The Bill Maynes Fund for Future Leaders of Eurasia was launched by Eurasia Foundation (EF) in honor of EF’s former President, Charles William Maynes. The Foundation seeks to honor Bill by creating an instrument to recognize, honor and support outstanding individuals from the countries where EF operates who share Bill’s vision for stable, inclusive and prosperous societies. In effect, the Fund is a living memorial that recognizes Bill’s work over the years as a trustee and then as president of the Foundation.
Objectives
• To maintain Bill Maynes’ legacy as a promoter of intelligent engagement between the U.S., Europe and Eurasia;
• To honor young leaders promoting lasting social change in Eurasia;
• To build skills and capacity of participating individuals;
• To educate U.S. and/or European audiences about the significance of developments in the Eurasia region;
• To forge informal bonds among participating institutions and individuals.
On November 5, 2009 Eurasia Foundation named Roza Abdullayeva and Nadine Gogu as the 2009 Bill Maynes Fellows at a reception in Washington, D.C with distinguished guests and supporters. Roza Abdullayeva is the founder and chair of Bereke, an NGO that advocates for gender equality, labor rights and youth development in southern Kazakhstan. Nadine Gogu is the director of the Independent Journalism Center (IJC) in Chisinau, Moldova. Nadine helps carry out the organization’s mission to promote independent and impartial media in Moldova and oversees the center’s journalist training and legal support programs.
In addition, Eurasia Foundation honored Sergei Guriev of the New Economic School in Russia and Valentin Zelenyuk of the Kyiv School of Economics in Ukraine with awards for their leadership at long-time partner institutions of the Eurasia Foundation Network.
During her three week fellowship in Washington, D.C. Nadine will be interning with the International Center for Journalists, a non-profit, professional organization promoting independent journalism worldwide. She is also scheduled to participate in guest lectures at Georgetown University and Columbia University’s Harriman Institute. Roza will be spending her three weeks with CEDPA, an internationally recognized non-profit organization that improves the lives of women and girls in developing countries. Roza will meet with a number of government organizations in the next three weeks, including UNIFEM and the Department of State.
Read more about the 2009 Bill Maynes Fellows here.
2008 Maynes Fellows
After an extensive search, Eurasia Foundation named the inaugural class of Bill Maynes Fellows: Anna Koshman, executive director of the Russian Alliance of Independent Regional Publishers (AIRP) in Moscow, Russia and Ekaterine Siradze-Delaunay, executive director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) in Tbilisi, Georgia. This year’s fellows will participate in intense, individually tailored programs that will introduce them to their U.S. counterparts and offer them specialized training and practical experience in their field of interests.
During their five-week fellowships, Ms. Koshman will work with the Newspaper Association of America on association building, management and public policy issues. She will also visit U.S. media organizations through the Media Partnership Program funded by USAID and implemented by IREX. Ms. Siradze-Delaunay will work with FairVote on the use of technology in analyzing election preparedness and advancing transparency in election administration. She will also spend time with the Office of Elections in Fairfax County, Virginia to gain an understanding of how U.S. elections are administered on a local level.
