List of Speakers "The Princess & the Patriot Exhibit" Highlighting the Lives of Ekaterina Dashkova and Benjamin Franklin

Since its inception in 2003, the Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week organized by the Mid-Atlantic - Russia Business Council, has been the premier event in the Mid-Atlantic region devoted to fostering Russian-American technology cooperation. The 4th Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week (RANIT-BIO) will be held from April 6-12, 2006 and will focus on biotechnology and other fields of advanced technology. The week will begin with events in Philadelphia and will conclude in Chicago, where a delegation of Russian companies will participate in the BIO-2006, the world's largest biotechnology exhibition. The opening ceremony for RANIT-BIO will be held on April 7 from 1-4 pm at Philadelphia City Hall, and will feature an impressive array of speeches and panel discussions. The presenters with significant experience in Russian-American trade issues will include Baker & McKenzie, Intel Capital - Russia, Washington Profile, United States Industry Coalition and the US Small Business Administration.

The Mid-Atlantic - Russia Business Council would also like to extend an invitation to an important Russian-American cultural event that is also part of the RANIT-BIO program. The evening of April 7, there will be a viewing of "The Princess and the Patriot" exhibit being held at the Museum of the American Philosophical Society, located at 104 South Fifth Street in Philadelphia, from 6-7:30 pm and a Russian musical performance at the Benjamin Franklin Hall, located at 427 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, beginning at 8 pm. The exhibit is part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, the first American member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It presents Franklin's life in a novel fashion, placing him alongside Ekaterina Dashkova, a Russian intellectual counterpart who Franklin nominated to be the first female and the first Russian member of the American Philosophical Society. The interactions between Franklin and Dashkova represent an early example of the long history of Russian-American cooperation.

There is no cost for admission to the RANIT-BIO opening events but you must make a reservation to attend by emailing: rsvp@ma-rbc.org. For further information about the RANIT-BIO Opening Ceremony at Philadelphia City Hall and "The Princess and the Patriot" exhibit, contact Val Kogan, Mid-Atlantic-Russia Business Council, by phone: (215) 708-2628, or email: val@ma-rbc.org, or visit the MARBC website at: http://www.ma-rbc.org.