We have found that in Russia there is a growing, yet fragile group of business, political, administrative and cultural leaders who are ready for an open and creative dialogue with the West and play a significant role in finding solutions to the world's challenges. These people embrace a synergy of three factors that can be appreciated and recognized:

(1) The representatives of this group have accumulated experience in implementing Western models of management, civilized business techniques, ethically-based partnerships, sustainable development of regions and social institutions in an aggressive and unpredictable environment of "permanent crisis." Russian leaders have developed an invaluable adaptive capacity to live and act according to the best of the world's standards in a chaotic environment that fights against it. Russians have perfected the ability to succeed in an unstable environment. This insight can be very useful to Western society, especially at this time of economic crisis.

(2) This cutting edge of Russian society have inherited the insights of great Russian cultural intellectuals such as F. Dostoyevsky, L. Tolstoy, J. Brodsky, A. Solzhenitsyn and others. They are the embodied hosts of Russian cultural legacy, and can supplement the Western views of the world with their important perspective.

(3) Russia is situated across both Europe and Asia and it integrates many different cultures and cultural values (traditional, modern, and postmodern). The best of the Russian society can serve as a cultural bridge between the East and the West.

These three factors can serve as a foundation for the appreciative space and open dialogue.

Global Dialogue: Russian Contribution

We invite you to become partners in co-initiating the new program called Global Dialogue: Russian Contribution and ask you to help us find cases of successful Russia-West synergy on individual, organizational, and governmental levels. We address you with this message because this program cannot work without your help and contribution. The contribution may be in the form of your participation in the dialogue, with you offering your experiences, even the most casual ones, in which you appreciate something about your Russian partners and friends. The point is not about offering something that the West can teach Russian society, but something that the Western people can see as intrinsically valuable in Russians. On our side, we will facilitate the cross-cultural dialogue , integrate the fragmented episodes into systematic appreciative narratives and spread the message about the willingness of the West to recognize the Russian contribution at the very highest levels of Russian society.

Two parts of the Program

The Program includes two important directions of work:

(1) On the one hand, the founding of the Program is a direct result of the two decades of experience in projects within the Leader to Leader Dialogue. During these long years we have inquired into these very questions we described above and found what is genuinely valuable about Russia and the leaders of its society. Our projects have proved that Russians can be equal and creative participants of an international dialogue. Our vision is to establish an ongoing system for recognition of their experience by the world community in order to support and ensure maturation of the Russian identity.

(2) On the other hand, the same two decades of experience have proved to us that the West can and should play the role of an invaluable ally in the projects that are devoted to fostering the growth of global citizenship around the world. We have a dream that some day Russia and the Western world will join their efforts in large-scale projects that serve the planet's common good. In order to realize this vision in the nearest future we invite all interested parties that resonate with what is said above to participate in our events.

Forms of participation

There are at least three ways of working together within the Program:

1. Sharing the stories of positive interactions with Russians. We ask you to share your own story of successful cooperation with Russians or recommend Western people who can share theirs. Such examples can be represented, for instance, by a case of the World Bank's consultant who traveled to Russia in order to organize the local banks' management system and can tell recommend people from the Russian side whom he or she appreciates. We would ask such a person to remember something positive and appreciative about these Russians so the episode of successful interaction will be described by a living person with whom Russians can sympathize and resonate. Together, the collected episodes and stories will provide the appreciative force of enormous depth that will open up the Russians' hearts.

2. Participation in the events. We invite you to participate in our events; and we also can accept your invitation to join your events and give our presentation of the Russian Contribution.

3. Open dialogue. The main principle of the Global Dialogue: Russian Contribution is co-authorship. We are open to new ideas and any feedback from all interested parties.