A press- conference dedicated to the beginning of the application submission process for US Agency for International Development (USAID) program of Social Connections was held by the representatives of the Project Harmony NGO on March 29 in Baku.
Project Harmony representatives, responsible for the program realization, have stated that the given application call is for participation in the competition of Azerbaijani religious communities in the United States.
The program `s aim is development of the professional skills, and tightening of the ties between different religious communities of the two countries. A group of 8-10 representatives of different religious communities from Azerbaijan will spent 3 weeks staying in American families and meeting with representatives of different American religions.
After the preliminary selection applicants will be tested by the competition Council composed of 3 persons. One of them will be a person previously participated in the given program, second US citizen, working in US and the third one- representative of the Azerbaijani State Committee for work with the religious communities. Competition participants may also consult the Committee, in order to be more prepared for the trip to US.
Competition winners will be granted J1 type visa, which prohibits them entering US for the next 2 years. USAID staff or their relatives may not participate in the competition.