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John Brown aggregates all the most recent public diplomacy related news, including current issues in U.S. foreign policy, international broadcasting and media, propaganda, cultural diplomacy, educational exchanges, anti-Americanism, and the reception of American popular culture abroad.

FEBRUARY 1 2006 EXCHANGES SUPPLEMENT
by Sherine Walton

WEEKLY EXCHANGES SUPPLEMENT
The following articles are related to educational and cultural exchange programs. Specific topics in this supplement include USG-funded exchange programs (e.g., Fulbright scholarships, Ron Brown Fellowship, International Visitors) as well as issues relating to student visas, study abroad, and NGOs involved in exchanges. The articles are aggregated weekly by STACY MICHELLE GLASSGOLD, THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY.

C.1) USG–FUNDED EXCHANGE PROGRAMS (SCROLL DOWN TO SECTION C.2 FOR OTHER TOPICS)

1. ISLAMIC STUDIES IN ITHACA, ZAC DESAUTELS (ITHACA TIMES, JANUARY 25TH 2006): A government-sponsored program is giving Ithaca College students and faculty the opportunity to learn more about Islamic and Malaysian culture from Dr. Mohammed Zin Nordin, associate professor and dean of the communications school at Universiti Sains Malaysia. The Fulbright scholarship program, funded by Congress and administered by the State Department, is sending Muslim scholars to 33 colleges and universities throughout America this spring in an effort to enrich understanding and correct misapprehensions about Islamic societies. LINK
2. BOWDOIN ATOP FULBRIGHT PRODUCER, EMMA POWERS (THE BOWDOIN ORIENT JANUARY 27TH 2006): With five of 16 applicants awarded Fulbright Fellowships last year, Bowdoin has been named a “Top Producer of Fulbright Awards for American Students,” according to the Institute of International Education. LINK
3. INDIAN WINS COVETED SCHOLARSHIP (HINDUSTAN TIMES, JANUARY 31ST 2006): A student of Indian origin pursuing her doctoral degree at New Zealand’s University of Auckland has been awarded a ‘Fulbright-Platinum Triangle’ scholarship in entrepreneurship.  The scholarship, valued at USD 0.1 mn, will fund Privahini Bradoo’s MBA at Harvard, which she will start in August 2006. It will also provide the 24-year-old with work experience in the US and support her entrepreneurial career on her return to New Zealand. LINK
4. FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR AT LENOIR-RHYNE RELEASES PIANO CD (LENOIR RHYNE COLLEGE, FEBRUARY 1ST 2006): John Cheek, award-winning pianist and associate professor of music, has recently released his CD of piano music entitled “Circa 1980.” The CD features works for solo piano composed by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and Donald Martino. In the spring of 2001, Cheek traveled to Yerevan, Armenia, as a Fulbright Scholar, playing concerts of 20th century American music and teaching two courses on American music at the Yerevan State Conservatory. LINK
5. TWO GRADUATES EARN FULBRIGHT GRANTS FOR RESEARCH OR TEACHING IN GERMANY (GUILFORD COLLEGE NEWS, FEBRUARY 1ST 2006): Recent graduates Kelly Keegan and Brandon Winter have earned Fulbright grants for research or teaching in Germany during the 2005-06 academic year. Keegan, a biology major with concentrations in German, music and integrative studies, was honored with a Fulbright Research Grant and will spend the upcoming year studying molecular biology at the University of Regensburg. Winter, an English major with a concentration in German, earned a Fulbright Paedagogischer Austauschdienst Teaching Assistantship, which picks up travel and insurance costs and provides and financial support to cover living expenses for a year. LINK

6. PROFESSOR KLEMAS WINS FULBRIGHT TO TEACH IN LITHUANIA (UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE DAILY, JANUARY 26TH 2006): Victor Klemas, professor emeritus of marine studies, has received a Fulbright Scholar Program grant to teach ocean remote sensing at Klaipeda University in Lithuania this spring.  LINK

C.2) OTHER NEWS ON EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE ISSUES
7. CUBANS MAY FIGHT TO JAM AT GRAMMY’S, DAVID CAZARES (SUN-SENTINEL, JANUARY 26TH 2006): Cuban officials may ask the United States to grant visas to the island’s two Grammy nominees so they can attend the Feb. 8 awards show in Los Angeles, a request that will likely be denied. Mayito Rivera was nominated in the best salsa and merengue category for Llego la hora and Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal was nominated in the traditional Latin tropical music category for Buena Vista Social Club Presents Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal. Most of the island’s musicians are effectively barred from traveling to the United States. The Bush administration largely discontinued cultural exchanges in 2003 to prevent the Cuban government from earning money from its artists abroad.  LINK
8. STUDENTS SEE PROGRESS IN RICE’S VISA PLAN, HSIN-HSIEN WONG (COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN, JANUARY 26TH 2006): The United States is taking a step toward welcoming foreign students to its shores, proposing a time frame change for those applying for a student visa. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made two announcements last week about giving “top priority” to getting visas into the hands of prospective students. Under Rice’s proposal, the U.S. will issue student visas up to 120 days before classes begin, as compared to 90 days under current regulations, and foreign students will be allowed to enter the country 45 days in advance of their studies rather than the current 30 days.
LINK

9. TERROR FIGHT TAKES A TOLL ON LOCAL COLLEGES, BILL ZLATOS (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, JANUARY 26TH 2006): The number of international students attending colleges in Pennsylvania and nationwide has declined for the second straight year, as the war on terror makes it tougher for foreign students to get visas. Many students are looking to other countries, some of which have stepped up recruitment efforts. LINK

10. MORE US CITIZENS TAKING UP JOBS IN QATAR: UNTERMEYER (THE PENINSULA, JANUARY 28TH 2006): More US citizens have arrived over the past three years to take jobs in Qatar, though the number of visas issued to Qatari nationals and expatriates to study or visit the US have remained low due to several reasons. LINK

11. INDIA, SAUDI ARABIA TO COOPERATE TO FIGHT TERRORISM, TRANSNATIONAL CRIME, M RAMA RAO (ASIAN TRIBUNE, JANUARY 28TH 2006): ): The Delhi Declaration issued marking the visit of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, commits India and Saudi Arabia ‘to closely and actively’ cooperate in the fight against terrorism and other transnational crimes. Both countries also agreed to cooperate in a host of other fields that range from Information and Communication technologies to bio-technology.  LINK
12. RESORTS TAP CULTURAL EXCHANGE: COLORADO SKI AREAS HIRE HUNDREDS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM SOUTH AMERICA TO FILL SEASONAL JOBS, BUT THE PRACTICE IS DRAWING CRITICISM, BRUCE FINLEY (DENVER POST, JANUARY 30TH 2006): Colorado ski resorts that have exhausted their quotas for hiring foreign temporary workers are resurrecting a 1960s tradition: enlisting college students to meet low-wage labor needs. But these days, the students come from South America. Ski towns now employ hundreds of foreign students - from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru and elsewhere - under a U.S. government cultural-exchange program that allows them to work while experiencing life in America. LINK

13. STUDENTS HAVE CHANCE TO STUDY IN INDONESIA, JANET NGUYEN (LYNCHBERG NEWS & ADVANCE, JANUARY 28TH 2006): High school students interested in traveling to Indonesia to study may have a chance this year through Legacy International. The nonprofit educational organization, located in Bedford, offers educational exchange experiences and has 10 available spaces for students to study in Indonesia at the end of the year. LINK

14. CITY PLANS VISIT TO CHINESE SISTER CITY, RACHEL MCMURDIE (THE MILPITAS POST, JANUARY 30TH 2006): Hoping to foster cultural exchange, the Milpitas Sister Cities Commission is seeking high school-age candidates to serve as this year’s delegates to Huizhou, China. Ten students will be chosen from those who apply to spend two weeks during spring break on the exchange. This will be the city’s second exchange with the Chinese prefecture-level city. Huizhou Municipality is located approximately 53 miles north of Hong Kong, in the Guangdong Province, and was founded more than 1,400 years ago. LINK

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