These bilateral exchanges to each proven American policing, prosecutorial, judicial and community organization practices and tools for combating ethnic and religious violence and resolving conflicts constructively. Through these exchange visits, the Climate of Trust brings Russian police officers, prosecutors, government officials, and community leaders together with their American counterparts who work with them to help reduce the level of hate-motivated extremism and violence and promote tolerance in their communities.

As a result of these exchanges, productive lines of communication are created among individuals who play significant roles in determining the ways in which hateful extremism and intolerance are handled in their communities. Moreover, a core group of dedicated participants takes the initiative to establishing a Regional Tolerance Center of the Climate of Trust in
their region.  

The structure of the Climate of Trust exchanges includes three stages:

Preliminary Seminar
The Climate of Trust identifies target groups and conducts a preliminary seminar to discuss their vision of counteracting extremism and xenophobia . At the end of the preliminary seminar , a select group of participants is chosen as Climate of Trust delegates to Phase I, which is carried out in the United States.

Phase I Exchange
Phase I includes interactive workshops, case studies, round-tables and site visits to police stations, courts, prosecutor's offices, and NGOs. Russian delegates witness and experience how American law enforcement, authorities and the community interact to address hate-motivated extremism and intolerance. Russian participants of the exchange develop an Action Plan, in which each participant proposes a concrete step that he or she will undertake to improve the response to extremism and increase the atmosphere of tolerance in their community.

Phase II Exchange

St Petersburg 2007 Phase II Exchange

The dialogue and collaboration began in Phase I is continued with a reciprocal visit of the American team to their Russian colleagues. During Phase II, the Russian and American delegations jointly conduct focus sessions with a larger audience of local police officers, government administrators, and community leaders. In addition to sharing what they have learned from Phase I, delegates evaluate the action steps that were proposed at Phase I and determine which steps are working and what needs to be done to carry them out. The exchange culminates in the establishment of a permanent Regional Tolerance Center of the Climate of Trust, which implements the action steps in the target region.

An exploratory international exchange of the Climate of Trust was conducted in 2000. It brought a group of police officers and community leaders from Petrozavodsk (Northwestern Russia) to the United States to partner with their American counterparts and share best practices on how to promote ethnic and religious tolerance.

The first full exchange was conducted in 2001 and partnered police of Ryazan Oblast and San Francisco. That exchange resulted in the establishment of the first Regional Tolerance Center of the Climate of Trust in Russia - the Ryazan RTC. This was followed by exchanges for Tatarstan (2002) and Leningrad Oblast (2003), which also resulted in the establishment of permanent Tolerance Centers in these regions.

In 2004, the Climate of Trust expanded its geographical scope and conducted a bilateral exchange with Tajikistan - a former Soviet Central Asian republic ravaged by a devastating civil war.

Since 2004, the Climate of Trust has conducted the following exchanges:

Climate of Trust 2008: Voronezh – San Francisco

On June 24-27, 2008, Phase II of the Climate of Trust exchange program was conducted in Voronezh. Participants of Phase II included representatives of the Voronezh regional administration, Voronezh Administration of Education, and Voronezh Public Chamber, police officers of the regional police department, professors of Voronezh State University, and activists of local NGOs. The American delegation included police officers, educators, and community leaders from
San Francisco.

The main activity in Phase II was a seminar entitled “Cooperation of community-based associations, government authorities and law enforcement in the prevention of ethnic, racial, and religious hate crimes”...MORE

Climate of Trust 2008: Voronezh – San Francisco

COT 2008: Voronezh-San Francisco, 2008

On April 19-25, 2008, the Climate of Trust Council hosted a delegation from Voronezh, Russia, as part of our ongoing series of exchanges to combat the rise in xenophobia, anti-Semitism and ethnic hatred in Russia. The Russian delegation included representatives from the local government, senior police officers, ethnic and religious community leaders, educators, and members of the Public Chamber of Voronezh – an umbrella organization of over 400 NGOs.  

The delegates spent a week in San Francisco learning about American best practices in combating extremism, community policing, and conflict resolution. During their stay, the Russians attended workshops led by officers of San Francisco Police Department, representatives of District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, Superior Court, and Police Commission, officials of various departments of City Administration, School Resource Officers, as well as community groups, such as Asian Law Caucus, Jewish Community Relations Council, La Raza, and Muslim Community Association. 

The next phase of this exchange program will be conducted in Voronezh in June 2008.

The “Climate of Trust 2008: San-Francisco – Voronezh” exchange will culminate with a resolution to create a Climate of Trust Tolerance Center in Voronezh.

Climate of Trust Exchange: St. Petersburg - Los Angeles/San Francisco/Washington DC

In February 2007, a delegation of police officers, judges, and NGO leaders from St. Petersburg and Moscow spent a week in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., learning how hate crimes are investigated and prosecuted in the U.S., and how the police and community interact.

In Washington, the Russian delegates held meetings with Nancy Pelosi's Chief Foreign Policy Advisor and the Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. They also had briefings with representatives of the State Department, Department of Justice, and USAID. The briefings focused on ways in which the authorities and NGOs in Russia interact to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of extremism.

In San Francisco, a team of volunteer law enforcement officials and ethnic community leaders presented a series of workshops and case studies on hate crimes. The Russian delegates "shadowed" San Francisco police officers at an immigration rights demonstration, observing and learning how the San Francisco police interact constructively with the community.

In Los Angeles, the Russian delegates met with L.A. County Sheriff Leroy Baca, command staff of the L.A. Police Department, prosecutors, public defenders, the FBI, and leaders of religious and ethnic community groups, to discuss methods of dealing with hate crimes and ways to reinforce common interests and values in a multi-cultural community.

St Petersburg 2007 Phase II Exchange

In May 2007, several of the California law enforcement and community Climate of Trust partners traveled to St. Petersburg to continue the dialogue with their Russian counterparts that had begun in the U.S.  During their stay, the Americans and Russians worked together to design an approach and an action plan for combating hate and extremism in Russia.

The American delegates took part in a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of Russian police officers who had fallen in the line of duty. The ceremony was presided over by the Head of the Police Administration (GUVD) of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast and attended by hundreds of police officers, members of clergy, veterans of law enforcement, and the public. Lieutenant Dan Mahoney of the San Francisco Police Department was invited to address the gathering on behalf of the American delegation.

Climate of Trust Exchange: Dagestan/Rostovskaya Oblast - San Francisco

In 2006, the Climate of Trust expanded its operations in the restive Northern Caucasus by conducting an exchange program for Rostov Oblast and Dagestan.

A preliminary seminar was conducted in February 2006 in Rostov-na-Donu. Over 50 participants - police officers, government officials, judges, prosecutors, educators, representatives of mass media and local NGOs discussed the importance of community policing in creating tolerance and urged decision makers to develop more effective tools for stemming extremism and hate crimes.

A delegation from Dagestan, a culturally diverse and, at the same time, volatile and unstable region of the Northern Caucasus, included representatives of 10 different ethnicities and peoples. Providing concrete examples, Dagestanis expressed their concern over increasing activity of radical Wahhabis, which seriously threatens political stability of Dagestan and the Caucasus in general.

Participants from Rostov Oblast emphasized the need for creating more tolerant and trustful relationships between immigrants and local communities. Rostov Oblast attracts immigrants and refugees from former Soviet republics more than any other regions in Russia. Due to this immigration flow, tensions between local communities and immigrants are growing, which leads to a surge of hate crimes and popularization of xenophobic attitudes at a grass-roots level. The Rostov participants proposed to intensify educational pro-tolerance efforts targeting youth and ethnic diasporas. They also encouraged communities to give all necessary support to law enforcement in order to effectively prevent and combat hate crimes and extremism.

A group of delegates, selected to participate in Phase I Exchange, included 12 Dagestanis and 9 people from Rostov Oblast. The delegation represented the regional governments, law enforcement, schools, and ethnic communities of the two regions.

Phase I of the exchange was conducted in San Francisco in June 2006. American hosts included San Francisco Police Department, District Attorney's Office, Superior Court of California, Public Defender's Office, and Office of Citizen Complaints (a controlling organ of San Francisco Police Commission).

In August 2006, Phase II Exchange was conducted in Rostov-na-Donu. It was co-hosted by the North Caucasus Academy of Civil Service. The American delegation included inspectors of the Hate Crimes Unit of San Francisco Police Department, public defenders, prosecutors and judges from San Francisco. Over 50 Russian police officers and community representatives also took part in Phase II Seminar.

The North Caucasus exchange project will result in the establishment of a permanent and sustainable Regional Tolerance Center in Rostov-na-Donu. This Tolerance Center will be responsible for implementing Climate of Trust projects in the North Caucasus.  

Novgorod - San Francisco Exchange 2005

Climate of Trust Exchange: Novgorod
- San Francisco

Phase I of the Novgorod exchange was conducted in January 2005. The Russian delegation included the Vice Governor of Novgorod Oblast, the advisor to Governor, judges, police officers, and representatives of NGOs and schools.  

Phase II of the exchange was held in March 2005, with active support of the Governor of Novgorod Oblast. The exchange resulted in the establishment of the Novgorod RTC in 2005.

 

Stavropol Exchange Phase II in Ryazan 2005

Climate of Trust Exchange: Stavropol
- Los Angeles
In April 2005, Phase I of the exchange was conducted in Los Angeles. American co-hosts included Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Los Angeles Police Department, and Museum of Tolerance.

Security concerns necessitated that Phase II of the exchange be conducted outside of the target community of Stavropol. In June 2005, the Ryazan RTC hosted a joint Los Angeles and San Francisco delegation and an extended delegation from Stavropol for Phase II. Over 80 representatives of human rights advocacy groups, law enforcement agencies, departments of education, NGOs, and press from Stavropol, Ryazan, Kazan, Ivanovo, and St. Petersburg also attended the program. As a result of this exchange, the Stavropol RTC was successfully launched in 2005.