Twenty-one years ago I met a young man and his mother during my first trip to the Soviet Union. They had traveled a long distance to attend a seminar where I was a presenter. At the end of the first day he presented me with a bouquet of red carnations and said, “You are the first American I have ever met and although our two governments do not agree it is important that we as people meet and get to know one another.”
That young man and many others I have had the privilege of meeting and working with over the last two decades have inspired the work that we do here at FRAEC – bringing Russians and Americans together to work on common issues and projects to build a safer world.
Although much has changed since my first trip to the Soviet Union, it is amazing that today, twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, intelligent people will ask me if Russia is going to revert to the old times. For most people who haven’t traveled to Russia or the U.S., all they know about each country is what they see or read about in today’s media. And, there are young people in both countries, many of whom were born after the end of the Cold War, that increasingly view each other’s country with distrust or at the minimum, indifference.
The reality is that the people in Russia and America are creating very different stories than what is
being portrayed in the media. For example : the Medical Relief Foundation working with the Vladivostok Ambulance Service saved 22 lives in one year due to their work to get faster response to calls. Or one Sakhalin woman who decided to organize her apartment building owners into an association, a model that was replicated in all parts on the island, and propelled her into the role of an advocate for citizens on a regional and national level. Or the creation of the Lake Baikal Trail, the first national trail system in Russia, built by a partnership between a Russian organization and two US NGO’s involving thousands of volunteers and sparking an eco-tourism industry. Health Fairs, youth entrepreneurship centers, youth leadership, internet access, and clean water are among the many stories that need to be told and by doing so they will help to eliminate myths and stereotypes in each country.
So FRAEC is launching “The Story Stream Project” to provide a platform for ordinary citizens to tell their stories of how they have made an extraordinary difference in their own communities; helping redefine the U.S.-Russia relationship to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. These videos will be on an interactive bilingual web site to engage others, increase understanding as well as encourage more collaboration and action in our respective communities. This will also be a resource for high school teachers in the U.S. for use in their classroom, something that is very important at this time.
Working with our partners, the Masters of Communication Digital Media Program and the Ellison Center for East European, Russian and Central Asian Studies at the University of Washington, we have produced our first video to illustrate one such story of collaboration and contribution. I invite you to watch the video and let us know what you think and if you would like to support this project, we would welcome your contribution.
