At a reception hosted by the British Ambassador to Azerbaijan HE Dr Laurie Bristow, and the Director of the British Council in Azerbaijan, Mr Andy Williams, the Lord Gordon of Strathblane, Trustee, the John Smith Memorial Trust, officially launched the John Smith Fellowship Programme in Azerbaijan. The fellowship programme has been ongoing for nearly a decade and operates in a number of post Soviet countries. The inclusion of Azerbaijan for the first time in the programme will enable young Azerbaijani's with leadership qualities and a successful track record of achievement to see at close hand the British democratic experience. LINKS has had a close relationship with the John Smith Memorial Trust since its foundation in 1995 to commemorate and celebrate the life of british Statesman and former Leader of the Labour Party John Smith. During his visit to the South Caucasus at the initiative of LINKS, Lord Gordon also former John Smith Fellows in Armenia and Georgia. For more information on the John Smith Memorial Trust you may visit their web page www.johnsmithmemorialtrust.org
