership among youth, and gain personal experience in the U.S.

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Youth LAB: Turkey-Armenia-U.S. forged cross-cultural connections and fostered innovative leadership among Turkish, Armenian and American youth, nurturing a cadre of youth to become actively engaged in addressing issues of mutual concern in their schools and communities, and equipping them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become citizen activists.. The program was funded by a grant from the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and was implemented by PH International and its Turkish partner, ARI Movement.

The 16-month initiative brought together 75 young leaders – 25 from each country – with creative ideas and open minds. Prior to a three-week leadership camp in the U.S., students from the three countries communicated online via a secure website and began talking with one another about leadership and change in their communities. In July 2011 all 75 students came together in Vermont for a two-week leadership camp at Sugarbush Resort, followed by a one-week homestay experience with American hosts.As part of the camp the students formed international teams to discuss, design and plan civic activities to work on in their communities after they returned home. They then spent the next four months working on these projects in their schools and communities, continuing to communicate with their peers and program coordinators as they put learning into action. In late December 2011, the students reunited in Turkey and Armenia visiting projects, communities, and expanding their cultural and leadership training.

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Youth LAB: Turkey-Armenia-U.S. was a program to foster innovative leadership and forge cross-cultural connections among Turkish, Armenian and American youth. Youth LAB was funded by a grant from the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and was implemented by PH International and its Turkish partner, ARI Movement. The objective of the Turkish-Armenian-American Youth Leadership Project was to nurture a cadre of youth to become actively engaged in addressing issues of mutual concern to Turks, Armenians and Americans in their schools and communities, and to equip them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become citizen activists.

The 16-month initiative brought together 75 young leaders – 25 from each country – with creative ideas and open minds. Prior to a three-week leadership camp in the U.S., students from the three countries communicated online via a secure website and begin talking with one another about leadership and change in their communities. In July 2011 students came together in Vermont for a two-week leadership camp at Sugarbush Resort followed by a one-week homestay experience. International teams of students designed and planned civic activities that they would work on in their communities upon their return home, and were to spend the next four months implementing these projects and continuing to communicate with their peers and program coordinators as they put learning into action. In late December 2011, all students got together again and spent ten days in Turkey and Armenia visiting each other’s projects, communities, and expanding their cultural and leadership training.

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Youth LAB: Turkey-Armenia-U.S. is a program to foster innovative leadership and forge cross-cultural connections among Turkish, Armenian and American youth. Youth LAB is funded by a grant from the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, and is implemented by PH International and its Turkish partner, ARI Movement. The objective of the Turkish-Armenian-American Youth Leadership Project is to nurture a cadre of youth who become actively engaged in addressing issues of mutual concern to Turks, Armenians and Americans in their schools and communities, and are equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become citizen activists.

The 16-month initiative will bring together 75 young leaders – 25 from each country – with creative ideas and open minds. Prior to a three-week leadership camp in the U.S., students from the three countries will communicate online via a secure website and begin talking with one another about leadership and change in their communities. In July 2011 students will come together in Vermont for a two-week leadership camp at Sugarbush Resort followed by a one-week homestay experience. Inter-national teams of students will design and plan civic activities that they will work on in their communities after they return home, and will spend the next four months implementing these projects and continuing to communicate with their peers and program coordinators as they put learning into action. In late December 2011, all students will get together again and spend ten days in Turkey and Armenia visiting each other’s projects, communities, and expanding their cultural and leadership training.

Türk dilinde

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The Media Education and Democracy in Action (MEDIA) Youth Leadership Exchange Program provided 21 young people and two chaperones from Vermont, USA, Jordan and Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan with media education, technology and leadership training during two-way exchanges and through monitored online work.  Project Harmony (PH) welcomed the participation and support of partnership with the United Palestinian Appeal of Washington, DC for this project. Through an interactive weblog along with training sessions and workshops in VT and Jordan, students increased their knowledge and understanding of media literacy concepts and tools;  they were able to apply learned media literacy skills by creating collaborative digital stories; all participants gained a deeper understanding of the relationships between media, culture, government and civil society through meetings and pertinent site visits during both US and Jordanian exchanges and very importantly, were able to culturally immerse and learn from one another through host family stays, cultural events and collaborative project work.

 

The core technical element of the MEDIA program was the completion of a digital story about a specific social issue of concern in the students’ home country.  This vehicle was selected because it allows for the acquisition of a wide array of technical skills, encourages sustained community involvement as students become personally invested in their chosen topic, and is effective in eliciting a sympathetic response in the students’ identified audience. Digital stories addressed issues such as domestic violence, stereotypes, youth and media, global poverty, and youth activism through a program weblog, classroom and computer lab work and cultural immersion by staying with host families in Vermont and Jordan.

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Women’s Leadership Programs (WLPs) empower women from across a given region or country to initiate change and improvements in their communities. Special focus areas are determined by the communities being served and have included such topics as NGO development, mass media, women’s healthcare, prevention of domestic violence, and electoral politics. Through educational workshops and training seminars that focus on practical skills-building and mentoring, the programs develop the leadership qualities and capacity of women. Program components include: a local needs assessment to identify key issues of importance to be directly addressed through workshops and training activities conducted; custom-designed Women’s Leadership Series workshops; Women’s Leadership Institutes focused on intensive leadership training for women; Women’s Mentoring Institutes which provide additional training for the top participants in the Women’s Leadership Institutes so that they can serve as mentors to other women and to train them to conduct the Women’s Leadership Institute for additional women; strengthening the institutional capacities of existing women-centered groups and organizations; creation of a Women’s Resource and Training Center where appropriate; and, Inter-regional and/or International Conferences.> More

Women’s Leadership Programs (WLPs) empower women from across a given region or country to initiate change and improvements in their communities. Special focus areas are determined by the communities being served and have included such topics as NGO development, mass media, women’s healthcare, prevention of domestic violence, and electoral politics. Through educational workshops and training seminars that focus on practical skills-building and mentoring, the programs develop the leadership qualities and capacity of women. Program components include: a local needs assessment to identify key issues of importance to be directly addressed through workshops and training activities conducted; custom-designed Women’s Leadership Series workshops; Women’s Leadership Institutes focused on intensive leadership training for women; Women’s Mentoring Institutes which provide additional training for the top participants in the Women’s Leadership Institutes so that they can serve as mentors to other women and to train them to conduct the Women’s Leadership Institute for additional women; strengthening the institutional capacities of existing women-centered groups and organizations; creation of a Women’s Resource and Training Center where appropriate; and, Inter-regional and/or International Conferences.> More

The Project Harmony Community Policing Training Initiative (CPTI) was a two-year program (2000-2002) which provided training to Russian and Ukrainian police agencies, as well as education departments, city government and social service providers in the fields of community policing and juvenile narcotics prevention. CPTI is funded by the US State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

Using a strong network of reform-minded leadership within the local, regional and national law enforcement agencies in the NIS that PH developed while delivering other law enforcement trianing programs in the region, CPTI built upon and enhanced this network to promote the concepts and practices of community policing as a strategic new approach to community problem solving, public safety and crime prevention.

Three distinct program components were implemented as part of this project

The Law Enforcement Exchange Program
(Novgorod, Russia and Simferopol, Ukraine)
Two-way exchange programs were conducted with American and NIS Law Enforcement professionals, followed by US and NIS-based Professional Development Workshops on community policing themes.

The Juvenile Drug Enforcement and Prevention Initiative
(Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, Novgorod, Volgograd and Irkutsk, Russia)
Regional implementation of a comprehensive juvenile narcotics prevention initiative was developed and implemented in conjunction with an American-led train-the-trainers program and regional cross training by Russian trainers in four target regions in Russia.

The Community Policing Institute
(Lviv, Ukraine)
A community policing training institute and resource center at the Lviv Institute of Internal Affairs was established, and it development was supported by a two-way exchange program focused on community policing and police retraining programs as well as the creation of web-based community policing training courses.

The three components of CPTI brought US-NIS collaborative law enforcement exchanges to two new communities. It enhanced the innovative work taking place in Karelia on juvenile drug enforcement and prevention and expanded this initiative regionally and nationally across Russia. The establishment of the Community Policing Institute in Lviv, Ukraine consolidated community policing training resources and materials into a sustainable center focused on providing professional development training and education for law enforcement officers across Ukraine. Finally, this entire endeavor to develop community policing initiatives across the NIS was documented and promoted through public outreach efforts at the local, regional and national level, as well as through a comprehensive network of web sites and online resources, ensuring the program wide exposure to diverse audiences across the NIS.

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The Project Harmony-ECA Youth Leadership Program for Bosnia-Herzegovina was designed to develop a constituent base of students and educators in B-H with leadership skills to implement democratic initiatives in their home communities. Through interactive workshops, hands-on training, site visits and collaborative activities with American participants, B-H students and teachers learned fundamental concepts and practices of American democracy and civil society. Participants developed leadership skills relevant to community development and civic activism and fostered personal relationships with Americans that continue since program completion. Participants also engaged in a range of activities that promoted student leadership in community outreach, peer education and mentoring, volunteer initiatives and multicultural learning. Together with their American counterparts, the delegation took part in simulations, a community service project, leadership training exercises, briefings, group discussions, and classroom visits. Each participant worked through goal-setting exercises that culminated with collaboration on a strategic action plan for individual and group projects to be implemented upon return home to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Cultural activities and time with host families provided exposure to various aspects of American life.> More

The dynamics of domestic violence in eastern Europe are essentially the same as in the United States. What does differ dramatically between these two cases however is the social awareness of the problem and the tools available to prevent and defend against acts of domestic violence. At the turn of the millenium, this problem in the former Soviet Union was aggravated by inherited cultural traditions, social structures and norms of behavior which have historically tolerated domestic violence. In 1998, Project Harmony received a grant from the United States State Department to administer "The Domestic Violence Community Partnership Program." This innovative two-year program brought together coalitions of domestic violence prevention and response experts from the United States, Russia, and Ukraine - later expanding to Georgia -  to share strategies and develop community-based tools for increasing awareness of this problem, and protecting women in culturally relevant and law enforcement-supported ways. Participants learned about collaborative models in the U.S. establishing domestic violence community partnerships that were producing measurable and positive results. Working linkages between police, victim advocate groups, prosecutors, judges, health care professionals, family counselors and schools are producing an effective coalition of community based services to attack the systemic issues of domestic violence.

The program initially focused on Petrozavodsk and Volgograd in Russia, and in Odesa and Lviv in Ukraine. Based on the success of the first two-year initiative, Project Harmony received another grant in 1999 to continue the program for an additional two years and to extend the locations to include the cities of Irkutsk in the Far East of Russia, Uzhgorod in Ukraine, and Tbilisi in Georgia.

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The dynamics of domestic violence in eastern Europe are essentially the same as in the United States. What does differ dramatically between these two cases however is the social awareness of the problem and the tools available to prevent and defend against acts of domestic violence. At the turn of the millenium, this problem in the former Soviet Union was aggravated by inherited cultural traditions, social structures and norms of behavior which have historically tolerated domestic violence. In 1998, Project Harmony received a grant from the United States State Department to administer "The Domestic Violence Community Partnership Program." This innovative two-year program brought together coalitions of domestic violence prevention and response experts from the United States, Russia, and Ukraine - later expanding to Georgia -  to share strategies and develop community-based tools for increasing awareness of this problem, and protecting women in culturally relevant and law enforcement-supported ways. Participants learned about collaborative models in the U.S. establishing domestic violence community partnerships that were producing measurable and positive results. Working linkages between police, victim advocate groups, prosecutors, judges, health care professionals, family counselors and schools are producing an effective coalition of community based services to attack the systemic issues of domestic violence.

The program initially focused on Petrozavodsk and Volgograd in Russia, and in Odesa and Lviv in Ukraine. Based on the success of the first two-year initiative, Project Harmony received another grant in 1999 to continue the program for an additional two years and to extend the locations to include the cities of Irkutsk in the Far East of Russia, Uzhgorod in Ukraine, and Tbilisi in Georgia.

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The Project Harmony Training Program to Combat Trafficking of Women in Ukraine was an intensive 12-day series of workshops and activities focused on three areas: 1) law enforcement and international legal efforts to combat trafficking; 2) public education, prevention and support networks; 3) the creation of a public-private initiative in Ukraine to combat trafficking. The program goal was to enhance participants' abilities to carry out anti-trafficking initiatives in Ukraine and contribute to international efforts in this area. A group of twenty Ukrainians comprised of government officials, social services and legal professionals and non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives took part in the program in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area and Washington, DC in July, 1998. Follow-on program initiatives with participants on this topic continued through 1999.

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The Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program is one of the Department of State's longest lasting programs providing an opportunity for international high school students to spend a year in the United States, living with host families and attending American high schools.

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