Main Page | Month Archive | Email Updates | RSS Feed | Print Version

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.

JULY 21, 2005 EXCHANGES SUPPLEMENT
by Gordon Douglas

E) 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 GORDON DOUGLAS, THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

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

1. UMASS BUILDING PEACE IN CYPRUS—HOLLY ANGELO (THE REPUBLICAN [MA], JULY 21, 2005):
At home in Cyprus, they are separated by geography, politics, religion and culture. Inside Chadbourne dormitory on the University of Massachusetts campus, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots dance, sing and play pool together. They eat, attend lessons, go on field trips and learn leadership, communication, problem-solving and team and trust building skills - together.  These 32 Greek and Turkish Cypriots traveled from Cyprus to Amherst July 2 to participate in the Pro-Active Leadership Program.  Asked why she applied for the program, which is funded by a Fulbright grant through the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, one Greek Cypriot said, “I wanted to meet Turkish Cypriots. I never had any actual contact with them. I wanted to prove the rumors about them false.”
LINK

2. FOUR U-M FACULTY RECEIVE FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR AWARD—PRESS RELEASE (UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN NEWS SERVICE, JULY 19, 2005):
Four University of Michigan faculty have received Fulbright Scholar grants to conduct research abroad. The recipients are Elisha Renne, Derek Vaillant and Madeleine Vala from U-M Ann Arbor and Joan Mars from U-M Flint. The four U-M faculty are among approximately 800 faculty and professionals in the United States who will travel abroad to 140 countries during the 2005-2006 academic year through the Fulbright Scholar Program.
LINK

3. WITH SRK AS HERO, FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS IN SEARCH OF MODERN INDIAN WOMEN—PREETI MUDLIAR (PUNE NEWSLINE, JULY 18, 2005):
Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai and now Pune; for these 20 US academicians being footloose in India is an opportunity to locate the face of the contemporary Indian women. Scholars of the ‘Fulbright-Hays Summer Study Abroad Programme’, the group from different parts of the US is armed with well-defined curriculum topics of their choice. So when they admit as much, the question is obvious. Why India? What follows is a barrage of reactions. “Lots of people, ancient civilisation, fast-developing, pioneers of women activism at the grassroots, secular outlook.”
LINK

4. EVEN WARM RUNNING WATER WAS A BLESSING—APRIL TAYLOR (DAILY PRESS [VA], JULY 17, 2005):
A Williamsburg, Virginia woman has won a Fulbright grant for promoting solar energy in West Africa’s Mali.  Thousands of miles from home, Mary Graham of Williamsburg was perched in a southwestern village in Mali, her white skin caked with brown dust and her brown hair wet from the sweat of a windless African heat. She was part of an unprecedented moment: Because of her work, 50 children in the village of Banco saw running water for the first time. Graham helped the villagers install a solar-powered pump in a well. And it was something that the 26-year-old herself appreciated after days in the 110-degree heat: Any running water was good, even if it was warm.
LINK

5. SCHOLARSHIPS TO THE U.S.—ANNOUNCEMENT (THE STAR [MALAYSIA], JULY 17, 2005):
The Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange is offering several Fulbright scholarships for the year 2006-2007. The Fulbright Malaysian Scholar Programme provides opportunities for Malaysian academics to develop or update their research. The Fulbright Malaysian Graduate Study and Research Programme / Fulbright-Vijayashanker Memorial Scholarship Fund / Fulbright Islamic Studies Programme will be awarded to qualified individuals for study/research leading to master or doctoral degrees in the US.
LINK

6. WOMAN WINS FULBRIGHT—EILEEN O. DADAY (DAILY HERALD [IL], JULY 15, 2005):
An Arlington Heights resident and 2001 Rolling Meadows High School graduate has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study HIV/AIDS prevention in Malaysia. Sae-Rom Chae, 22, graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in May with a degree in sociology. As a member of UIC’s Guaranteed Professional Program Admissions initiative in medicine, she will defer her medical school studies until she returns in a year. During her fully funded yearlong Fulbright study, Chae will conduct her research in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. She will explore how the ethnic and religious backgrounds of Malaysian women affect their attitudes concerning HIV/AIDS.
LINK

7. FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS WORK ON BIOSPHERE RESERVE WITH CHILE—RACHEL RANCO (THE RED & BLACK [GA], JULY 14, 2005):
With help from University students, Chile will open its first biosphere reserve since 1984. Chris Anderson, an Institute of Ecology graduate student from Mocksville N.C., and Juan Harcha, an international law student with an emphasis on the Antarctic Treaty from Santiago, Chile, are two of the Fulbright Scholars involved with creating the biosphere reserve. Five other University students have been involved with the project. Two traveled to Chile in 2003, and the rest will go there this fall.
LINK

E.2) OTHER NEWS ON EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE ISSUES

8. HIGH-FLYING ENTERTAINMENT HITS CORVALLIS—NATHALIE WEINSTEIN (OREGON STATE DAILY BAROMETER, JULY 20, 2005):
The Chinese Performing Arts Ensemble from the Province of Henan will present a free show featuring acrobatics, martial arts and classical music at 7:00 p.m. at Ashbrook Independent School, 4045 SW Research Way. Rather than being ostracized by a cleavage-baring undergrad, you can enjoy an evening of high kicks, pleasant strings and human pyramids. The Oregon State University Department of Music and Ashbrook are jointly sponsoring the ensemble’s appearance in Corvallis, part of an educational/cultural exchange between the state of Oregon and the province of Henan, initiated in the year 2000.  Those thinking that a case of PBR might make for a better time should think twice.
LINK

9. TEACHING ACROSS THE GLOBE—JEFF SWITZER (EVERETT DAILY HERALD [WA], JULY 20, 2005):
Karen Carpenter of Marysville, a retired Everett schoolteacher who now travels the world to help children, celebrated her 70th birthday on the back of a camel in Tanzania. In June, Carpenter was honored for her community service and devotion to children and education here and abroad with the Stan McNaughton Outreach Award at the Washington State School Retirees Association annual awards ceremony.
LINK

10. MORE STUDENTS JOIN OVERSEAS VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS—CHUNG AH-YOUNG (KOREA TIMES, JULY 20, 2005):
A 23-year-old Korean university student chose to teach Korean to children in a humble Philippine town during her summer vacation this year instead of resting in a resort. Yoo So-eun, who is attending the college of education of Chonbuk National University, returned from Cavite Province, south of Manila, after participating in a 20-day overseas volunteer program organized by the Pacific Asia Society (PAS). The PAS established in 1994 is a nongovernmental organization designed to promote mutual communication and cooperation through youth exchange programs and by sending the promising college students of the PAS Youth Corps to areas in the Asia Pacific. According to the PAS, an increasing number of university students are joining overseas volunteer programs as more and more corporations evaluate job candidates on the basis of their social activities such as the volunteer activities as well as scholastic performance.
LINK

11. NTU PLANS TO SET UP CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE IN SINGAPORE NEXT YEAR—VALARIE TAN (CHANNEL NEWSASIA, JULY 20, 2005):
The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is planning to set up a Confucius Institute in Singapore next year. The institute will be a joint venture between NTU and the China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. It aims to promote and develop Chinese language, culture, studies and business in Singapore and the region.
LINK

12. TEN INTREPID CYCLISTS TO BIKE ACROSS AMERICA FOR CULTURAL EXCHANGE (KANSAS CITY INFOZINE, JULY 20, 2005):
On the evening of July l9th, a group of 10 bicyclists passed through Lawrence, one stop in their ten-week intensive journey across the United States for peace and justice.  During their ride from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., the riders are stopping at 63 communities to learn about various issues facing a range of different people in addition to spreading awareness about Fair Trade and Sustainable Living the two themes delegated for this years ride. Fair Trade works to correct inequalities by guaranteeing a minimum wage for the small produce harvests, and by encouraging the pesticide-free cultivation of coffee. By using cycling as their mode of transportation, the riders are additionally modeling and promoting environmentally sustainable transportation.
LINK

13. KWANTLEN AND CHILEAN UNIVERSITY TO DEVELOP STUDENT AND FACULTY EXCHANGE PROGRAMS AND JOINT RESEARCH PROJECTS—NEWSWIRE (ASIAN PACIFIC POST, JULY 19, 2005):
The presidents of Kwantlen University College and Chile’s Universidad Arturo Prat (UNAP) have signed a memorandum of understanding that will see the universities participate in faculty and student exchanges, joint research and other ventures.  UNAP President Carlos Merino Pinochet had been invited to visit Kwantlen by President Skip Triplett to explore opportunities for cooperation.  UNAP, like Kwantlen, is a multi-campus university. It has two main campuses: Iquique in the north and Victoria, which is south of the capital Santiago in central Chile.
LINK

14. NEW WEBSITE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON SCHOLARSHIPS, LOANS—PTI NEWSWIRE (THE HINDU NEWS, JULY 19, 2005): Students searching for information about scholarship programs and educational loans will no longer have to run from pillar to post, with a new website from the Ministry of Human Resource Development promising to be a one-stop guidance portal for them. The website (LINK) provides details about 200 government, 60 non-government and 30 exchange scholarships of various universities and institutions along with contact details both in English and Hindi.
LINK

15. DHAKA, TOKYO SIGN CULTURAL EXCHANGE ACCORD (FINANCIAL EXPRESS [BANGLADESH], JULY 17, 2005):
Bangladesh and Japan have signed an accord on cultural exchange program to create conditions for long-term cooperation in the fields of education, culture, sports and journalism, reports UNB. The program consists of five chapters: Education and Academic Exchanges; Cultural and Artistic Exchanges, Youth, Sports and Tourism; Press, Radio, Television and Communication, and General Provisions.
LINK

16. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE CELEBRATES FIVE YEARS OF DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS—NEWSWIRE (ASCRIBE.ORG, JULY 14, 2005):
Fifty of the world’s best and brightest university students were honored at the fifth annual Goldman Sachs Global Leadership Awards Luncheon at the conclusion of the program’s annual Global Leadership Institute in New York. Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, delivered the keynote address to the students. The Global Leadership Institute is an annual feature of the Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Program, created by The Goldman Sachs Foundation in partnership with IIE, a leading not-for-profit international educational and professional exchange organization. These accomplished, academic superstars addressed global issues and honed their leadership skills in a dynamic, weeklong curriculum designed to help them with the challenges of leadership in a multicultural, globally interconnected world.
LINK

Read Comments:

No comments for this entry.

Add a Comment: