Climate of Trust 2008: Voronezh – San Francisco, Phase II,
June 24-27, 2008

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”.

Participants of the exchange program visited the Administration of Voronezh Oblast and had a round-table discussion with the head of protocol of the Government of Voronezh Oblast, head of the Regional Security Administration, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian International Center, chairman of the Voronezh Public Chamber, and members of the Community Board of the Regional Police Department. Participants of the meeting emphasized the importance of such programs as Climate of Trust for strengthening public order, preventing hate crimes and extremism, improving cooperation between government authorities and community-based organizations, creating the atmosphere of mutual trust, and building civil society.

Phase II workshops were held at the Regional Police Department, Voronezh State University, Police Training Center, and headquarters of the mounted police unit and river police unit of Voronezh.

Participants of the workshop at the Regional Police Department included the acting head, deputy heads, department heads and specialists of the Regional Police Department, representatives of community-based NGOs, and members of the Police Department’s Community Board and the Public Chamber. Police officers and community leaders from Voronezh and San Francisco exchanged their ideas on how to improve community policing and more effectively counteract extremism and hate crimes. Discussion revealed many similarities and distinctions between Russian and American approaches to counteracting extremism, securing public order, and preventing general crimes.

Among presenters at the round-table at Voronezh State University were School Police Officers (SRO) and representatives of school authorities of San Francisco. Russian participants were particularly interested in how SROs and schools worked together to prevent hate crimes and other offences in schools, and how SROs educated students.

San Francisco police officers participating in Phase II shared their experience and learned about the work of Voronezh police. They visited the local Police Training Center, where they saw the training process of Russian police officers in action. They were shown emergency situation simulators and specialized training equipment that their Russian counterparts use to improve their skills.      

Among Russian participants of Phase II was an official from the Russian International Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – an agency, which promotes public diplomacy. She noted that the Climate of Trust program managed to successfully consolidate law enforcement, government authorities, NGOs, school administrations, and human rights advocacy groups in counteracting hate crimes and extremism. According to the official, the Climate of Trust has great potential for using public diplomacy in conflict resolution, including resolution of conflicts motivated by ethnic, racial, and religious hatred and distrust. She expressed her hope that the target audience of the Climate of Trust would be expanded to other regions of Russia. 

 

 

 

 

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