Overview
For the past 20 years, the Center for
Citizen Initiatives (CCI) has dedicated itself to supporting political and
economic reforms in
CCI "citizen diplomats" explore
CCI has graduated more than 4,000 Russian
entrepreneurs from U.S.-based business management internships. Currently, it
manages an army of over 20,000 dedicated volunteers, who train these interns,
across 45
CCI’s origins date from the height of the
Cold War in 1983 when Sharon Tennison, CCI’s president, led a handful of
ordinary American citizens upon an extraordinary mission – challenging the
dangerous barriers of fear and mistrust between the two Superpowers. The
group's preposterous mission was to create an alternative to the arms race and
open communications between the U.S. and the USSR. They called themselves “Citizen Diplomats.”
CCI’s vision in 1983 was based on the
premise that citizens have a stake in international relations, and the right
and responsibility to investigate and engage in foreign policy debate if their
security is at risk. The nuclear arms race constituted such a risk. During its
first decade, CCI pioneered many extraordinary measures, primarily focused on averting
this peril. Its original program organized travel to the USSR for thousands of
Americans with the intention to build human connections with counterpart Soviet
citizens.
These American travelers took to Soviet
streets in search of citizens willing to communicate with them. Despite
surveillance and decades of repression, Soviet citizens invited them into their
schools, hospitals and apartments to probe critical issues. After three intense
weeks of vigorous dialogue with their counterparts, the Americans returned to
the U.S. determined to make a change in Superpower relations.
American journalists visit in home of Soviet
educators in 1986
Thus began CCI leaders’ long saga as citizen
diplomats and CCI’s formation as an international organization. Numerous travel
and exchange programs, environmental initiatives and agricultural projects
erupted in the 1980s as a result.
The CCI mission became further defined in
1989 with CCI’s creation of the Economic Development Program, the
first-in-existence business-management training program for Soviet
entrepreneurs. This became CCI’s niche and expertise for the ensuing years. In
1993, the U.S. government began funding technical assistance for Russia. CCI
became the recipient of generous funding that allowed it to expand existing
programs in the areas of business management, agriculture, environment and
micro-business development.
Today CCI’s San Francisco headquarters
employs 30 staff who direct the pro bono work of thousands of American
volunteers as they implement business training for Russian entrepreneurs across
the U.S. CCI has seven Russian partner offices that oversee the work of over 50
satellite operations deep in the regions of Russia.
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