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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.

DECEMBER 21 2005 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. WORLD’S BIGGEST FULBRIGHT SCHEME FOR PAK STUDENTS: US WILL CONTRIBUTE $105M AND HEC $52.5M FOR THE FIVE-YEAR PROJECT, SHAHZAD MALIK (DAILY TIMES, DECEMBER 18TH 2005): The governments of Pakistan and the United States on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a new Fulbright scholarship program worth $157.5 million that will make Pakistan the biggest beneficiary of the scholarship in the world. The programme will fund 750 Pakistani students for their Masters and PhD degrees for five years in various disciplines. The US will contribute $105 million for the project and the Higher Education Commission $52.5 million. LINK 2. FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR GRANTS SEND DARTMOUTH RESEARCHER TO RUSSIA AND RUSSIAN RESEARCHER TO DARTMOUTH (DARTMOUTH NEWS, DECEMBER 15TH 2005): Naj Marten Wikoff, the director of Healing and the Arts at the C. Everett Koop Institute at Dartmouth Medical School, was awarded the grant to conduct research in Russia from Aug. 2005 through Feb. 2006. Mikhail Makeev, an associate professor with the Department of Russian Literature in the School of Philology at Moscow State University, is at Dartmouth through March 2006. LINK 3. TWO UNT FACULTY MEMBERS WIN FULBRIGHT AWARDS (NORTH TEXAS E-NEWS, DECEMBER 19TH 2005): Two University of North Texas faculty members have been awarded Fulbright Scholar grants. Timothy L. Jackson, a professor in the College of Music, and Erika Martina Nelson, assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, received the grant for the 2005-2006 academic year. LINK 4. UNITY COLLEGE PROFESSOR EARNS FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR AWARD (VILLAGE SOUP BELFAST, DECEMBER 19TH 2005): For the first time in Unity College’s 40-year history, a faculty member has been selected to receive a Fulbright Scholar Award. Professor Jim Chacko, an expert in the field of aquaculture, was chosen to receive the award by a 12-member board. In January of 2006, Chacko will journey to India and teach a graduate-level course in aquaculture and fish pathology at Sree Narayana College, Kannur University in the state of Kerala, India. LINK C.2) OTHER NEWS ON EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE ISSUES 5. PLAN TO ADD HIGH-TECH VISAS DIES IN CONGRESS, JIM PUZZANGHERA (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, DECEMBER 20TH 2005): A plan pushed by Silicon Valley high-tech companies to increase the number of special visas for highly skilled foreign workers has been dropped from a federal budget bill, ending attempts to expand the program this year. LINK 6. SAUDI SCHOLARSHIPS DOUBLE STUDENT PRESENCE IN US IN A YEAR (MIDDLE EAST TIMES, DECEMBER 19TH 2005): Keen to improve bilateral ties, the Saudi government has used scholarships to more than double new Saudi enrollments at US colleges and universities since last year, The New York Times reported on Sunday. LINK 7. BOEING AND AMIDEAST/EGYPT PROVIDE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLS TO EGYPTIAN ENGINEERS (AL BAWABA, DECEMBER 18TH 2005): The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has teamed up with AMIDEAST/Egypt to provide Egyptian engineers with an integrated, in-depth Project Management Certification Program (PMCP). The scholarship program is designed to prepare a cadre of project engineers for the aerospace, mechanical and information technology (IT) engineering industries in Egypt. LINK 8. PILANE HAILS TRI-NATION CULTURAL EXCHANGE (REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA DAILY NEWS, DECEMBER 15TH 2005): Eighteen volunteers from Botswana, South Africa and Canada have coverged at Mochudi where they will engage in volunteer work and cultural exchange activities for the next three months.  Kgosi Phulane Pilane welcomed the volunteers in his village and commended them for their selflessness. He said the country was grappling with problems, including unemployment, drought and high prevalence of HIV/AIDS.                                            LINK 9. CPC HELPS TACKLE THORNY INTERNATIONAL ISSUE, SENIOR OFFICIAL SAYS (XINHUA, DECEMBER 16TH 2005): The Communist Party of China (CPC) has made progress in helping the government for proper settlement of thorny issues in foreign relations and international affairs through dynamic party-to-party diplomacy this year, a senior CPC official said here Thursday. The CPC has also made efforts to facilitate cultural exchange and cooperation between China and other countries to promote understanding and friendship between the peoples. LINK 10. 1ST CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE FOR AFRICA LAUNCHED IN NAIROBI (XINHUA, DECEMBER 19TH 2005): Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi, the first of such nonprofit school specializing in Chinese language education and culture communication in Africa, was officially launched on Monday. Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Guo Chongli, hailed the launching of the institute as a milestone in the history of education exchange between China and Kenya. LINK 11. IRAN’S HADAD ADEL UNDERLINES CULTURAL EXCHANGE (IRANMANIA NEWS, DECEMBER 15TH 2005): Iranian Parliament Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel thanked Iranian and Russian Iranologists for their efforts at promoting the language, literature and history of Farsi in Russia. Russian Iranologists can make use of the five libraries in Iran which have been set up to promote Persian culture, he told a gathering of Russian Iranologists at the Iranian embassy in Moscow. LINK 12. THAILAND AND RUSSIA WILL WAIVE VISAS TO FACILITATE TRAVELS (THAISNEWS, DECEMBER 2005): Thai and Russian governments will lift visa travels to facilitate travel between the two countries.  Prime Minister Thaksin Shinnawat commented on ASEAN’s summit meeting with Russian leaders in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that it was the first meeting between ASEAN and Russia. He said that issues discussed during the meeting range from student exchanges, energy security, and cultural cooperation. He said that Russia is willing to accept more students from ASEAN, while it will cooperate with ASEAN countries in inspect, drilling of oil, and trade and investment. LINK 13. RWANDA, CHINA SIGN EDUCATION PACT, MOSES KAZOORA THE NEW TIMES- KIGALI (ALLAFRICA.COM, DECEMBER 19TH 2005): The recent Sino-African Ministerial Educational Forum held in Beijing China at which Rwanda was represented by the State Minister for Higher Education Jean D’arc Mujawamariya laid the roadmap for the development of education sector in Rwanda. During the Forum Mujawamariya, who was accompanied by the director of the Student Financing Agency for Rwanda (SFAR) Emmanuel Muvunyi, signed an agreement on educational exchange and cooperation that sets general principles of cooperation between the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Scientific Research of Rwanda and the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.        LINK 14. WESTWARD HO FOR A DEGREE, NITYA NANDA TIMSINA (KATHMANDU POST, DECEMBER 14TH 2005): The flow of Nepali students abroad has surged in recent years, making Nepal one of the major countries of origin for foreign students in western and Australian universities. The United States tops the list of most preferred destination countries for Nepali students. In the academic year 2004/05 alone, 4,861 Nepali students went to US universities, up by 11 percent compared to the previous year. LINK 15. VITICULTURE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED: UCD STUDENT WILL STUDY IN NEW ZEALAND (DAILY DEMOCRAT, DECEMBER 15TH 2005): UC Davis student, Diane Y. Choo, is the first recipient of the Douglas Wisor Memorial Scholarship which allows a young American winemaker to train at a selected winery in New Zealand during the harvest each year. Choo will intern for three months at Craggy Range Winery, a specialist producer of single vineyard wines, starting in March 2006. LINK    
 
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