The Open World Leadership Centre announced today that the first Open World-sponsored Moldovan delegations will arrive in the U.S on March 27. One delegation is focused on combating human trafficking and includes Moldovan government leaders with responsibility for human trafficking issues and NGO leaders dedicated to its prevention and to helping rehabilitate its victims. The other delegation is focused on accountable governance and public finance, and includes Moldovan local level office holders and members of the local public administrations. The delegation will be hosted in the United States by Vital Voices. Delegates will meet in Washington, D.C. with representatives of the U.S. Congress and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; undergo media training on how to address human trafficking issues on camera at the facilities of Voice of America; discuss victim protection and service provision with leading rehabilitation specialists; and discuss how to attract media attention with journalists and how to attract government support with NGO representatives. The group will be based in Raleigh, North Carolina, where it will be hosted by the International Affairs Council of Research Triangle Region and the Academy for Educational Development. The delegation public administrators will conduct a number of meetings with North Carolina government officials to discuss matters ranging from economic revitalization to planning and implementing civic budgets. Since 1999, North Carolina and Moldova have been connected by a formal partnership that includes state organizations, private firms, civic organizations, non-profit agencies and individuals. Open World delegates will experience American community and cultural life while observing firsthand the interrelationships between the three branches and different levels (federal, state, and local) of the U.S. government. Program participants will also explore how the U.S. private and non-profit sectors help meet social and civic needs. Open World is managed by the Open World Leadership Centre, an independent legislative branch entity headquartered at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Congress established Open World in 1999 in order to increase the level of understanding and means for cooperation between the United States and Russia. Congress authorized an expansion of the program in 2007 to include five additional countries, including Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Open World has previously expanded to include Lithuania, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.