Since assuming administration of Com-munity Connections Program recruitment in Georgia in the spring of 2000, Project Harmony staff members in Tbilisi have successfully recruited over 100 professionals in Georgia. Such recruitment efforts are not without challenge. The severe electricity crisis that has plagued Georgia in its post-Soviet years has engendered some creative solutions to maintaining office operations. Staffers can be found conducting regional interviews by the glow of kerosene lanterns and the crackle of wood stoves during the winter months. Flexibility and innovation are inherent in Project Harmony's mission and such qualities are reflected in our successful efforts in the Caucasus.
 Project Harmony has focused intensely on adding depth and diversity to its recruitment process by recruiting in regions outside of Georgia's capital. To this end, staff members have interviewed hundreds of interested professionals in six regional locations, and eight of the nine programs recruited in 2000 were selected from these regions. This focus on regional recruitment opens up professional training and collaborative communication opportunities that historically have been difficult for those outside of Tbilisi to obtain.
Two of the groups recruited hail from the Black Sea coastal region of Adjara in southwestern Georgia, an area renowned for its citrus orchards. From war-ravaged Samegrelo in northwestern Georgia, a group of leaders from local and international organizations were recruited to travel to the United States to learn about NGO development. From the wine producing region of Khakheti in eastern Georgia came heath-care professionals. Special educators and business interns were also selected.
In a fine display of Project Harmony's ability to interweave and cultivate ideas across program boundaries, Community Connections utilized an Internet conferencing tool which originated in our Internet Community Development program. This innovative form of communication sets up Internet conference space allowing participants, host businesses and Project Harmony staff across several continents to conduct dialogues about culture, experience and impressions during the program. This was achieved with the help of our ICD staff, an ICD programmer and Nancy White of Full Circle Associates.
Project Harmony's Community Connections program staff continue to explore insightful, creative ways to develop, improve and expand our work in communities throughout the Caucasus. We continue to seek cross-cultural programs that will increase the scope of support and collaboration that can be developed between staff members and the local communities in which they work.
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