Exchanges with the Middle East a U.S. Priority, Harrison Says

In Marrakech, assistant secretary outlines "partnerships for learning"

The State Department is increasing people-to-people exchanges, academic scholarships, English-language teaching and other cultural programs with the Middle East to promote mutual understanding, said Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia Harrison.

"We need to have many more people...come to America, teaching Americans, and many more Americans experiencing the Middle East," she said. "I have given that effort my priority attention. Working together, we can ensure that educational development opportunities reach more broadly and deeply and include younger participants."

Harrison spoke March 13 in Marrakech, Morocco, at the "International Conference on Higher Education" hosted by AMIDEAST, a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Washington. She spoke of the successful educational and cultural programs with the Middle East, that included Fulbright scholars who later became world leaders. She stressed the need to expand such opportunities.

"Over 20 years ago a young Kofi Annan or Boutros Boutros-Ghali came to America because someone recognized potential leadership," she said. "These people — and so many more — represent sustainable investments in the future. If the investment is never made, then the opportunity is lost — not just for that person, but think of all the people on whom they might have had an impact."

Harrison also noted that interest in Middle East issues among Americans has risen, and the State Department has increased programs for U.S. educators and students to learn about and travel to the Middle East.

In closing, the assistant secretary proposed to the organization representatives and educators present at the conference the idea of "partnerships for learning." Under this program, a delegation of U.S. government officials and representatives from academic and exchange organizations would meet on a regular basis with their counterparts in the Middle East to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Following is the transcript of Assistant Secretary Harrison’s remarks:

Speech by Patricia S. Harrison
Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
AMIDEAST Conference
Morocco, March 13, 2002

Ministers, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

Thank you, Ambassador Rugh, and congratulations.

The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which I have the privilege to lead, is proud to be a contributor both to your organization's vitally important work and to this conference.

AMIDEAST has been involved in the Middle East for over fifty years, working toward mutual respect and understanding between our peoples. And your leadership is critical to this effort.

I want to thank His Majesty, King Mohammed VI, for his part in making it possible for us to be here today and to commit our energy to the important issue of education. I also want to thank Ambassador Tutwiler for her commitment to improving education.

It is significant that this conference is being held in Morocco. Over 200 years ago, Morocco was the first country to officially recognize the United States. President George Washington wrote to Sultan Sidi Muhammad and pledged to promote every measure that would advance the friendship and harmony of the two countries.

So it is fitting that we meet here, to promote every measure to ensure a better future for our young people — and, as President Washington suggested, to advance the friendship and harmony of all our countries.

This is a matter of prime importance to both President Bush and Secretary of State Powell.

Secretary Powell has said that, as we work to rid the world of terrorism, we must also work together to increase peace, prosperity and democracy. And that is why my highest priority as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs is to engage more — not less — with the world.

This means renewed partnerships. It means greater interaction, beginning with cooperation in education.

This means increased exchanges between America and the countries you represent because we need to learn much more about each other's cultures and languages.

I am not coming to this conference with all the answers. In fact, I am coming with questions that I suggest we consider.

For example:

When we look at our children and think about their futures, we wonder if our schools are teaching them the right things. Will they have the knowledge they need to be productive citizens? Will they understand the values and traditions of our society?

How can we stimulate economic growth that will lead to employment opportunities for young people? How can we prepare them to take advantage of those opportunities?

My bureau's mandate is to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through educational exchanges.

At the State Department, we strongly encourage such exchanges, ultimately as an investment in good relations with other countries.

But how are we doing in this regard with the Middle East?

Unfortunately, many Americans know very little about the countries and peoples of the Middle East and the Arab world. The rich culture, the proud heritage, the deep respect for learning.

But this is changing.

The U.S. has been actively involved with education in this region of the world for over 100 years, establishing a foundation of trust that has been strengthened by our exchange programs.

University courses on the Middle East and on Islam are increasingly in demand in the U.S. and there is interest in encouraging more educational linkages with the region.

Today, 52 alumni of these exchange programs are heads of state or government, and over 150 alumni are former heads of state.

These include Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan, Megawatti Sukarnoputri in Indonesia, and the United Kingdom's Tony Blair. More than 1,500 alumni have become cabinet ministers.

There are so many stories, each of them a testament to the success of exchanges between the U.S. and the countries of the Middle East. The list includes: Anwar Sadat; Sahar Khalifa of Jordan, one of the leading Palestinian novelists; Egypt's Zahi Hawass, the world's leading Egyptologist and a well known personality on American public television; and members of the cabinets of Yemen, Jordan and Morocco.

Americans who have experienced the Middle East on these programs are equally impressive: John Duke Anthony, president of America's National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations — who studied in Yemen; John Ryan, former president, Indiana University — who Fulbrighted in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait; Richard Debs, founding president, Morgan Stanley International — who studied in Egypt; and Wyche Fowler, former U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who Fulbrighted in Saudi Arabia.

What this means is that, some 20 or 30 years ago, an educator or leader — someone like you or me — decided to make an investment in a young man or woman. Someone you thought had potential. So you worked with the American embassy and recommended this person as a candidate for an international learning experience.

Over 20 years ago, a young Kofi Annan or Boutros Boutros-Ghali came to America because someone recognized potential leadership. Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Edward Djerejian was a distinguished Fulbright fellow to Jordan. Fox world news anchor Linda Vester was a U.S.-Egyptian Fulbrighter. These people - and so many more — represent sustainable investments in the future.

If the investment is never made, then the opportunity is lost — not just for that person, but think of all the people on whom they might have had an impact. If the investment is never made, also lost is the impact that person would have had in their own country — their own community.

Here is an example:

Driss el Akrich was recently assigned to Arkansas State University as a Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant, the first in the history of the university.

A Moroccan, he will be teaching Arabic. He's also going to start an Arabic language club and an Arabic language computer software development program and help the university create exchange opportunities in the Middle East.

He is looking forward to playing a real role promoting greater understanding of Middle Eastern cultures by speaking at local schools and forums in Arkansas. Think about the positive impact he will have.

We need to have many more people like Driss come to America, teaching Americans, and many more Americans — Driss' counterparts — experiencing the Middle East.

I have given that effort my priority attention. Working together, we can ensure that educational development opportunities reach more broadly and deeply and include younger participants.

As you know, youth represent a large part of this region's population. Many are affected by unemployment or underemployment and inadequate educational opportunity.

Our aim should be, as President Bush says, to leave no child behind — to ensure that educational opportunity is always present and realized. This is just as true for my country as well.

Let me briefly mention some of our initiatives to help with this challenge:

In addition to the work we are doing related to Afghanistan — such as implementing resumption of exchanges — we are making the arrangements necessary to:

Launch a major initiative linking secondary schools in the United States with schools in Muslim countries to exchange students and teachers, improving the teaching of languages, geography, social studies, and culture in the U.S. and in the Middle East.

We are expanding the number of Fulbright scholarships and fellowships for people to study, conduct research, and teach in the United States — and for Americans to do the same in Middle Eastern countries.

We are increasing the number of current and future leaders who visit the U.S. for professional learning and consultations — including student leaders, educators, journalists, and local, state, and national government and NGO [non-governmental organizations] representatives.

We will broadly expand English language teaching through educational material, curriculum development, and teacher training.

We will increase music, arts education and sports exchanges that will help young people understand each other's cultures better.

We're expanding the newly developed Fulbright Arabic program, improving opportunities for American students to learn Arabic.

We are increasing support for sister cities partnerships between cities in the U.S. and the Middle East, focusing for example on education, cultural and linguistic diversity, and employment.

Now let me speak about the United States' implementation of new security measures against terrorism.

These measures are intended to protect both citizens and visitors in the United States. In addition to the thousands of Americans killed on September 11, many citizens from over eighty other countries also died — and we mourn the loss of all their lives.

At the same time, President Bush has reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to promote educational opportunities that encourage international students to take part in our educational system and that enable American students to study abroad.

Here is what he said: "By studying foreign cultures and languages and living abroad, we gain a better understanding of many similarities that we share. We learn to respect our differences. The relationships that are formed between individuals from different countries, as part of international education programs and exchanges, also foster goodwill that develops into vibrant, mutually beneficial partnerships among nations."
I'm a parent and I can understand why some parents, right after September 11th, were concerned about the travel of their sons and daughters to America.

However, the Arabic daily al-Quds recently reported that Arab students interviewed in the United States remained after September 11 not only because they did not want to interrupt their education but also because they had not experienced any harassment — and that university life was back to normal.

Indeed we at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs are working to show that the door is open for students from all countries. My bureau is funding a project to introduce the Middle East to American university provosts, vice presidents, and deans who have significant responsibility for international activities. They will visit university campuses, meet with colleagues and government officials, attend cultural events, and receive briefings on education. They will affirm that the door is open for students from all countries.

Arab Fulbright fellow Mehdi Ksikes lived through September 11 on the 17th floor of the World Financial Center, which is one of the buildings nearest the World Trade Center. He chose to stay in New York.

Mehdi believes that there is insufficient respect for cultural, religious and ideological differences in the world today, and that exchanges make people ambassadors of their countries and advance understanding about their countries, religions, and cultures.

Mehdi will make a difference, and the fact is, each of us is called to make a difference, and we have this opportunity through education.

Laura Bush, the first lady of the United States, has said: "Everywhere I go, people tell me they are reassessing their lives. They are considering public service because they want to make a difference in their communities."

"Teaching," she said, "is the greatest community service of all." This is a sentiment that I believe everyone worldwide can share. Each of us tonight has already made a commitment to making a positive difference — in the lives of our young people — the important successor generation.

And that is why I would like to take this opportunity to propose how we may extend the good work of this important conference: through "partnerships for learning."

After consultation with my colleagues at the State Department and the U.S. Department of Education, I would like to propose an ongoing dialogue between the United States and the concerned individuals and organizations represented at this conference.

I propose that a delegation of U.S. government officials and representatives of the private sector — from universities and academic and exchange organizations — meet with their regional counterparts on a regular basis.

These sessions, which could alternate between sites in the U.S. and sites in the Middle East, would allow us to take an in-depth look at issues of mutual interest.

The rest of the details I leave open, because they need to be decided jointly, collegially among all parties.

I hope to have initial discussions with you here in Marrakech and then to pursue the idea of "partnerships for learning" in greater detail — after we return to our respective countries.

In closing, I want to thank you for your leadership, your commitment, and your dedication.

I look forward to working with you. Thank you.