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Village Bulletin Board in Jil
May 8, 2008
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| Village bulletin board in Jil |  |
| A Jil suggestion box | JIL, AZERBAIJAN – Residents of Jil, an Azerbaijani village near the Iranian border, can drop off suggestions for local officials in boxes located throughout the community and read the village budget and government notices on the municipal building’s information board. That’s because Jil Mayor Intigam Akhbarov saw similar public outreach initiatives while visiting Texas in May 2007 on Open World’s first exchange from Azerbaijan. Mayor Akhbarov’s local host organization, the Houston-Baku Sister City Association, arranged for him and three other delegates from across Azerbaijan to visit two small Houston-area cities, Bellaire and West University Place, to observe municipal government in action and have interactive sessions with elected officeholders and city administrators. The city management of both Texas communities put together a full slate of activities for the delegates that emphasized transparency, accountability, and citizen involvement in government. Attending a West University Place City Council meeting, during which ordinary citizens expressed their views for and against creating a new park, made an especially strong impression on all the delegates. (National Grantee: Academy for Educational Development)
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