Hedberg welcomes visitors from the east
It's no secret I enjoy spending time at Hedberg Public Library, but it's down the street from my apartment.
Next week, we can see if visitors from halfway around the world feel the same.
The library will host visitors from Azerbaijan, a country of 8 million people between Russia and Iran. (Thank you, CIA World Factbook.) They're coming as part of the Open World Program, dedicated to helping former communist countries learn about the United States. This group is focused on youth leadership and will meet with 4-H clubs, the Janesville International Academy, the YMCA and others.
Not that they won't have some fun too. The delegates will visit the Madison farmers market, Wisconsin Dells and Rotary Gardens and even get to see the Blue Angels at AirFest on Saturday.
This isn't Library Director Bryan McCormick's first experience with the Open World Program. The library welcomed visitors from Russia last year, and McCormick worked with the program at his last library in Minnesota. In fact, he met his wife, a Russian native, when she visited the library where he was director, according to this profile by Marcia Nelesen.
Click here for more info about the visit.
Jun 1, 2009 at 3:22 p.m.
Suggest removal
And here I thought you meant Lima Center....
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Azerbaijan, unfortunately, has only limited democracy (a recent constitutional amendment scrapped presidential term limits; the current leader, Ilham Aliyev, "inherited" office from his long-ruling father in 2003), but at least it is in dialog with institutions such as the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights, and openness with the U.S. can only help.
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