*EPF208 11/26/2002
State Department Programs Attract, Educate Future World Leaders
(International Education Week celebrated) (680)

By Phyllis McIntosh
Special to the Washington File

Reaffirming the benefits of international education and exchange for all countries was the theme of worldwide activities commemorating the third annual International Education Week, November 18 to 22.

Co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and the U.S. Department of Education, International Education Week promotes programs that prepare Americans for a greater role in the global community and attract future leaders from abroad to study and experience life in the United States.

In a White House statement by the President in observance of International Education Week, Bush said, "In today's information-age economy, education is vital to the success of those living in the United States and throughout the world. Literacy and learning form the foundation of democracy and development, helping to prepare future generations of leaders to seize the benefits of the global economy, attain higher living standards, and contribute to competitive national economies."

With more than 90 programs, 80,000 volunteers and 700,000 alumni, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs facilitates the flow of ideas and knowledge worldwide and prepares future generations of leaders to access opportunity and contribute at all levels of society.

"People-to-people diplomacy, created through international education and exchanges, is critical to our national interests," said Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in announcing the observance of International Education Week. "Americans who study abroad expand their global perspective and become more internationally engaged. Foreign students and individuals who participate in citizen exchanges return home with greater knowledge of our democratic institutions and America's enduring values."

In Washington, the State Department commemorated International Education Week with a number of special events, including a press briefing for high school newspaper editors; an international affairs version of "It's Academic," a popular student quiz show broadcast in the metropolitan Washington area; and release of the Open Doors annual report charting growth of international educational exchanges among American students and scholars and their counterparts from other countries. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia S. Harrison met with leaders of the Middle East Studies Association to engage them in a dialogue about international education and exchange priorities.

Assistant Secretary Harrison noted that an investment in international education and exchange strengthens and promotes the security of the United States in a long-term and sustainable way.

Harrison also noted that some 200 heads of state and leading international figures, such as Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, are alumni of ECA's exchange programs.

The Department also hosted a reception for more than 300 leaders from the diplomatic, academic, international exchange, congressional and public service sectors to honor retiring Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman (R-NY) and presented him with the department's highest award, the Secretary's Distinguished Service Medal, in recognition of his contributions in the areas of foreign policy and international exchange. Gilman, a former chairman of the House of Representatives International Relations Committee, created a major scholarship program to enable financially needy U.S. undergraduates to study abroad.

Nationwide, a number of colleges, universities and high schools held study abroad presentations and special activities. High school students held virtual dialogues via the Internet with their counterparts in Azerbaijan and Brazil. More than 1,000 high school students from the former Soviet Union living with American host families this academic year gave presentations at their American schools, and Texas A&M University held a celebration at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library honoring Fulbright students and scholars.

Overseas, many U.S. embassies and educational advising centers sponsored workshops where alumni of U.S. exchange programs shared their experiences with international study.

Assistant Secretary Harrison noted that since September 11, International Education Week has taken on even more importance at schools, universities, state and local governments, community organizations and the private sector. Embassies throughout the world affirm the critical importance of international education and exchange in building relationships through mutual respect and understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.

(The ECA Web site, http://exchanges.state.gov has received more than 600,000 hits from people who are interested in learning about activities going on during International Education Week as well as opportunities to study abroad.)

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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