Community Connections is a 5-year USAID funded program started in 2005 which offers 3-5 week home-stay based practical training opportunities in the U.S. for entrepreneurs, local government officials, legal professionals, non-governmental organization leaders and other professionals from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. Local community host organizations arrange internships for participants based on interests and experience.

The Community Connections Program, formerly managed by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), and now funded through the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at USAID, is designed to promote public diplomacy through the exchange of cultural ideas and values between participants, U.S. families and local community host organizations. The goals of the Community Connections program are to:

• Provide participants with professional training and exposure to day-to-day functioning of a free market system;
• Encourage public-private partnerships in Europe/Eurasia by including private sector and government participants on U.S. visits;
• Create links between U.S. and Europe/Eurasia regions and communities.