President’s Report

April 1, 2004

Dear Friends and Colleagues of CCI,

We have just completed our Symposium on Corruption Reduction in Washington, D.C. and Moscow. For this complex effort, we hand picked 100 Russian CCI alumni (from the 5,000 entrepreneurs trained in the U.S.) to learn the world's experience in corruption reduction to bring back to Russia. Each Russian paid his/her own costs, approximately $2,500, to participate. While in Washington, they participated in 55 meetings with top specialists in the anti-corruption field. Cooperation from Washington embassies, governmental agencies and experts was extraordinary.

After several days of back-to-back trainings and seminars, a composite picture began to emerge regarding the anti-corruption techniques that are working worldwide despite differences in cultures, levels of education and depth of corruption encountered. The participants began to realize there were methodologies that could be adapted for Russia's business environment. During the symposium, participants created draft recommendations to take home to their own colleagues and governmental structures. The final result was a document entitled "Recommendations to the President," which the group presented to President Putin's Chief Economic Advisor, Andrei Illarionov, in the Kremlin on March 30.

More details on stage one of CCI's focus on corruption reduction, including details of our Kremlin meeting, can be found in my Symposium Report. Stage two goes into action April 15 when the first of nine Focus groups on corruption reduction is initiated across Russia's regions. A website, www.corruption.ru, is being put up as this letter is written. It will link to the CCI's Russian website. The next meeting for the group will be in Moscow, June 11-13, 2004.

During the April 15 focus group, I plan to be in Tula, Russia, which is a hotbed of entrepreneurs on their way to creating a fair and transparent business sector. Check back to our website towards the end of April for a new President's Letter, which will probably be written from Tula.

Best wishes to each of you,

Sharon Tennison
President