25.01.2012 | Alumni Assistants at American Corners, December 2011 Report

	Alumni Assistants at American Corners, December 2011	(926 Kb)

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Tyumen was the first Russian town in Siberia founded in 1586 by the Russian tsar Feodor I, becoming an important trade center on the routes to Central Asia, China, and Persia in the 17th -18th centuries. Thanks to the discovery of oil in Western Siberia during the 1950s, Tyumen is one of the largest cities in Siberia with a population of over 520,000. Companies such as Gazprom, LUKoil and Yukos have much of their activities centered in Tyumen. It is also the birthplace of Irving Berlin and Grigoriy Rasputin. The American Corner opened in October 2004.

In territory of Ural and Western Siberia there are eight American corners: in Ufa, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Omsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk and Tyumen. In the majority of cities they have appeared recently, but already became an integral part of an educational and cultural life of region. All of them enter into an amicable family more than from 30 American centres and corners located across all Russia from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad. The American Corners program in Russia is a unique partnership between the American Embassy and roughly 30 public libraries around Russia, making information about the United States available to visitors. Work of American corners in cities of our region promotes mutual understanding strengthening between Russia and the USA. American corner in Tyumen was opened on October, 4th, 2004. This partnership is at the highest level. Our corner was opened by U. S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation Alexander R. Vershbow. Each Corner is much more than just a collection of media and equipment. Corners attract users through programs and activities that include lectures, film showings, exhibits, conferences, seminars, discussion clubs, English-language classes, holiday celebrations, and more. For three years in American corner has passed many interesting events: the debate dedicated to the president’s elections in the USA; the talk and the quiz devoted to World Aids Day; film showings (with comments); Christmas meetings for exchange programs’ alumnis; a meeting with Consul General of the USA in Yekaterinburg S. Roland; a meeting devoted to the 60 anniversary of the Victory in the Second World War and a debate in English; meeting with Public Affairs Officer Brad Hurst and probationer of Consulate John Eliot; a lecture about library system in the USA by attache of USA Embassy Barbara Conati; a slide-presentation about history of Afroamericans in the Western states by prof. K.Tailor; a presentation of J.F. Kennedi’s book “Profiles in Courage Award ”