Washtenaw County’s Office of the Public Defender, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney and the County Jail/Office of the Sheriff were visited this week by four prosecuting attorneys from the Republic of Tajikistan.   The men are participating in a professional and cultural exchange directed by the Washtenaw County Administrator’s Office as part of  the Open World Leadership program out of the US Library of Congress.

The week long program promotes mutual understanding and ideas about the Rule of Law as a foundation of a civil society. Concepts like judicial independence, the adversarial process, equal protection, and equal access to justice were discussed with our local legal experts.

The delegates stayed at private homes during the visit, allowing them to experience American family life. Host family volunteers from the Ann Arbor area have the opportunity to learn about life in Tajikistan today and discover efforts by the delegates to promote a democratic, civil society.

Open World is designed to enhance understanding and capabilities for cooperation between the United States and the countries of Eurasia and the Baltic States by developing a network of leaders in the region who have gained significant, firsthand exposure to America’s democratic, accountable government and free-market system. It is the only exchange program in the U.S. legislative branch. The successes of the Russian Open World program led Congress to approve expansion into Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan.

Washtenaw County was invited to host one of the first delegations of political and civic leaders from Tajikistan in 2007.