
The delegation visit and Peace Pole project was explained as part of Rotary peace committee’s workshop “Let’s Work It Out” series on Oct. 18. The Open World’s visit changed the thinking of many about how we can pursue peace through simple acts of sharing.
The OW program brings current and future leaders from post-Soviet countries to the United States so they may observe professionals in the U.S. and get a firsthand look at the American system of democracy and free enterprise.
The Open World delegates were engineers and professors that met their counterparts at the University of Hawaii-Hilo and visited the energy research labs in Kona. They were shown many technologies, including biofuels, they had never seen before. The delegate from the Kamchatka region of Russia presented a slide show of an advanced geothermal plant where he worked.
Host families, Rotarians and delegates learned about food, songs, customs, education and cultural norms in each country during two hosted dinners.
The delegates exp
